You're the first teacher who's made breathing make sense to me. "If you hold your rib position, the air just sits there", that just took so much tension out of my voice.
Thanks Karyn! The Farinelli Exercise really unlocked my voice as I had very bad vocal habits of both holding in and pushing out breath unnecessarily. The difference it made was astounding and I am confident that diligent application of this daily will helps us all towards vocal mastery!
Thank you! Increasing your control on air automatically increases your confidence that you will have enough air to finish a line. If you know you don't have that ability to manage your air, you will stress out. The natural effect will be a tense voice which will be felt by everybody in the audience.
Wow!!!! This really really worked! But I don’t know if this was supposed to happen. It increased my range!! I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t consistently hit high notes. And when I did sing the high notes consistently, my voice would easily tire. I do community theatre and I am always asked to do the high notes. We did Billie Jean, and I had all the high notes. My voice would tire if I had to practice the song more than 3 Times. This exercise allowed me to do Bruno Mars Notes! Now can’t stay up there like he can but I can atleast go there. I am also still trying to coordinate my breathing, but this definitely opened my throat. And my tone was also much better. I hope that this was not a fluke and 2 days from now I return to my old self. Thank you so much for this!!!
I'm so glad this exercise was effective for you and that you're already experiencing some of its benefits. This should not be a fluke so long as you consistently apply it. It will probably take time for you to fully integrate a new method of breath management into your working technique, and so it might be hit or miss for a while, but over time, with mindfulness in your practicing, you should develop a consistency. Please keep me updated on your progress.
@@adrianacapella8520 this is awesome Adrian. I don't know why but I remember the Farinelli technique from my vocal lessons in college. She is doing a great job. I studied vocal music ED at Furman and they teach the same thing! I teach this to my middle school chorus students.
Jazzy Trinity I so glad you just sent that message because I forgot all about it!!!😆 I’m going to start doing it throughout the day. That way I will never forget. Thank you so much!!!
I am a complete novice just starting lessons and have been given the Farinelli exercise to do. This is an excellent explanation of how to perform it and the body mechanics behind it. It answered several questions I had. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. My vocal coach suggested this video, and it makes so much sense. I will start working on it today. Being able to do this anywhere is a bonus.
Tenelli absolutely did disappear from RUclips! He had some good teachings on appoggio, for sure, but I think some found them to be a bit difficult to follow. I'm just teaching the basic concepts as I do with my students. I'm hoping to also record a video on how appoggio is applicable to CCM. I've had people in the past hear me teaching on appoggio and immediately rule it out as impractical for their singing needs. For CCM, we 'tweak' appoggio, of course, but there are some general principles that apply to all singers and all styles/genres. I really think that all singers, regardless of what they sing, should train this coordination.
I remember you helped me over the phone long distance and gave me vocal tips. I had gotten so much bogus advice before and you giving me tips and reading your site helped a lot. It's great to see you have a YT channel now and everything's going well. Thanks again.
My comprehension of this vocal technique has greatly benefited from using the Singingbelt. The difference it has made in my voice is substantial. I'm now a regular attendee of Ruth Gerson's class a couple of times per week, and her instruction is simply fantastic.
@ yes absolutely! After a while your body gets used to the appogio style breathing so even when you take the belt off it works. I like to use the belt when I’m warming up and doing vocal exercises and then take it off when I’m singing or practicing songs.
@@mariakhizar1346 yes absolutely, after a while you’re body will get used to breathing with the singing belt on, so even when you take it off, it’ll practice appogio breathing. In the beginning I used to wear it for warmups, vocal exercises, and practicing songs but slowly I started reducing the time I wear it as my breathing improved.
Finding this single video has helped me so much. This exercise really helps you focus on the fundamentals of singing and your explanation is great. Thank you.
Dear Karyn, I've subscribed to your channel a while ago already and I wanted to take the time to thank you for posting these videos. Your approach to sharing your knowledge with us is easily comprehensible and your positive spirit is a gift to the world! Keep it up! :)
Thank you so much. In all the vocal training I’ve had no instructor had ever explained breathing while singing. Which is crazy to me because your breath is the foundation of your singing. Thank you for your beautiful and precise explanation!♥️🫶🏽🙌🏽🎶
Hi Karyn! I would love to see a video about a criminally overlooked aspect of singing: Onsets!! Since they are intrinsically linked to good sound production and to the breath apparatus, I find it odd that almost none of the voice teachers I've had had focused exclusively on creating a coordinated onset as well as a clean offset or release. I hope you can find the time for one soon!
I've been wanting to record a video on onsets and releases. A couple months ago, I posted a video entitled 8 Essential Skills for Singers (ruclips.net/video/q1JncWeaseA/видео.html) in which I do discuss onsets briefly. The teaching on onsets (followed by releases of the tone) starts at the 6:38 mark.
