Breathe

It's seems appropriate that the first post of my voice studio blog should be about breath. It is the source of singing. It is the source of life. Breath connects us to our bodies and connects us to our emotions. In our day-to-day lives most of us rely on shallow breathing but singing requires deep diaphragmatic breathing, a conscious full body experience.


When I ask new students what they know about singing all most all of them are quick to tell me that it's important to breathe from the diaphragm. When I ask them where the diaphragm is located and/or how it functions I usually receive shoulder shrugs and vague answers.



The diaphragm, is a dome shaped sheet of internal muscle that extends across the bottom of the rib cage. The diaphragm separates the heart, lungs & ribs (which is known as the thoracic cavity)from the abdominal area.

During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and the dome of the diaphragm flattens downward, thus enlarging the thoracic cavity. Enlarging the cavity creates suction that draws air into the lungs. When the diaphragm relaxes it moves upward and air is exhaled by elastic recoil of the lung and the tissues lining the thoracic cavity along with the abdominal muscles.