VOCALS
SINGERS, YOU DON’ T NEED TO“ LEARN HOW TO BREATHE” | Renée Maranan
Singers have been told again and again that breathing is the epicenter of vocal technique. And don’ t get me wrong, it is definitely important. It takes air to set the vocal folds in motion, and air is what carries your sound from your body to the listener’ s ear. I’ m not saying that breathing isn’ t important in singing.
It’ s just been given way more attention than it needs.
And this attention is something that singers can and should be placing on other parts of vocal technique that would actually yield more results in their performance.
SAVE YOUR ABDOMINAL WORKOUTS FOR THE GYM Research has shown that abdominal engagement plays almost no role in increasing a person’ s power in singing. The abdomen naturally engages more when the singer is about to run out of air, but increased abdominal activity during singing doesn’ t actually help increase the intensity or power of a singer’ s sound.
What does contribute to a singer’ s power is the way that their vocal mechanism is coordinated at the larynx. This structure, which contains the vocal folds, is responsible for controlling the release of air when we speak and sing. It’ s constantly adjusting itself to different respiratory conditions within various activities, different emotions we’ re trying to convey, different movements and postures while vocalizing, different lengths of phrases, even different vowels and consonants that we articulate, which all have varying effects on air pressure. And in singing, we have learned that this is the part of our body that largely controls how much air we retain and release during singing – not the abdomen, but the tiny little valve in our vocal tract.
BREATHING EXERCISES ARE BENEFICIAL – JUST NOT IN THE WAY WE MIGHT ASSUME Singers often assume that breathing exercises are helpful for improving our ability to take in more oxygen, so they become fixated on taking very big inhalations. But over-inhalation results in hyperventilation, which leads to an elevated heart rate, muscular tension, and even feelings of anxiety, all of which are counterproductive to efficient( or even enjoyable) singing. On the other hand, when we practice longer exhalations, our heart rate variability improves and stress levels tend to decrease. This is actually one of the reasons singing is so good for us in the first place, because it can help force our exhalations to be longer than our inhalations.
HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR BREATHING FOR SINGING Instead of focusing on increasing lung capacity, focus on improving efficiency. Do a quick check:
• Are you“ leaking” a lot of air when you sing( e. g. breathiness)?
• Are you“ pushing” too much air to produce sound( e. g. overblowing / overworking)?
• Are you over-projecting / singing too loud for the demands of the song?
• Are you strategizing your phrasing so that you can take breaths when you need to?
• Are you optimizing your articulation for resonance?
If you tend to sing with too much breathiness, you may need to work on improving the way that your vocal folds coordinate to resist the air coming from your lungs. Try saying“ MMM- MMM” like you just ate something delicious; this can help you discover the sensation of resistance that your body needs in singing.
If you find yourself overblowing or applying too much breath pressure when singing, you may need to work on learning to allow more air through or perhaps recalibrating your expectations when it comes to the amount of physical effort required for singing. Try straw-inwater phonation and use the bubbles to track how much air you’ re blowing through as you sing into the straw.
If you tend to over-project, it may help to record yourself singing and use that as a way of giving yourself some feedback rather than relying on self-monitoring during singing, which is often ineffective. And if you’ re constantly forgetting to take breaths during your phrases, it might be time to sit down with your sheet music or lead sheets and physically write down your breath marks so you can incorporate them into your practice.
Resonance doesn’ t just come from air pressure, but from the acoustic properties of the vocal tract, which includes the space above your larynx and the oral cavity. Learning resonance strategies often requires the help of a vocal instructor and is the kind of training that can greatly improve efficiency in singing.
MAKE YOUR EFFORT COUNT There are some individuals who experience respiratory conditions that require rehabilitation, and for them, breathing exercises are necessary. But for relatively healthy individuals, there’ s no reason to obsess or worry over your breathing technique for singing. Instead of spending all that time“ training” yourself to breathe( and possibly accumulating habits that might actually interfere with your singing), spend that time and energy working on your vocal coordination instead.
Got a singing question? Send an email to hello @ reneemaranan. com with“ WM Vocals Question” in the subject line!
Renée Maranan Renée Maranan is a vocal instructor, voice teacher trainer, and life coach, with over 25 years of experience working with singers, vocal instructors, and performers from all over the world. For more vocal help, visit her www. reneemaranan. com or follow her on Instagram(@ reneemaranan).. www. ReneeMaranan. com Instagram @ reneemaranan
42 April 2026 Subscribe for Free...