This is type of information that you just wouldn't understand unless you already know and have very good idea of what you are doing. I've understood that I was applying the correct breathing technique only after so many trials and errors of singing. One of the most important things I've learned is: 1. Do not try to actively use abdominal or other muscles to emulate being filled with air. I used to do this for the longest time, thinking that it was the correct technique but it had adverse effect. 2. You are still breathing in with you lungs. When you breathe, it's just better to think that you are chest breathing than forcefully trying to emulate this expansion of the belly, side, and the back, which puts all unccessary pressure that leads to air being forced out. 3. Now with the elevated sternum upright posture, breathe as if you are doing regular chest breathing. Make sure that your chest and shoulder doesn't rise contrary to the regular chest breathing. 4. With all of this, the lateral and the backward expansion will occur passively: nothing forceful. All you now have to do is try to hold this position by trying to hold your breath in. Of course this is all subjective, but going back to the thought of regular chest breathing while only changing the posture really helped.
Fantastic !! What a clear, clever and simple explanation of how to really understand the Farinelli exercise!! Thank you so much !! I would have just one question if possible : do you keep in the 3rd phase of the exercise as you exhale, the sides of the ribs slightely expended? Or should the ribs come back completely to the initial position they had before inhalation? Thank you again!! This video was such a tremendous help and have allowed me to reach the feeling of freedom while singing any aria, even the onee I used to fight with!!😊❤
Hail and blessing.:) I like the way you explain the things. Pretty solid and scietifically. I think If I were a singing teacher and if I knew so much about voice as you do I would explain it in a similar way.
I have been doing something very similar to this for a long time. I had no idea it was an actual thing. The counting method is what was missing. Good stuff, nice video. Thanks.
should you breath from the nose or from the mouth? i ask his because breathing from my nose is does not really suck in much breath yet breathing from my mouth allows mean to sustain an inhale for very long.
Hello! Thank you so so much for this video! I was just wondering how can I properly do inhalation, because I feel I am having those feelings that you described in the over-inhalation. Also, when you do the exhalation I suppose you have to do it quite quick if you are doing 5 or 6 seconds, right? Do you have to exhalate until you feel you are quite "empty"?
Hi! Thank you so much for this video! I understand breathing a little bit better now but I'm still confused with the exhaling part. I don't understand which muscles SHOULD and SHOULDN'TBE relaxed when I'm exhaling. So the Ribs shouldn't be relaxed, they must stay expanded right? I also know that Chest shouldn't collapse. But what about my Abdomen, Sternum, Back and etc? Also should I exhale "down" or "forward" ??? Sorry I'm asking so many questions but Im really very confused...
Don't overthink if or force it. At some point (as lung volume drops below a certain level), you need to allow the ribs to descend and the diaphragm to ascend. This helps us maintain consistent subglottal pressures and placing the ribs and diaphragm in the right positions for the next inhale. We're not trying to PREVENT this from happening; we're merely trying to DELAY it briefly just so that we can manage our subglottal pressure and pace the outgoing breath a bit more effectively. The rib cage, as a whole, should not fall, and the sternum (breastbone) should not be allowed to sink into the chest in an unconscious attempt to compress the chest cavity to generate subglottal pressure. Honestly, if we just maintain good posture - tall , shoulders out to the sides (not rolling forward) - the sternum and ribcage will be in ideal positions for supporting our singing voices. There isn't much more that we have to worry about; just keeping a bit of lower rib expansion for the early part of the phrase. So don't try to prevent lower rib descent at all costs, and definitely not for the entire phrase. If you're resisting too much or for too long, you'll get a weakened tone or feel as though the breath is too 'held,' as though you can't move it properly through the glottis and you're 'stacking up breath pressure.' You may also experience discomfort or strain. If you start 'letting,' as opposed to 'forcing,' the air out, the right muscles will contract and/or relax at the right times and to the right extent. (When I think of the action of exhaling, I think more in terms of 'inward.' We expand 360 degrees, and so that action is simply reversed during the exhale.) Hope this offers some clarity. Let me know if you need any further guidance.
i need to work on this, coming to the voice as an instrumentalist is so sublime... its like, i cannot see what i am doing, i can only imagine the concepts... its the strangest thing ever!
Please tell me! Thankyou....so our lips must open in all process breathing? And we can exercise this while lying in bed or sitting, ir standing? Thankyou!!..❤
Thank you Karen- good, no, great info! I'm 66 and just getting started, why I never pursued a dream of mine my whole life IDK! But this is good. Tell me, is it too late for me?
