Breathing revisited

Here's an excercise for strengthening those out of practise stomach muscles and lungs. What i want you to do it sit near a clock, preferably an analogue clock - unless your digital watch counts the seconds it won't work. When the second hand reaches twelve, I want you to inhale as deep as you can, take in all the air to can in one swift breath and then hold it, as you watch the clock. Keep holding it until you absolutely cannot hold it anymore - now i really want you to work at this. Then let all that air out. Take not of where the second hand is on the clock. How long could you hold your breath for? 30 seconds? one minute? Take a few seconds to relax your self and get your breath back. Then when the second hand reaches the twelve again, I want you take inhale again and hold your breath. Your aim here is to hold it for longer than the first time but it doesn't matter the first few times if you can't. Once again, when you absolutely can't hold it in any longer, let it out. Take another few minutes and then do it one last time. I know it seems like a pointless excercise, but like I said it will strengthen all of those muscles and your lungs. If you do this everyday, you will get stronger as you find you can hold your breath longer. This will also help with phrasing, which I will move onto soon enough. 

Breathing

How did you go with that lesson? Have you been practising? Just take five to ten minutes out of your day, find some where quiet and just go through those scales. 

This lesson, I'm going to talk to you about breathing. This is the most important part of your singing. It is what controls, your sound, as well as your phrasing. 

There are a few ways we can work on this. One of thos ways is by revisiting those scales. This time, however, I want you to take a breath in for 4 counts. Hold it for 4 and then let it out, singing "Aah". How did that feel? What did you notice, when you inhaled? What part of your body expanded? If it was your stomach, congratulations, you're on your way. If it was your chest that expanded, you'll also notice that your shoulders hunched up. This type of breathing in the long run is going to make you work harder than you need to to push sound out, with not so great results. Try again, but this time, I want you to place your hand on the top of your stomach area, just under your chest and heart region. When you breath - in through your nose, concentrate on using your stomach muscles not your chest. If you are using your stomach muscles, you will feel your hand move. Now you are on the right track. If you also noticed, your shoulders should not have hunched. 

Okay the theory behind this is that the muscle you are aiming to work with is the diaphragm. It sits between your stomach and lungs, and it's job is to take in as much air as possible to sustain, breath. Meditators use the same muscle. What a singer does with this muscle is they use that muascle to push air, back through the lungs, that air eventually becoming sound. It will expand and contract as fast or as slow as you make it, which is the key. If you've never used this type of breath before, it is going to feel strange for a while, but practise - that word again, will make it easier over time. When you sing your note again, notice how steady it sits on the note. It's a lot easier this time, do you think? 

Have you noticed in meditations, how some people can sit for ages and just sing one not, "Ommmm" and they can hold it for a really long time. You will find that they have mastered the correct way to breath. Try it! any note at all, "Ommmm", remembering to breath the air into your stomach, or else it won't work. You will feel your stomach, slowly contract. Now with this in mind try your scales again, breathing in for 4 counts before each note. Can you notice what is different about your sound?

Pitch

The first thing, I want to tell you about is pitch. Now the best way I can show you what I mean, is to tell you is to start with scales. For now, don't worry about the sound of your voice, we can work on that later. Pick a note and sing (if you have a piano, keyboard guitar or other instrument, hit middle C and start from there), "aah", trying not to let your voice waver. Just keep on that particular frequency for a count to 4. 

Then pick another note, preferably the next one on the rung (D on the piano) and hold it for 4 counts. continue this up each note another six times (this should be C) and then go back down again, each time holding the note for 4 counts. What you may be fascinated to know, is that you have sang the spectrum of one octave, from C to C = 8 notes. The point of this excercise is to train your ear to recognise the notes and familiarise you with the way it sounds, coming from you. It will also be a tool you will find useful in strengthening you voice. When you get the hang of those eight notes, start the scale on the second note in your original scale (D instead of C) and work your way up the eight notes and down again. This will seem awkward at first, but the more you practice this it will become second nature. 

Introduction

My aim with this blog site is to convince you, the reader that you can sing. 

If you have good working ears, lungs and a voice box, then you already have the tools you need. The rest is training, knowledge and confidence. I am not in anyway a qualified singing teacher, but what I do have is a desire to pass on the things i've picked up along the way, to you. 

I have had lessons before and have sang in choirs, but alot of what I have picked up is advise from others, some qualified in the area of teaching, entertainment or have simply learned things as well. What I am trying to say is, I am in no way an expert, but I have had some success in local competitions, and many people have asked me, how I've done it.

There have been times, when they have asked me to teach them, the little bit I know. 

This is why I have put this blog together and will build it up over time and hopefully I can help someone, like you discover how to use the tools, they already have.