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Instruction
of vocal students has brought to light the misinterpretation
of what 'breathing deeply' actually entails. Vocal instructors
often encourage students to breathe deeply, but what exactly
does the students' interpretation lead him or her to do?
Often it results in raising the shoulders so that the
student may feel there is more 'room' to fill with air.
Or, they may even attempt to 'suck' in as much air as
they feel humanly possible. As vocal instructors, there
are exercises we can help our students experience so as
to 'reprogram' the automatic deep breathing response that
so often is detrimental to efficient vocalization.
First, the student must
understand exactly how the lungs work when breathing normally
during the day and what happens differently during singing.
Breathing during normal daily activity fills the upper
third of the lung cavity. The goal in breathing for efficient
vocalization is to fill the entire lung cavity - two-thirds
more than what is 'natural'.
Secondly, the student needs to have an experience focused
towards giving them a reference as to how it feels when
filling up the entire lung cavity. Such an activity could
be as follows: breathe in normally; breathe out on 'sh'
until there is no air left in the lungs. It helps to add
a hand movement displaying this movement of air in the
lungs. Hold for 3 counts, and then open the mouth. The
individual will hopefully experience the sensation of
air falling into the lungs.
Taking deep breaths is not
something we want to make the student work hard for. The
goal is for it to become an efficient, natural response
to how the body is designed to operate naturally during
the singing process.
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