Hi. That much of the exercise I understand. How can one apply it to singing? I have read a relative article but I would like to see it applied. Here is what I read. In addition to this exercise, my teacher then had me (immediately after finishing it; it seems these exercises become more beneficial if done this way) she had me do measured inhalations and singing combined. We would take a very quick inhalation (which should fill the lungs with all the air you need, even for a very long passage), then sing a line of music (it didn’t matter what, as we used repertoire most of the time, in fact, the music I was learning as it helped phrase it more effectively). Whatever length of time was written in the rests in the music was how long I had to take to inhale. If it were a single 16th rest, that is all the time I could take; and if it were a whole rest, I had to take that amount of time exactly. If the rests occurred over more than one measure, I slowly took in the breath at whatever pace I wanted, but allowed myself quite a bit of time for the pause before I began to sing. If multiple measures of rests occurred (you know, about 6 or more) I simply took in the breath at the end of the original phrase as the body wanted to take it in (which was quicker than one would think, like is natural when you need more breath), and I would breath normally and in the most relaxed fashion as I awaited my entrance. Now there after we used two different approaches to the next phrase of music: if I knew I would need a touch more breath than just what was in my lungs from normal breathing, I would anticipate the phrase, taking a measured breath in a few notes prior to entry but still allowing me time to pause before singing; but I was to make certain that at no time did I feel “filled up” with this measured breath, I was to feel simply like I was ready to sing; the other approach, if the amount of time was not too long a wait, was to simply activate the breathing mechanism as if I were going to sing right then, letting out a touch of air, pausing, then beginning the musical phrase I was to sing. It was completely up to me to decide which method best suited the situation. The key was to make sure there was no built up stress or pressure around the throat and no choking sensations. One was NEVER to feel “too full” of breath. If ever I felt too full, I was told to release as much breath as needed to remove that sensation, but do it before the time I had to sing, and still allow me time to pause and prepare all the support for the phrase. After singing a while like this, we then went to extremely long coloratura passages, ones that were many measures long, as long as 30 measures (we used much music written for the castrati). It was here I learned the art of partials and just how quickly they can flit by. Before beginning any long passage like that, we went through it to discover the musical phrases. Yes, long passages like that are actually made up of many much shorter phrases, and to make it seem as if you have never taken a breath at all it is absolutely essential that breathing never happen in the wrong place. Even if it is the shortest breath imaginable, it shines like the sun, as the hearer instantly hears an inappropriate break. I marked all these musical phrases with ticks. Actually, most of the castrati of old did the same thing with small dots over the ends of musical phrases to mark when partials were to be used. I had to remember that these partials were to be as small as possible, and that I was NOT filling the lungs to full capacity with them, but rather, only restoring what air I had already used. We began a bit slower so as to make sure I was accustomed to singing partials in the correct place and not lose the momentum of the music. Once I was used to the idea of where and when to breathe, we increased the tempo to the correct speed, and I had to keep all the partials where I had them marked. Once the skill is learned, one realizes that one NEVER has to tank up with air (which defeats the entire purpose of breathing forcing you to exhale all your air immediately). And one always has quite enough for any given phrase, for even the longest phrase is made up of many very small phrases.
Thank you for your great video. Basic question; I thought during exhalation, the ribs etc are supposed to stay expanded. Watching your good self, it seemed like there was a gentle exhale compression (ribs collapsing) a bit? Just wanting to be clear on this appoggio! 😉
We begin with the lower ribs in (with the external intercostals relaxed) and the diaphragm elevated/domed (at rest). When we inhale, the lower ribs expand, helping the diaphragm's descent as it contracts. As we sing our vocal phrases (on the exhale), we initially keep the lower ribs expanded in order to slow down the diaphragm's ascent, which helps to prevent the subglottal pressures from becoming too high. We slow its rise, not avoid it. We keep those lower ribs expanded for, as Richard Miller taught, "as long as is both possible and comfortable." 'Possible' can be interpreted in a couple different ways: 1) as long as the rib muscles (external intercostals) are able to maintain their contraction; or 2) as long as we're able to maintain a consistent subglottal pressure. At some point during the vocal phrase or exercise, lung volume decreases - it drops below a certain level - and the diaphragm needs to continue its ascent and the lower ribs (to which the diaphragm is attached) need to move inward in order to help maintain a consistent subglottal pressure through to the end of the phrase and in order to get the ribs and diaphragm ready for the next breath renewal. (In order to prepare for a proper breath renewal, we need to start with the diaphragm in its 'at rest' (high/elevated) position, which means that the lower ribs, to which the diaphragm is attached, also need to be in their pre-expanded positions. Otherwise, the breath will be shallow and ineffectual.) There are some who teach rib reserve breathing, which does entail avoiding all inward movement of the lower ribs throughout the entire vocal phrase, but I don't believe that this is in accordance with how the body (respiratory system) is designed to function and I don't believe that it's technically advantageous. So, that's why I teach an initial resistance of the lower ribs' inward movement (for the first half or so of the vocal phrase), but not a complete avoidance of it. I hope this clarifies my take on this technique.
How do I breathe for POP sound? I've heard from Michael Trimble that one of the most crucial things. When you breathe in, when you sing- it all depends on what you do when you breathe. So I'm wondering, how do I breathe for POP and what should happen when doing so? Because in Michaels videos he mostly comes from a opera perspective. His breathing lowers his larynx very much.
