BREATH CONTROL
It has been said that "breathing is singing." This statement is
equally applicable to speaking. While the aphorism is not literally
true, it is true that without properly controlled breathing the best
singing or speaking tone cannot be produced, for tone is but vocalized
breath; hence in the cultivation of the voice, breathing is the first
function to receive attention.
For singer or speaker, the correct use of the breathing apparatus
determines the question of success or failure; for without mastery of
the motive power all else is unavailing. For a voice user, therefore,
the first requisite is a well-developed chest, the second, complete
control of it.
It must not be supposed that a singer's breathing is something strange
or complex, for it is nothing more than _an amplification of normal,
healthy breathing_. In contrast, however, to the undisciplined casual
breathing of the general public, the singer is a professional
breather.
THE MUSCLES OF RESPIRATION
There are two sets of respiratory muscles, one for inspiration and
another for expiration,--twenty-two or more in all. The principal
muscles of inspiration are the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles
that elevate the ribs. The chief muscles of expiration are the four
sets of abdominal muscles and the intercostal muscles that depress the
ribs. The diaphragm is _not_ a muscle of _expiration_.
THE DIAPHRAGM
The diaphragm is in form like an inverted bowl (Fig. 8). It forms the
floor of the thorax (chest) and the roof of the abdomen. It is
attached by a strong tendon to the spinal column behind, and to the
walls of the thorax at its lowest part, which is below the ribs. In
front its attachment is to the cartilage at the pit of the stomach. It
also connects with the transverse abdominal muscle. The diaphragm
being convex, in inspiration the contraction of its fibres flattens it
downward and presses down the organs in the abdomen, thus increasing
the depth of the thorax. Expiration depends wholly on other muscles.
[Illustration: FIGURE 8.]
The muscles so far mentioned are all that need "conscious education;"
the others will act with them voluntarily, automatically. The
abdominal muscles relax during inspiration and the diaphragm relaxes
during expiration, thus rendering the forces nearly equal, though the
strength is in favor of the expiratory muscles. This is what is
needed, for the breath while speaking or singing must go out under
much greater tension than is necessary for inhalation. Inspiration
should be as free as possible from obstruction when singing or
speaking. Expiration must be under _controlled_ pressure.
THE LUNGS
The lungs are spongy bodies which have no activity of their own beyond
a little elasticity. They are controlled by the muscles of
respiration.
Figure 8 shows the organs of the body in their natural positions. The
diaphragm is relaxed and curved upward, as in expiration. During
inspiration the diaphragm is drawn down until it lies nearly flat.
INSPIRATION
The intercostal muscles raise the ribs. The diaphragm is drawn down by
contraction, thus adding to the enlargement of the chest by increasing
its depth. The abdominal muscles relax and allow the stomach, liver,
and other organs in the abdomen to move downward to make room for the
depressed diaphragm. This causes a vacuum in the chest. The lungs
expand to fill this vacuum and the air rushes in to fill the expanding
lungs.
EXPIRATION
The intercostal, and a part of the abdominal, muscles depress the ribs
and lessen the chest cavity anteriorly and laterally. The abdominal
muscles compress the abdomen and force up the diaphragm which is now
relaxed, thus lessening the depth of the thorax. This pressure forces
the air from the lungs and prepares them for another inspiration.
CORRECT METHOD
That the lateral-abdominal--more accurately chest-abdominal--breathing
is correct and natural for both male, and female, and that the
shoulders should remain as fixed as were Demosthenes' under the points
of the swords hung over them, is now so generally admitted as to need
no argument here. If any one has still a doubt on the subject let him
observe a sleeping infant. It affords a perfect example of
lateral-abdominal breathing, and no one can have a suspicion of sex
from any difference in this function. Among the lower animals sex
shows no difference in breathing at any age. All the peculiarities of
female breathing are the results of habits acquired in after life.
Chest and shoulder heaving are vicious and evidence impeded breathing.
The singer who, forgetting the lower thorax, breathes with the upper
only is sure to fail. Therefore breathe from the _lower_ part of the
trunk, using the whole muscular system coördinately--_from below_
upward. In other words breathe deeply, and _control deeply_, but with
the whole body--from below, not with the upper chest only, or with
lateral expansion only, or abdominal expansion only.
