Breathing and Breath Control

Have you ever experienced the following phenomenon:

"Our Savior’s Love (gasp) Shines like the sun with perfect light (gasp) As from above (gasp) It breaks through clouds of strife (gasp)"?

A director’s first response is to say "Don’t breathe there…. Wait until you get to the end of the line." The choir’s response is "Yeah, right. I need to breathe so I don’t die". They’re right: You’re asking the impossible, telling them not to breathe, because they ALREADY didn’t breathe (enough, at least) before they started singing the line! Long, full-bodied musical phrases depend on big lungfuls of air at the beginning of phrases. Rather than telling them where not to breathe, teach them HOW to breathe, and when phrases go bad remind them where they should have got a bigger breath.

An upcoming feature article will tackle the intricate mechanics of breathing. In the meantime, here are a few proven exercises:

1. Glenda Finley, M Mus in Vocal Pedagogy and elementary music teacher recommends the following breathing exercise: With your hands at your side, empty your lungs. Next, inhale slowly, at the same time raising both arms "jumping jack" style, being careful not to bend at the elbows. When the arms come together over your head, the lungs should be full. Exhale slowly with a hissing sound, at the same time lowering both arms, again without bending the elbows. Watch your choir as they do the exercise to make sure the chest stays high and the shoulders stay back.
2. To strengthen the abdominal muscles and diaphragm, I enjoy simulating a freight train coming out of the station. As I raise my hand, the choir inhales; as I lower my hand, they exhale. The breaths begin slow and gradually work up to "fast basketball dribble" tempo. Doggy pants work just the same, but some people may object to sticking their tongues out at church.
3. A High School teacher friend uses the following exercise to strengthen his choir’s breathing muscles: I’ll spell it in the key of C for simplicity’s sake: C (rest) E (rest) G (rest) E (rest) C (rest) E (rest) G (rest) E (rest) C D E F G F E D C----. The exercise is very fast and staccatto. A breath is taken in-between each note, so that the breathing mechanism is essentialy panting. It is VERY hard for a person to sing this exercise without using the right muscles, assuming he’s breathing inbetween notes.
4. To acquaint the choir with what good breathing "feels" like, try breathing in tempo. Inhale for 8 counts, then exhale for 8 counts. The singer becomes aware of what muscles take in or squeeze out the extra air. Increase or decrease the count as needed.
5. To improve air flow (and usually volume), sing simple vocal exercises with loose, buzzed lips or with a trilled tongue. These effects require a greater air flow , and besides, they’re fun.
6. To encourage big lungfuls (and vocal efficiency), have 1-note singing duration contests. F is a good note for SATB choirs. Fill your lungs together, then start humming that note. IF a person runs out of air, he sits down. The last one standing wins.

7. Stand up for as much of rehearsal as politically possible. Whenever the choir sits to sing (hopefully sedom if ever), encourage choir members to sit in such a way that the "hips up" part of the body achieves standing posture.

March Warm-Up Column: The Choral Warm-Up According to Father Finn