Hello Karyn! Your RUclips Channel has been of tremendous help for me cause you've tackled Breath Management thoroughly. I just have two questions (out of a many): Y'see it's weird cause they say I have good voice quality but lack breath support, like I can't sing a long phrase that's expected of me given my qualities. When it comes to hissing, I'd run out on 23 seconds. 1. I often times could inhale 7 fine, hold 7 fine, but expel faster. Sometimes, I'm having a hard time inhaling 7, hold 7 fine, exhale 7 fine. What am I doing wrong? 2. Do you have any other additional breathing exercises to recommend that could the trick for me? I'm doing the Farinelli's since I learned it from you but I just wanna make sure I'm doing everything it takes to gain the quickest improvement I could in breathing.
I'm so sorry, but I somehow didn't see your comment until now. If you're being told that you have a good voice quality, but lack breath support, that could mean a few things. It could mean that your tone is shaky, and so your breath is not well controlled. But sometimes that 'lacks breath support' is used as a synonym for 'doesn't sing loudly enough.' To me, to have good breath management is about being able to sing loudly. It's about being able to control the breath in all vocal situations (loud, soft, short tones, long tones, etc.) in order to keep the vocal folds healthy. If you're running out of breath too quickly, then perhaps you're not offering enough resistance at the glottal level (i.e., your vocal folds are approximating fully and your tone is airy as a result). If you're having difficulties with pacing the outgoing air (the last phase), then you're extending your inhale and exhale phases for too long. The goal here is to evenly pace all three phases, so reduce the first two phases to a length that will allow you to evenly pace the exhale phase. It takes time to be able to pace the entire cycle perfectly. I'm not sure which video I have this in, but the hiss and buzz type exercises are also helpful for developing a more controlled exhale phase, especially if you try to maintain some lower rib expansion throughout the first half of the exercise (like the middle phase of the Farinelli exercise, but without actually suspending the breath - allowing it out, instead). You could start with /ssss-zzzz-ssss/ each for four beats, all on a single breath. Start at a comfortable speech inflection range pitch, then move up in pitch. Then, you can try /ssss-zzzz-oooo-zzzz-ssss/, each for four beats and all on a single breath. Again, I apologize for the delay in responding to your questions. I hope you're doing well with this exercise and applying the coordination to your singing now.
She addressed this in another video (possibly not in this series). I believe her answer was (paraphrasing): Through your nose by default, except when you don't have time (e.g. when you need to take a quick, full breath in-between two long phrases) and then through the mouth (because you can take in more air, more quickly).
In this exercise, in the suspension (middle) portion, do you advocate the glottis being open as if air can flow in or out? What are the implications of that choice? Can you expand on your comments on over-filling, and the affects it has on the epiglottis? Is there generally a healthy parameter in which to operate? How do we reconcile statements from say, Caruso, who prescribes "filling up completely with air?" TIA
Thanks for your questions. In the suspension phase, we want the vocal tract to feel as open as it does during deep inhalation - we're simultaneously training the 'open throat' coordination - so the glottis should be open. Otherwise, we're just 'holding the breath' and building up subglottal pressure. Suspending the breath cycle is not precisely simulating what happens during exhalation, but neither is holding the breath (since, when singing, we need to allow air to move through the glottis). Additionally, if we're closing the glottis, then we're stopping the air with the vocal folds, rather than training the inspiratory musculature to do this job. I have some research in the bibliography for the book that I've been writing, but it would take some time for me to try to find the research papers that pertain to this reflex of the epiglottis. But if you try inhaling as fully as you possibly can, you'll probably experience this feeling of air filling up the supraglottal spaces. The pharynx will usually dilate and the larynx descend at first. But if you try to close the glottis at this point, it will feel uncomfortable. You'll probably feel the accessory muscles of respiration (e.g., scalenes and sternocleidomastoids) becoming activated in your neck and pulling up on the first and second ribs (as they do in high chest breathing), so there may be some tension in the neck, as well. I always tell singers to fill up just to the point where it's comfortable and will satisfy their singing needs. I've always had mixed feelings about Caruso's contention that "The lungs, in the first place, should be thoroughly filled. A tone begun with only half-filled lungs loses half its authority and is very apt to be false in pitch." On one hand, when the lungs are filled to capacity, subglottal pressures are going to be very high, which is not always ideal. So, (and especially if the singer is not holding back some of that pressure lower in the body, with the 'support' muscles), by filling up as much as possible - 'tanking up' - the singer is essentially making it harder to mitigate subglottal pressures. For some singers, a really deep inhale is undesirable, and so I encourage them to only fill up with enough air - and a little more - to complete the singing task at hand. If high subglottal pressures are needed, they can easily generate them with the expiratory forces (muscle driven rib descent, contraction of the abdominals, elastic recoil of the diaphragm, etc.) without having completely full lungs. And we have to remember that, even for a lot of intense singing - in both classical and CCM - long closed quotients (e.g., the 70% that is typically seen in belters and in many of today's operatic tenors) also contribute to high subglottal pressures. They're high subglottal pressure tasks with little transglottal airflow (due to the short open quotient of the glottis). So, unless the belted or forte phrase is extremely long, the singer can easily get through it without 'tanking up' first. On the other hand, I agree partly with Caruso's suggestion that pitch may become inaccurate when the lungs are full at the inhale. In particular, it's apt to fall flat. We do require an adequate supply of breath to get us through to the end of the phrase, sustained tone, or passage. If we don't have enough air, our pitch is likely to fall flat and weaken because we're not able to maintain a consistent level of subglottal pressure. There's only so 'squeezed' we can get with our muscles (e.g., abdominal girdle) and so compressed we can make the air in the lungs. So this, to me, really comes down to the singer being able to anticipate his or her air supply and sublgottal pressure needs at the time of inhalation. A singer who does a lot of breath work and takes the time to mark his/her music sheets with instructions regarding the timing and amount/extent of breath renewals is more apt to accurately anticipate and prepare for the phrase at the time of inhalation, thereby eliminating this tendency to either got flat in pitch or experience a tone that "loses half its authority." This is something that comes with experience. I don't believe that we always need to fill our lungs to capacity. Sometimes we do. And besides, not all singing is loud or requires high subglottal pressures.
