Students often come to their taster session with the line, ‘HELP, I’m running out of breath whilst singing’. Don’t worry, it’s fixable but you have to be prepared to work on it for a sustained period of time!
When I first started my vocal training, I wasn’t even breathing in the correct way, so that just goes to show that anyone can breathe correctly if shown how.
- First things first, you need to make sure you are nice and relaxed with your shoulders down and your neck straight.
- Then, when you’re ready, breathe all the air out that you can.
- Next, take in a nice big breath and your tummy should go out. THINK OF IT LIKE A BALLOON, when you breathe into a balloon, the balloon gets bigger.
- Once you’ve inhaled to full capacity, it’s now time to exhale. Breathe all the air back out and your tummy should go in, again THINK OF IT LIKE A BALLOON.
- When you’re comfortable with this, start to structure your breathing out in time frames, i.e. breathe in for 4 seconds, then out for 4 seconds (I would say to never exceed 6 seconds, unless your Vocademy tutor says you can).
Also, make sure you never push yourself too far, work your way up and only move on to a longer period of time when you’re completely comfortable.
Just remember breathe IN and your tummy goes OUT, breathe OUT and your tummy goes IN.
If you want to learn more about breathing or any other vocal techniques and aren’t currently a student, why not book in for a free half an hour taster session with one of our excellent vocal coaches.
Here’s the link: www.vocademy.co.uk/contact