Exploring Singing Basics 4: Essential Breathing Exercises for Singing

Breathing Exercises for Singing

Hello and welcome to the fourth installment of learning singing online. We hope you are enjoying our articles so far and will be pleased to know that you have probably already improved your singing by reading all about the basics. We are still on the fundamental knowledge needed for singing and this week’s information is absolutely vital if you want to make the most of your voice. It is all about breathing exercises for singing.

If you have read anything about how to improve your singing then you may already know that many tutors and experts mention breathing a lot. This is because it can really help to take your voice to the next level. Read on to find out how!

The difference a good breathing technique makes

Believe it or not, there is a very real difference between adopting a good breathing technique and a bad breathing technique. And breathing as you do normally is a big no-no. Taking shallow breaths may be enough for you to survive but it is not enough for you to sing. It is a bad technique for using your voice. Instead, you have to take control of your breathing techniques for singing, drawing a range of quick and slow breaths before exhaling slowly as you sing. If you fail to do this then your voice losing tone, strength and can actually be interrupted as you begin to run out of air.

There is another point as well. Good breathing techniques for singing can not only make your voice sound better and really help you to improve your overall tone and range, but it can also help you to keep fear and nervousness out of your voice when you finally step on stage. This may be a way off for you yet (after all, we are still learning the basics!) but it IS something you must consider. If you understand and exercise good breathing techniques then you can breathe through the nerves. You can keep your voice steady and will be able to use its strength and tone to project comfort and confidence, even if you do not feel it on the inside.

All about posture and breathing

As you can see, breathing exercises for singing are incredibly important in enabling you to sing as well as enhancing your voice overall. However, it is not as simple as just changing your breathing. Your body is not used to exercising breathing techniques for singing because they are not natural. In fact, the techniques may actually seem a bit forced to start with so it is important to practice them. In addition, you have to use your body. We have already spoken about how vital posture is so make sure that you stand with feet at shoulder width, a straight spine and an open stance so that the breath can really get into your lungs.

Here is how you inhale correctly:

•  Inhale quickly, sucking the air into your lungs and visualising it being really heavy as it enters your body.
• Focus on it as it falls through your body, hitting your belly button.
• Feel your lower back and stomach expand and you may even want to use your arms to welcome the air into your body.

Of course, you will not have time to do this when you are singing but this exercise will give you an idea of how the technique can work. When you exhale then, you will need to control it, using your breath in a sustained and smooth way to ensure that you have enough puff to get to the end of the note or passage. Try to visualise blowing a feather gently on a constant course and you will get the right idea!

The best breathing tips

Although future newsletters will cover more in depth breathing exercises for singing, there are some basic tips that can help you to get to grips with breathing now. You have to learn to walk before you can run so make sure that you keep it simple with the following:

•  Take a deep breath in and close your eyes. As you inhale, feel your entire body expand from your torso to your lower back. Feel the breath touch every element of your upper body and then release it slowly, singing a note of your choice as you do. You will be able to feel the control and maintain it after a few tries.
• Stand still and take a quick but deep breath in. Place your finger in front of your mouth and exhale. Listen to the amount of noise made. The more noise the less control and more tension there is in your vocal chords. Try again until you can get it almost silent.
• Pay attention to your breathing for an hour and see what you can do. The more aware of your breathing you are the easier it will become to control it.

There we have it then – now you have good knowledge of the basics of breathing exercises for singing. You now have to put it in practice. When you do, you will find that your singing becomes much better.

Thanks for joining us again and stay tuned for our next newsletter, the final element in our basics series before we move onto the stuff that will really get your voice jumping up the improvement ladder.

Until next time!

P.S. If you liked these singing tips why not share this with your friends or family who may also find it useful if they are trying to improve their singing techniques. Use the buttons at the top and bottom of the post to share. 

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Exploring Singing Basics 3: Align Your Body and Improve Your Posture for Singing Instantly!

Good singing Posture

Hello and welcome to the third edition of Exploring Singing Basics! We are so glad that you have decided to join us once again to learn how to sing online and hope you are enjoying this course so far!

Having talked about preparing to sing and your voice type, it is now time to move on to techniques and methods that can help you to improve your singing from this very moment onwards. Another one of the fundamentals of singing, aligning your body is a must.

Why? Well singing does not begin and end with your voice so it is time to start using your whole body to improve your singing! So what does your body have to do with singing? When you sing, people may listen to your voice but your range, talent and skill will be limited if that is the only part of your anatomy you use to project the words of a song.

If you think about it, it is like any other use of the human body, such as a sport for example. When throwing a ball, you do not use your arm in isolation. You use your shoulder to pivot the arm, your back to provide momentum, your waist to twist, your legs to facilitate the twist and your feet to maintain a certain stance so that you can balance. A simple exercise therefore calls on your entire body. The same applies with singing.

Using Your Entire Body 

Learning to sing is all about learning to use your entire body to harness your voice and project it outwards, maintaining tune, tone and strength throughout. If you just used your voice then you would not get very far at all. All of the best singers know exactly how to use their bodies to project and maintain sound production when singing.

The entire body is an instrument, from your feet to the top of your head and you must learn how to use it appropriately to have the correct posture for singing.

Quick Posture Tips 

Still not convinced? Well, try this:

•    Stand with your feet together, back straight and get someone to push your right shoulder. What happens? Unless you move your feet you stumble and fall over.

•    Try again with your feet shoulder width apart. Get a friend to push you and what happens? You can stand firm exactly where you are without adjusting.

•    When your friend places their hand on your shoulder to push you close your eyes. Ask them to tell you when they are going to push so you can brace yourself.