I was a bit confused about suspension.. We neither breathe, breathe out or hold breathe. Do we actually hold breathe in suspension just with mouth open and vocal cords abducted?
We don't hold the air in by closing the glottis. We hold it in - suspend the breath cycle - by stopping the actions of the expiratory support muscles. If we basically put the posture of inhalation on pause, the inspiratory muscles (in particular the external intercostals) will remain contracted as though we're still inhaling. And we don't engage/contract the expiratory muscles during that phase. So he suspension comes mainly by the work of the inspiratory muscles. Hope this clears things up.
Hello Karyn, thank you for sharing all these. I have one question, When I am doing the inspiratory hold while doing the panting exercise, the muscles on the sides of my waist don't bounce/push out as much compared to when I am NOT doing the inspiratory hold. Am I locking the support or doing something wrong, or is it normal?
I've just started this today (my own singing coach recommends this exercise too) and my first problem is that when I'm at 'empty' the tendency is to automatically breathe in strongly at the beginning of the inhalation phase (after the pause) which makes it difficult to maintain the inhalation for longer counts as I tend to get 'full' too soon. So I guess it's just a matter of practise to prevent a strong start to the inhalation phase when empty? If you have any thoughts on this please let me know. Thank you for this excellent series; I really love the fact that you're giving so much back to the singing community by doing this.
When I say 'empty,' I don't mean it quite literally. It's more of an analogy than an actual physiological goal. If you empty too much, you will indeed feel desperate to take your next breath and replenish your air and oxygen supply. You don't want to get to that point. You want to feel comfortable, not desperate, and you always want to feel completely in control of the breath. That's the main goal of the exercise.
Thank you, Karyn, this is very helpful. It also works on the exhale too - now I'm not feeling that I need to exhale more strongly in order to be 'empty' on shorter counts, just keeping it comfortable and under control. I'm also wondering if it isn't also actually OK to use a shorter inhale, changing the cycle, so that it more closely resembles what you encounter when singing, the need to fill up quickly? Perhaps I should see if you have released the video on 'partial breath renewal' that you referred to. That might be the answer.
It's certainly okay to take a faster inhale. The reason why we pace the breath cycle so differently from normal in the Farinelli exercise is train the strength, endurance, and coordination of the inspiratory muscles. A slow inhale, though, is obviously not practical in most singing situations. I have not yet recorded the video on partial breath renewals. I decided to take a break from the breath management topic for a while because it's exhausting having to deal with so many differences of opinion! When I'm feeling better, I'll probably record that partial breath renewal video.
Dear Karyn, thank you so much for this great amount of information that really helps! As I am practicing the Farinelli exercise, I am mostly struggling to lengthen my inhalation phase, so I came up with this question: since we usually have time for medium to short breaths during singing, what is the purpose of slowing down our inhalation to 9 or 10 seconds? This made my muscles lock and I feel I am overbreathing. After a couple of attempts, I was tempted to shorten the inhalation to 1-2 seconds and focus on long hold and appoggio exhalation. Would that be another helpful exercise by the way? Thank you in advance!
Your knowledge and advice is really really good and accurate, thank you !! I wanted to ask more about the inhale. We inhale yet, not want to filled up till the throat. That kinda gives the sensation that the air is going on the back. So i have two questions: You shouldn't take more breath while increasing the numbers, but make a good management though the time, right?
My understanding of "twang" is that the epiglottis restricts which creates supraglottic pressure, thereby matching the subglottic pressure from the lungs and allowing for a focused and ringing tone. If the subglottic pressure is reduced, could that effect the power of the resulting tone, assuming the epiglottis is narrowed?
