The Lost Art of Breathing In

I'd have to say that THE most common breathing problem I encounter in one-on-one vocal lessons (and quartet coaching) is inadequate or faulty inhalation. People seem forget how to breathe in (something fairly vital and unconscious) once they start singing. In fact, people work so hard on breathing that the breaths they take get smaller and more muscle-bound than ever and getting them to release all that tension and remember the full-body breath is hard work!

Do you fall into that category? If you've been practicing your 'catch breath' and not practicing the relax-and-spring-open feeling of taking a full breath, you're probably missing out on air and working far too hard to do it.

Go swimming and do some breast stroke with your head going under at every 2nd stroke, breathing out through the mouth while you're underwater - you'll find you take a lovely, full breath very quickly and without muscular strain. That's just what you need to be going for when singing.