Every teacher and pupil should remember that "singing and speaking
require wind and muscle," hence the breathing power must be fully
developed. Weak breathing and failure to properly focus the voice are
the most frequent causes of singing off the key. They are much more
common and mischievous than lack of "ear."
Dr. May tested the breathing of 85 persons, most of them Indians, and
found that 79 out of the 85 used abdominal breathing. The chest
breathers were from classes "civilized" and more or less "cultured."
Nature has provided that for quiet breathing when at rest the air
shall pass through the nose. But when a person is taking active
exercise, and consequently demands more air, he naturally and of
necessity opens the mouth so as to breathe more fully. While speaking
or singing the air is necessarily taken in through the mouth.
BREATH CONTROL
Firmness of tone depends upon steadiness of breath pressure.
Steadiness of tone depends upon a control of the breath which allows a
minimum volume of air to pass out under sufficient tension to produce
vocalization.
The tension and flow of breath can be gradually lessened until the
tone vanishes and not even a whisper remains.
Power and largeness of tone depend first upon the =right use of the
resonant cavities=, and second upon the =volume of breath used under
proper control=.
In producing high tones the breath is delivered in less amount than
for the low tones, but under greater tension. Absolute control of the
breath is necessary to produce the best results of which a voice is
capable. Full control of the breath insures success to a good voice;
without it the best voice is doomed to failure.
When muscular action is fully mastered, and the proper method of
breathing understood and established, the muscles of inspiration and
expiration will act one against the other, so that the act of
breathing may be suspended at any moment, whether the lungs are full,
or partly full, or empty. This is muscular control of the breath.
Correct breathing is health giving and strength giving; it promotes
nutrition, lessens the amount of adipose tissue, and reinforces every
physical requisite essential to speaking and singing.
A CURE FOR NERVOUSNESS
It cannot be too widely advertised that the surest remedy for that
torture of singers and speakers, nervousness, is the great
tranquillizer,--quiet, deep breathing, deeply controlled. The breath
of nervousness is quick, irregular, and shallow, therefore, take a
few, slow, deliberate, deep, and _rhythmic_ inhalations of pure air
through the nostrils, and the panting gasp of agitation will vanish.
As a help toward deepening the breath and overcoming the spasmodic,
clavicular habit, inhale quietly and slowly through the nose, or
slowly sip the air through the nearly closed lips as if you were
sipping the inmost breath of life itself.
NECESSITY OF BREATHING EXERCISES
To acquire control of breathing, proper exercises must be
intelligently and persistently followed. In mankind, nature seems to
have been diverted from her normal course so that we seldom find an
individual who breathes correctly without education in the matter.
What we have said on breathing is based on the premise that
respiration involves coördinate action of the body from collar-bone to
the base of the abdomen; that is, expanding and contracting the chest
and abdomen simultaneously. This is called "lateral-abdominal"
breathing; as the chest is the thoracic cavity, "abdomino-thoracic"
has been suggested as brief and more strictly scientific.
Work on any other lines fails to develop the full power and quality of
the voice. Weak breathing is a prime cause of throaty tones. In such
cases an effort is made to increase the tone by pinching the larynx.
But this compresses the vocal cords, increases the resistance to the
passage of the breath, and brings rigidities that prevent proper
resonance. The true way is to increase the wind supply, as does the
organist.
CORRECT BREATHING ILLUSTRATED
The following figures show the outline of correct breathing. The inner
abdominal line shows the limit of expiration; the outer line shows the
limit of full inspiration.
Figure 9 shows the limit of full expiration and inspiration of the
male, side view.
Figure 10 shows the lateral expansion of the ribs in both expiration
and inspiration, front view of the male.
The expansion cannot be great at this part of the chest, as the side
is so short a distance from the backbone to which the ribs are
attached. The movement of the ribs in front is much greater, as Fig. 9
shows.
Figure 11 shows the front expansion and contraction in the breathing
of the female, side view.
Figure 12 shows the lateral expansion of the chest in the female,
front view.
These diagrams are made from photographs, and thus true to life. It
will be noticed that there is no difference in the breathing outline
between these subjects. The female subject, though a good singer, had
had no training in breathing. She previously insisted that she used
only the chest breathing, and did not use the abdominal muscles, but
actual test revealed the condition to be that shown in Figure 11 and
convinced her that she was mistaken.