Hi Karyn! Thank you so much for your videos! I read through all the comments, and didn't see this question that I have: During the Farinelli exercise, should we keep our lower ribs expanded even during the exhale phase at first, as if we were treating it as the beginning of a sung phrase? Or just let the lower ribs descend immediately during the exhale phase of the exercise, since we "suspended" them already in the suspend phase (even though we weren't letting any air out yet--as we would have in an actual sung phrase)? It does appear in the video that you immediately allow the ribs to descend in your exhale phase. Hopefully that question makes sense? Let me know if it needs clarification.
I find that when the phase lengths are shorter, the ribs will tend to come in at the start of the exhale phase. (We need to get all that air out in just a few counts.) But when the breath cycle is longer, some singers maintain a bit of the expansion for the first couple counts of the exhale phase. It really depends on the individual.
Just for clarity , can you sing during the breath suspension then continue throughout the exhalation to finish off very long phrases ? Is that the idea behind farinelli breathing technique?
Thanks so much! first try and my phrase doubled and voice more stable for like ten minutes. Some tension in the shoulder though. is that from posture? cuz when I sing from stomache I don't have this problem. How do I ensure the rib tension doesn't transfer to shoulder?
I'm glad to hear it has helped. You need to make sure that your shoulders are dropped as you sing. Before you inhale, get your posture ready - elevate the sternum and drop the shoulders. Then take your inhale, with expansion in the middle region. You might be getting tense shoulders because you're raising them as you inhale.
What a great exercise! Thanks Karyn for the thorough explanation! I tried it and was actually able to go up to 15 seconds for each phase except the exhale got really hard. I mean I was so much less able to actually exhale for so long because the air just wanted to rush out even though I did not feel like I would have overfilled my lungs because the holding phase was just as smooth and open as it was for shorter counts... Any idea why the exhale might have been so difficult? I only can guess that my muscles are just not used to yet to such control... Interestingly when you were explaining the details I imagined a zip bag... when it is brand new it is completely empty and the zip part closed, but as you open it the inside fills up with air (as we pull on the two sides similar to when we open a bag of chips) and then we keep the bag open (without any pressure the air just inside the bag) and then if we want to empty it again then we need to slowly squeeze the air out - from the bottom up - but the air is still NOT rushing out like it would be from a balloon...) So, I guess the Farinelli exercise is like training our lungs to be more like plastic bags instead of balloons... ;)
Good analogy! If you're unable to get through the exhale phase in a controlled and evenly pace manner, then you're extending the entire breath cycle for too long. You're dealing not only with the recoil forces that want to bring the ribs down and the diaphragm up, but also with your body's need to exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. Having a super extended breath cycle is not nearly as important as having a controlled and evenly paced one.
Great video, thanks! Do you have a video on breathing 101? I keep getting told different things, particularly in terms of how the abdomen is involved, and would appreciate a quick, thorough re-education! :-) I do lots of pilates and love it and how much it helps my posture and rib breathing for singing, but I've heard different things about pilates not engaging abdominal breathing properly. How does that work/how is singer's breathing different, since I need to engage my core and maintain abdominal stability for good posture - how am I supposed completely relax my abdomen for breathing without compromising posture? Wouldn't it follow that singers would all have weak abdominal muscles? Sorry, lots of questions! :-)
I am a Pilates Mat Instructor. I would add in some Yoga postures to keep the abdominals flexible. Also, since the breathing patterns are different, you begin to fill the whole body with air
Cool, thanks for the advice! :-) Since you know pilates, does the transverse abdominis and pelvic floor still stay engaged and pulled in, or are they relaxed as well? How are those muscles involved in singing? :-)
Thanks for your question. I have a few videos related to breathing that you can find in my playlists on this channel. The first video was about posture that helps us get the best breath possible, as well as how to inhale properly. I have another video that explains what subglottal pressure is and talks about managing it (ruclips.net/video/9SNT2Aji_FE/видео.html). I'm trying to present this concept in a somewhat systematic way. You don't completely relax your abdominal muscles for supporting the tone. You are engaging those muscles to help generate the subglottal pressure that you need to initiate and sustain your tones. The only difference that I'm suggesting here is that we simultaneously keep the inspiratory muscles somewhat engaged - they dynamically oppose the expiratory forces to help keep them in check, but don't prevent them from working. The entire torso - all the muscles of the abdomen, ribs, and back - are engaged during breathing for singing. It's actually when we over distend the belly (protrude it too far forward) that our posture is negatively affected (e.g., the balance and centre of gravity are shifted, and the lower back will tend to sway a bit). So getting and maintaining a 360 expansion around the middle of the body helps to maintain good posture and stability because both the back and abdominal muscles are engaged (in a dynamic opposition - antagonist - sort of way). So singers most definitely engage their abdominals when exhaling. They just don't completely release the inspiratory intercostals until later in the phrase. I hope that clears things up for you.
Should you breathe out until "empty" on the exhale? This means for me I have to force the air out, because if I don't, I only exhale about half that I inhaled in the same amount of time.