•    As you brace yourself, note which muscles you use. Your lower body, abdominal muscles and neck muscles tense to weather the onslaught.

This exercise is intended to show you how the rest of the body sets off a chain reaction to the vocal cords. It also demonstrates why posture and alignment is important. If your body is aligned properly then everything will work in the correct order and improve your singing immensely.

Essential Tips for a Proper Singing Posture

So now you know how important the entire body is for your singing voice to flourish, you need to know how to align your body so that your voice improves. Posture is vital and these tips can help you to make sure that your posture is of the optimum level to enhance your singing voice.

•    Place your feet shoulder width apart with your right foot slightly in front of the other for the best stance as you sing.

•     Adopt the superhero posture – legs hip width apart, chest puffed out, spine straight, hands on hips and chin up. You will be surprised at just how much difference it makes to your voice. It releases all of your muscles and removes any obstacles to vocal production.

•    Hold a note whilst continually stretching your whole body up, to one side, to the other side, lunging with the right and then left leg and finally stretching just your back and neck muscles. Note how different it sounds as you move, when it becomes stronger and when it weakens. This will teach you all about the correct posture.

Each one of these tips and points can be used to enhance your posture and alignment, which in turn will enhance your singing voice. They are simple and you will notice a difference instantly.

There will be more specific and advanced tips regarding alignment, posture and using your body to improve your singing in future and more tips and tricks in our newsletter, simply pop your first name and email into the sign up box at the top-right of the page. Also remember to share this with your singing buddies or people you know woh will really benefit from the tips here.

So make sure you keep coming back for more. For now though, these basic ideas relating to alignment and posture will get you well on the road to improving your voice.

Thanks so much for reading – until next time!

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Exploring Singing Basics 1: - Preparing to Sing

Exploring Singing Basics 1

Singing can bring incredible pleasure whether you wish to learn how to do so to forge a career or enjoy a new hobby. However, it can be difficult to know where to start because there is so much to learn. As Julie Andrews once sang, let’s start at the very beginning and that is preparing to sing. Believe it or not, there is a right and wrong way to get ready to sing and the information right here will point you in the right direction!

Why it is important to prepare to sing?

Would you run a marathon without doing any stretches? No? In that case, why would you start singing without doing the correct preparation? You shouldn't. In fact, preparation is just as important as singing for several reasons.

The first is because failing to warm up your voice can actually cause damage to your vocal chords and your voice. Singing without warming up could put undue stress on your vocal chords and give you anything from a sore throat and hoarse voice to longer lasting damage. Secondly, your voice will not be able to achieve the same sound if it is not prepared in advance.

General tips for singing preparation

There are plenty of ways to prepare when learning to sing, including plenty of specialized techniques for breathing, posture and other similar aspects of preparation that the professionals go for. So why not go straight for those, I hear you ask. Well, because of the wealth of techniques and preparation hints and tips that are out there, it is advisable that you choose those that suit you best.

Not every tip will suit everyone but, again, you have to learn the basics before you go into. There are some general tips that will suit everyone though and they can really help the muscles to relax and the vocal chords to release tension.

So what are these general tips? Well, they are really easy to take advantage of, cost very little (if anything) and can be enjoyed no matter where you are:

• Sip or gargle a glass of water that is at room temperature to release tension in your vocal chords. It will keep you hydrated too, which is important because singing does require great effort.
• Take 10 deep breaths to connect the chest with the throat and get plenty of oxygen into your lungs
• Laugh. Laughter will prevent stress creeping back into your voice when it's warmed up.
• Drink hot water with a tablespoon of honey. Obviously the water shouldn't be so hot that it burns your mouth but the honey is key because it will coat your throat and easy any strain and soreness already there.
• Finally, massage your throat gently, using two fingers to rub from just under your ears right around to your larynx in small circles. It will relax the throat and you as well!

The lowdown on warming up your voice

After outlining why it is important to prepare for singing, it is only fair that we discuss some basic methods of warming up. Preparing to sing starts with hydration and massage, amongst other things, but it continues with techniques that will warm up your vocal chords. Warm ups tend to fall into two categories - technical and creative. It is completely up to you which one you wish to follow. The list below will give you a few ideas but feel free to use your imagination or mix and match if you so wish:

• Stand with your feet in line with your shoulders. Bend at the waist and slowly roll down so that you stretch your spine on the way down. Allow your arms to hang down, reaching towards your feet but relaxed. As you slowly roll back up, make a mamamama sound and allow it to get slightly louder as you move upwards.
• Place your hands together in a praying position before slowly extending your hands forwards. Take a deep breath in and move your arms outwards until they are straight from the shoulders. Lower your arms and breathe out slowly. Repeat.
• Use the "ma-ma-ma-ma" and "me-me-me-me" sounds. Stand still and start at little more than a whisper. Close your eyes and imagine the sounds are coming from various parts of your body - chest, throat, shoulders, stomach etc - and vary their intensity and volume accordingly.

So there you have it - you know exactly what preparation you should undertake before singing and can relax your vocal chords. Anybody can follow these basic techniques and prepare for singing properly. There is no excuse to cause unnecessary damage to your vocal chords and throat. You cannot go wrong with the fundamentals of preparation listed above.

Until next time!

We have teamed up with one of our singing partners to bring you this great FREE offer to really help you kick start your singing voice. You are going to quickly discover everything you never knew about singing... and how to exercise and get the best out of your vocal chords so you can sing with full vocal range and develop lasting good habits that take your voice from ordinary to extraordinary! Singorama can help you. Not only is it educational, it's really fun! Click on the image below to discover how.....




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