How deep should you breathe?

Written By Freya Astrella

At one point or another, a singer in training may be told to ‘sing from the diaphragm’. but what does that really mean?  

Firstly, what is the diaphragm? 

The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that sits underneath your lungs. It contracts to suck air into the lungs, and relaxes during the exhale as part of the ‘elastic recoil’ (think of a rubber band that has been stretched and released). It is active during the inhale, and (mostly) inactive during the exhale. 

How do you breathe from the diaphragm? 

Breathing is mostly an involuntary act – we breathe when we sleep right? However, we can override our automatic nervous system to consciously breathe deeper for singing. 

You do this by relaxing your abdominal wall to allow your diaphragm to fully contract. This simple release allows your lungs to fill up, almost to capacity. The diaphragm, when fully contracted, pushes your internal organs out the way, causing your belly to bulge out. 

So, when people say, “breathe into your belly”, this is what they are referring to. Many teachers ask you to place a hand over your belly button to feel this movement. Although, it is not your diaphragm you are feeling – it is the shift of your internal organs. 

In fact, you cannot directly feel or move the diaphragm, only the muscles attached to it such as the intercostal and abdominal muscles. 

When Should I Breathe Deeply? 

There is widespread disagreement about ‘proper breathing’ in the singing community. The reason for this is quite simple: there is more than one way to breathe for singing. 

Longer phrases need more breath than shorter ones. Breathy or airy voices need more air than clean voices. 

Pioneering voice researcher, Jo Estill simply suggested: “The breath must be allowed to adjust to what it meets on the way out.” By this, she means that the airflow and air pressure should be determined by the voice quality, not the respiratory muscles. 

Studies (1996, 1997)  on Country singers suggest that they sing with far less lung volume than classical singers, singing closer to the breathing patterns of speech. So, deep diaphragmatic breathing is not needed in Nashville! 

Interestingly, how you breathe can affect your tone. Lower, deeper breathing can pull the larynx into a lower position. Inversely, a quick, short, shallow breath tends to raise the larynx. 

Although a lower larynx is favoured in classical singing for a richer tone, it is now widely acknowledged that Belt (the high, loud, ‘money note’ commonly heard in pop music) requires a higher larynx. This means that if you want to reach those high notes without cracking, breathe shallow.  

Can This Cause Laryngeal Tension?  

Many trained singers learn classical breathing exercises regardless of the repertoire being sung. According to Wendy Leborgne and Marci Rosenberg, this “over-inflating” makes us work harder to hold our breath back, resulting in tension in the larynx. 

Anne-Marie Speed agrees that “abdominal pumping” as a way to engage the diaphragm is inefficient and potentially harmful. By purposely pushing air out after a deep inhale, you could cause tension around the vocal folds as they struggle to vibrate and hold back the breath. Too much air can blow the vocal folds apart, causing recognisable flips, cracks and yodels. 

Debbie Winter warns that a focus on breathing can cause a singer to over-breath, over-think and overwork. 

This blog was written by Freya Astrella, an expert vocal coach in East Sussex, UK.

Freya is a bonafide vocal technique expert and is one of the only teachers in the region to have gained Estill Voice certification. Freya holds a First Class BA(hons) in Professional Musicianship, a VocalTech Diploma, and a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance. She is currently undertaking the Vocal Process teacher training course.

Freya has taught all ages and abilities at BIMM, Access To Music, The Academy of Music And Sound, TheatreTrain, Stagecoach, and The Rock Project. She currently coaches at Rhapsody Artist Development in Seaford. Furthermore, Freya was a lead writer for VoiceCouncil.com, which was the biggest online resource for singers.

Freya Astrella
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