How is the stomach supposed to be during be during the appoggio technique. Is it supposed to suck in while the ribs and obliques expand? Or is the stomach supposed to stay out?I’m still confused on that
Hello Karyn, Just wondering how do we know whether we are holding our breath at the throat level you mentioned? I am trying to put a pause on the inhale during the suspend stage but it kinda still feels like there is this slight feeling in the throat. Is it as long as we dont reach the max level of inhale (overfilling) we shouldnt be holding the breath at the throat level? thank you, grace
There's something that I can't fully understand. In the exhale part it is impossible to maintain that "open" posture, some muscles has to get in, not by force, not intentionally, but in orden to not create a vacuum it's necessary to let some muscle get in. My question is wich one? My lower abs? Upper abs? Rib cage? Chest? Wich muscle I have to stay in place and wich muscle I must let go?
Thanks for the video! I'm a fan! You always explain things so well. Could I still use diaphragmatic breathing when singing in conjunction with practising this technique? Or do the two not go together?
The diaphragm is always involved in 'support,' but if you're talking about the 'diaphragmatic support' that involves thrusting the abdominal wall inward, then this exercise will not train that coordination. (I have a video on Appoggio versus Diaphragmatic Support that explains the differences between these two support strategies.) The Farinelli Exercise is designed to help slow and control the rise of the diaphragm (part of appoggio) - to pace the outgoing breath - but 'diaphragmatic support,' as it's often taught, encourages the diaphragm to move upward rapidly. Our needs for subglottal pressure change all the time, and consequently, the coordination that we employ when managing our breath changes. My belief is simply that, even when we need higher subglottal pressures (e.g., belting), we still need to manage the ascent of the diaphragm to avoid negative consequences going upward along the vocal tract (e.g., trying to manage these pressures with the muscles of the throat).
Hey I just to thank you for this video. There are times i sang high notes and don't feel my neck straining. However my tone is struggling to control the intensity of the mixed note registers. Two common issues that I always deal with is singing back of the throat when too much air is applied or neckish when there isn't enough air quality. Do you have a video that talks about tone balance and clarity pitch?
I am not trying to cause problems, but there is a total difference in what you say vs what Guy Babusek says in regards to this, which might explain my confusion. While you say the retention phase is unlike anything we see in singing (therefore looking towards the exhalation phase, as the way to control the out going breath) Guy states that the exhalation phase is *not* what we are going for in singing, but rather that breath retention phase. For the retention phase, I can both single out my lower rib muscles as bearing the brunt of the work, vs recruiting the help of the upper rib muscles (not clavicular breathing) as well. Which of these sounds correct to you? I might have already answered my own question, as an inhalation recruiting the help of the upper rib muscles helps me to keep an open throat, whilst simply focusing on the lower rib muscles (and disregarding the upper rib muscles) makes my throat feel tight or squeezed, and produces a "squeezier", more choked sound. Hope to hear from you! Thank-you very much in advance.
What I mean by that statement is that we simply don't ever stop the breath flow (or leave the glottis completely open) during singing as we do during the middle phase of the Farinelli exercise. Air must move during phonation/singing (and the vocal folds must be approximated). But we train this retention phase because, during singing, we want to encourage more and continuous engagement of the inspiratory forces during the exhale phase in order to control and pace the outgoing airflow and manage subglottal pressures. Throughout this video (e.g., starting at the 7:14 mark), as well as in other videos on the topic of breath management, I have talked about maintaining the 'inspiratory hold' for 'as long as is both possible and comfortable.' I also talk about how the middle phase of this exercise is the most critical because this is the phase that strengthens the inspiratory musculature and trains that control. Starting at the 9:01 mark, I talk about maintaining the inspiratory posture for at least part of the vocal phrase. So, Guy and I are not in total disagreement. As for whether or not the upper rib muscles should become engaged, I think it actually depends on the individual and the kind of singing being done. When I'm singing full voiced in head voice or belting higher, I barely feel any sense of engagement of my upper rib muscles - it's very subtle. The bulk of the engagement sensation is in my transverse and oblique muscles with very noticeable resistance of the lower ribs to collapsing - they remain expanded/open - and some in my pelvis. When I'm not singing forte, I only notice the engagement in the transverse and obliques, with the lower intercostals working to keep the lower ribs up. Richard Miller often wrote of the pectoral muscles becoming engaged. I, personally, do not experience my sense of 'support' there, but it could simply be a matter of the type of singing that I do and also my individual anatomy. One thing that I will say is that if we 'bear down,' that can indeed lead to the feeling of the throat tightening. Air will not move properly. It's all about balance and finding what works for us as individuals. This includes breath management. There are some general principles that apply to all individuals for all singing styles, but then there is a bit of wiggle room.