[Illustration: FIGURE 9.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 10.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 11.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 12.]
It is not unlikely that many other singers who now think they are
using only the high chest respiration would, if subjected to the same
test, find themselves similarly mistaken.
The contraction incident to forced expiration is much more tense than
the enlargement of forced inspiration. When singing or speaking,
forced inspiration is not used. Experience shows that the change in
size of the body during speaking or singing is usually small.
Occasionally, long passages in music demand that the expulsive power
of the breathing apparatus be used to its limit.
ECONOMY OF BREATH
The quantity of air taken in with a single inspiration is, in quiet
breathing, according to Prof. Mills,[3] from twenty to thirty cubic
inches, but this may be increased in the deepest inspiration to about
one hundred cubic inches. In forcible expiration about one hundred
cubic inches may be expelled, but even then the residual air that
cannot be expelled is about one hundred cubic inches.
[Footnote 3: Dr. Wesley Mills, _Voice Production_, 1906.]
It is not, however, the quantity of breath inhaled that is
significant, it is the amount _controlled_. Get, therefore, all the
breath necessary, and keep it, but without undue effort and _without
rigidity_.
To test the amount of breath used in prolonged vocalization, a person
skilled in the art of breathing, after an ordinary inspiration, closed
his lips, stopped his nostrils, and began to vocalize. He found that
the mouth with distended cheeks held sufficient breath to continue a
substantial tone for twenty-three seconds.
While these experiments show that very little amount or force of
breath is needed to produce effective tones, the impression must exist
in the mind of the performer that there is a free flow of breath
through the larynx; otherwise the tone will seem restricted and will
be weak. The forced holding back of the breath begets a restraint that
has a bad effect on the singer's delivery. While the breath must be
controlled, there is such a thing as an exaggerated "breath control"
that makes free delivery of the voice impossible.
It is quite possible to _overcrowd_ the lungs with air. Do not,
therefore, make the mistake of always taking the largest possible
breath. Reserve this for the climaxes, and inhale according to the
requirements of the phrase and its dynamics. The constant taking of
too much breath is a common mistake, but trying to sing too long on
one breath is another.
THE INITIAL USE OF BREATH FORCE
The breath force when properly employed seems to be expended in
starting the vibrations in the larynx; the vibrations are then
transmitted to the air in the resonance cavities, and there the
perfected tone sets the outer air in motion, through which the tone
vibrations are conveyed to the ear of the listener.
RESERVE BREATH POWER
The correctly trained singer or speaker will never allow the breath
power to be exhausted. Some breath should be taken in at every
convenient interval between the words, according to the punctuation,
but never between syllables of a word; this is correct phrasing. In
this way the lungs are kept nearly full, and breathing is at its best.
The chief cause of breath exhaustion is _wasted_ breath. This waste
comes from exhaling more breath (more motive power) than the tone
requires, and _breath that does not become tone is wasted_. This fault
is largely induced by lack of proper resonance adjustment.
The singer should always feel able to sing another note or to speak
another word. To sing or speak thirty or forty counts with one breath
is useful practice but poor performance. Occasionally, long runs in
singing may compel an exception. Half-empty lungs lower the pitch of
the tone, lessen the resonance, and weaken the voice, rendering the
last note of the song and the last word of the sentence inaudible. The
breathing must not be forced, but enough air must be furnished to
produce the proper full vibrations.
BREATH MASTERY
What then does perfect control of the breath mean?
1. Ability to fill the lungs to their capacity either quickly or
slowly.
2. Ability to breathe out as quickly or slowly as the occasion
demands.
3. Ability to suspend inspiration, with the throat open, whether the
lungs are full or not, and to resume the process at will without
having lost any of the already inspired air.
4. Ability to exhale under the same restrictions.
The above four points are common to speaking and singing, but singing
involves further:
5. Ability to sing and sustain the voice on an _ordinary_ breath.
6. Ability to _quietly_ breathe as often as text and phrase permit.
7. Ability to breathe so that the fullest inspiration _brings no
fatigue_.
8. Ability to so economize the breath that the _reserve is never
exhausted_.
9. The ability to breathe so naturally, so unobtrusively, that
_neither breath nor lack of breath is ever suggested to the
listener_--this is the very perfection of the art.