Q: I've noticed that you haven't talked much about breathing and support or given

any exercises for us to practice, why not?

A: A couple thoughts on breathing and support:

written.

All kidding aside…..

In the same way that overfilling your gas tank will not cause your engine to run more

efficiently, neither will “tanking up” on the inhalation. We need fuel, but the key is in the

efficiency of the engine, not the capacity of the gas tank.

simply offer my opinion.

know the possibilities of release. Overall, there needs to be freedom in both the exhalation and

inhalation. No stop and go, holding or pushing.

I have found that for most singers, overfilling with air just tends to jam up the entire process of

singing. There is no way the vocal folds can hold back THAT much subglottic pressure without the

help of other surrounding extrinsic muscles. That being the case, once the extrinsic (swallowing)

muscles are involved in the singing process, the larynx begins to rise, the epiglottis drops, the vocal

folds begin to clamp shut and a HUGE amount air pressure is needed to keep the vocal folds in

oscillation. You are beginning to swallow, not sing, at that point. Let me demonstrate.

Exercise:

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opinion of the author’s ongoing education, teaching, and research into the vocal process. The text may not be

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Page 2 of 2 - FAQ on The Voice_Support

For the “supported singer” the resulting sound is typically one that is harsh and "tinny" because of

the squeezed and tightened resonating space in the throat. The next step many teachers then suggest

is to encourage their students to raise their soft palate to "warm the sound" and create more

resonating space to compensate for that lost from a constricted throat. Basically at that point, you

are treating the symptoms of the problem and not the cause, a vicious cycle and very frustrating for

the singer.

Unfortunately, most pedagogies are derived around treating vocal symptoms instead of

understanding and correcting the cause of vocal difficulties. However, if one learns how to allow the

vocal folds to adjust for pitch on their own, allows the demands of the vocal folds and song

dynamics to regulate air pressure, and learn the minor adjustments in the vocal tract needed to

“tune” the resonator, they no longer have to worry about lifting, pushing, expanding or squeezing

while singing, and are rewarded with a full, resonant voice. Even better, the singer can then

concentrate on communicating the message of the music, and not whether or not they have

expanded their lower back enough, squeezed their buttocks tight enough, released their abdominals

enough, or raised their soft palate high enough to make it through the next phrase.