very well explained. that's exactly, what Michael Trimble (former opera singer) on his chanel says over and over again: take a deep breath way down into your lower back!
I've watched a lot of Michael's videos in the past. I like what he says. This is the main way to breathe in Bel Canto singing. There are many pop and rock coaches who teach a lot of "belly breathing", and they call it Bel Canto, but they are incorrect. The Bel Canto inhale is always down and back, or just straight down with 360 degree expansion.
Loved this, Joeeee, thank you so much. It made perfect sense to me, cause I've only recently started to understand (and feel!) the difference between breathing with the belly, as in, focusing solely on "pushing the belly and ribcage out" (always resulting in tension, like, everywhere) vs. breathing as you say "down back and wide". Arden Kaywin has a lovely holistic approach to singing, and she makes some very interesting analogies and stuff 😊 Also, you seem like a really sweet person, you have a very gentle voice and there's this warmth about you that makes the videos even better 🌻 Idk, personally, I value the human factor above all else, jajajaja, so I appreciate that 🤷♀️ Anyway, hope you are fine, safe and healthy, and I look forward to checking out more of your videos 🍀🍀🍀🍀 Cheers, and best wishes!
Hi Rosario! I don't know how I missed this comment. Thank you so much. I like to reply to every comment I get and somehow this one slipped past me. I'm even farther along this year with my breathing. I'm more convinced than ever that the quality of my singing is dependent on the quality of my breathing technique. I hope you are well and having a nice holiday season.
So what you're saying is don't breath into your belly but breath into your ribs and feel the rib expansion. But everytime I do it, I can feel my chest slightly rising. (I was taught that a rising chest makes unnecessary tension.) Also, if I breath in too much, my chest area gets a little tight as well and it feels like I have something lodged in my throat. I also heard that my back my sides are also supposed to expand, but I only feel and see my ribs expanding. Do I suck in the lower part of my belly and rise the upper part of the belly and feel the ribs expand? Not to sure if I'm doing this correctly. Another question is, how am I suppose to sing after I breath through the ribs? Do I just keep that expansion all the through? Or let go of that expansion and transfer it to the belly? I tried to sing with the ribs expanded but I end up being short on breath and not being able to hit the notes I could with belly breathing. This is quite confusing.
Ha, it's super difficult to get the hang of it, and a good vocal coach or singing teacher will always make a big difference, of course. I've been taking lessons, on and off, for almost 10 years now, with a bunch of different teachers, and I never quite got the hang of breathing, tension, bla bla. Something was always off, well, still is actually, but during this quarantine I've been watching a looot of videos and as I try out different techniques and stuff, I've been finding what works best for me. That said, being patient and gentle with yourself is super important!! Listen to your body, it knows best, so if something feels weird or tense, pay attention. Also, from what I gathered, proper technique may vary slightly from person to person? So listening and watching around, before settling for oooone riiiiight truuuueee way *(relative)* might be a good idea 😊 Anyway, good luck and stay safe!
A couple more tips: Laying down or standing up, place your hands on your belly and breathe deep and slow, never allowing the belly to rise at all. Also, put your hands on the sides of your lower rib cage and breathe with the intention of pushing your hands outward with your ribs. You are after full ribcage expansion on every inhale with no belly movement at all. This is how we're meant to breathe. If the belly is rising then the diaphragm is drawing down too far and crushing your organs beneath it on each inhale. This can lead to a long list of health problems in the future. Practice this in bed at night and in the morning until it becomes habit. It's how we're meant to breathe and just happens to be great for singing, too.
I can clearly say you are the best coach on the entire.. youtube, nobody explains everything this nicely and deeply.
Thank you! Very kind of you to say.
very well explained. that's exactly, what Michael Trimble (former opera singer) on his chanel says over and over again: take a deep breath way down into your lower back!
I've watched a lot of Michael's videos in the past. I like what he says. This is the main way to breathe in Bel Canto singing. There are many pop and rock coaches who teach a lot of "belly breathing", and they call it Bel Canto, but they are incorrect. The Bel Canto inhale is always down and back, or just straight down with 360 degree expansion.
Starting to understand it. Thank you
Nice one Joe
Awesome thanks!
love ur work. thx joe
You're welcome! Thanks for taking the time to thank me. It keeps me going.
Loved this, Joeeee, thank you so much. It made perfect sense to me, cause I've only recently started to understand (and feel!) the difference between breathing with the belly, as in, focusing solely on "pushing the belly and ribcage out" (always resulting in tension, like, everywhere) vs. breathing as you say "down back and wide". Arden Kaywin has a lovely holistic approach to singing, and she makes some very interesting analogies and stuff 😊
Also, you seem like a really sweet person, you have a very gentle voice and there's this warmth about you that makes the videos even better 🌻 Idk, personally, I value the human factor above all else, jajajaja, so I appreciate that 🤷♀️ Anyway, hope you are fine, safe and healthy, and I look forward to checking out more of your videos 🍀🍀🍀🍀 Cheers, and best wishes!
Hi Rosario! I don't know how I missed this comment. Thank you so much. I like to reply to every comment I get and somehow this one slipped past me. I'm even farther along this year with my breathing. I'm more convinced than ever that the quality of my singing is dependent on the quality of my breathing technique. I hope you are well and having a nice holiday season.
So what you're saying is don't breath into your belly but breath into your ribs and feel the rib expansion. But everytime I do it, I can feel my chest slightly rising. (I was taught that a rising chest makes unnecessary tension.) Also, if I breath in too much, my chest area gets a little tight as well and it feels like I have something lodged in my throat. I also heard that my back my sides are also supposed to expand, but I only feel and see my ribs expanding. Do I suck in the lower part of my belly and rise the upper part of the belly and feel the ribs expand? Not to sure if I'm doing this correctly. Another question is, how am I suppose to sing after I breath through the ribs? Do I just keep that expansion all the through? Or let go of that expansion and transfer it to the belly? I tried to sing with the ribs expanded but I end up being short on breath and not being able to hit the notes I could with belly breathing. This is quite confusing.
Ha, it's super difficult to get the hang of it, and a good vocal coach or singing teacher will always make a big difference, of course.
I've been taking lessons, on and off, for almost 10 years now, with a bunch of different teachers, and I never quite got the hang of breathing, tension, bla bla. Something was always off, well, still is actually, but during this quarantine I've been watching a looot of videos and as I try out different techniques and stuff, I've been finding what works best for me. That said, being patient and gentle with yourself is super important!! Listen to your body, it knows best, so if something feels weird or tense, pay attention. Also, from what I gathered, proper technique may vary slightly from person to person? So listening and watching around, before settling for oooone riiiiight truuuueee way *(relative)* might be a good idea 😊 Anyway, good luck and stay safe!
This is a hard concept. Will keep trying
A couple more tips: Laying down or standing up, place your hands on your belly and breathe deep and slow, never allowing the belly to rise at all. Also, put your hands on the sides of your lower rib cage and breathe with the intention of pushing your hands outward with your ribs. You are after full ribcage expansion on every inhale with no belly movement at all.
This is how we're meant to breathe. If the belly is rising then the diaphragm is drawing down too far and crushing your organs beneath it on each inhale. This can lead to a long list of health problems in the future.
Practice this in bed at night and in the morning until it becomes habit. It's how we're meant to breathe and just happens to be great for singing, too.
Thank you. That was helpful. Re-learning how to breathe correctly is challenging.