It’s already strange enough as singers to have “breathing exercises” as everyone knows how to breath right??
Well if that isn’t crazy enough that vocal instructors reteach you how to breath… now we break it down even further to isolate what is happening when we inhale specifically when singing. I promise we are not over thinking this and if you practice your breathing along with your other vocal warm ups, you will see a dramatic improvement in holding that big note or adding some endurance and control to those delicate notes.
Therefore, let’s dive right in to an inhalation 🫁 exercise. This is vital to practice. As we say at Mille Studios, train your body, train your voice. Once you know and understand what your body is doing, you will prevent injury and vocal strain.
Let’s 1st feel How to Open Your Back Muscles:
Try this to quickly open your back for an easy inhalation:
1. Find a sturdy chair and sit with your elbows resting on your knees. In this position, you sit and lean forward, with your elbows on your bent knees and your back straight. You don’t have to bend over far only far enough to allow your back to relax.
2. With your elbows on your knees, take a breath and imagine that you can put the air into your back- as if your lungs are all along your back and you want to fill them with air. You may notice that the muscles in your back feel like they’re lifting and opening for the air to come in the body.
3. Take a few more breaths and notice the sensations of your back opening.
4. When you think you feel your back releasing and opening as you inhale, try opening your back more quickly. Open the same muscles along your back without worrying about inhalation. When you open the muscles, the air comes into your body and you don’t have to worry about inhalation – the inhalation happens because you’re opening the muscles.
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