Wow, thanks for the quick response! Ah okay, that makes SO much more sense to me now. I understand that we are indeed to hold the inspiratory posture, as you both *clearly* indicate. I think I became confused with the wording, as I was hyper-focusing (and that out of context it seems). My apologies (: . I am seriously struggling with the Farinelli exercise (my exhales are *super slow*, and if I pushed the exhale at all, my tongue would respond with pain, clearly indicating "STOP!".) I keep am having trouble exhaling on a 4 count. (I have yet to try it however while engaging the pectoral muscles.) When you speak of "bearing down", do you mean that I am using "too much" external force to hold my ribs out? Maybe I need to relax a little? Lol. Have you ever experienced the "pressing the breath" against the chest, as people like Lilli Lehmann will suggest?
By 'bearing down' I mean the sensation and coordination of a bowel movement (or pushing out a baby). Some pedagogues teach this concept (or pushing down and out) as a means of maintaining lateral expansion and mitigating subglottal pressures, but I've found that in every case that I've come across, it merely leads to a whole host of problems. When I'm singing classically in the head register, I do experience a degree of this 'pressing the breath against the chest.' You might find that the imagery of a little person leaning up against the inside walls of your ribs helpful. With the Farinelli exercise, it may be helpful to simply 'let the air out' by relaxing the lower ribs (but not depressing the sternum into the chest). This is like a sigh, but silent. The throat has to be very open/released for the air to pass freely and efficiently. At the 4 count, I don't attempt to maintain rib expansion during the exhale phase. I just let them come back down and the diaphragm to ascend to its pre-inspiration posture. (I've already had four seconds of the inspiratory hold by the start of the exhale phase, anyway.) It's usually not until about the 6 count that I start having to maintain a degree of lateral expansion during the first couple seconds of the exhale phase. (Remember that, at some point, the ribs need to lower and the diaphragm needs to rise so that they can prepare for the next inhale. We don't need to keep the ribs raised at all costs, and especially if doing so is causing discomfort, throat pain, inefficiency with the breath, pressed phonation, etc..) Honestly, don't overthink it. Don't try to micromanaged every muscle in your torso in an attempt to get this right. That will actually lead to imbalances and poor coordination, with each muscle doing its own thing and not working in concert with one another. This exercise - and all breathing during singing - should feel comfortable. You may feel a sense of 'work' happening - 'engagement' - but it shouldn't be uncomfortable, painful, or awkward, or something that distracts you.
Hi Karyn, I'm having a difficult time with the exhalation part of this exercise. I can inhale for four counts and suspend it for four counts, but by the time it is time to release, my body wants to push out the air rather than let it out over several counts. Sometimes if I am counting at a higher number, I can get the first few seconds of exhalation to be regulated, but I have a hard time getting through the last few seconds. Is this just indicative of weak muscles that need training? Would regular practice help train the muscles in the right way?
You may need to decrease your count, even if that means sticking to something like 3-3-3 and not increasing it for a while. Or, you can try shortening the middle (retention phase) so that you can have better control over the exhale phase. A lot of singers find this exercise deceptively challenging. Don't be afraid to improvise and adjust the exercise according to your unique needs. You will get better with this over time. Your muscles will get stronger and your coordination better. Keep at it!
So when we do 3-3-3 are we supposed to inhale less deeply so we can exhale to empty, or are we supposed to inhale fully and use the lower ribs only to force out the breath so it exhaust the air faster?
Appoggio is a way of managing our breath and keeping our throats open by keeping some lateral expansion (sideways rib expansion) and slowing down the rise of the diaphragm as we exhale (sing). It's a strategy that can be used for by singers. You should find a few videos on the topic of appoggio in my breath management playlist.
Thank you Karyn, but your hand shouldnt move in when you exhale because you need to suspend that posture for appoggio to work. It would be good if you also quote Richard Miller in your website article and video technique if you are using his book as your modern explanation for old technique. Otherwise, your work as singing teacher is great, i am only concern that Appoggio cannot be taught by "concept" it should be demonstrated with vocal phonation.
God! teacher, please could you explain what happened after 10 or even 15; there is no place where get " air"; ribs should not be more open , even at the back...thanks would be great to follow you doing the exc; the problem is not 10 ; it is upwards; Im triple colocature; included flute voice ; but ... Im advanced opera singer; specialized in " barroque time". I do not the air throatly; I can even talk or sing before expelling I feel " confortable" very very relaxed for doing it... Messa di voce is also a challenge; mellismatics mov. etc, basket of thanks and the best Seeing is believing!!!😂😂😂❤❤❤
every time I sing through the passagio I seem to break in intervals. going upwards I break from the note up the a fifth, downwards I go a third I suspect I compress during my passagio. Any reasoning behind it skipping in intervals?
Sometimes it feels like my neck is slightly chocking. I find my breathing is relaxed only when I lean forward and focus on my lower back for the air to fill up.
Hmm - Struggle with suspension (stop the continuation of something) without holding my breath. So I failed there since I can't or understand your explanation and HOW TO do suspension. Sing when in suspension - Hmmm - I wish you would have demo by singing. Cause singing while trying to suspend I found difficult.
You're probably inhaling too deeply. If you inhale too deeply (and exhale too deeply) each time, you may get a bit lightheaded because your respiratory system will start to get into a sort of hyperventilation state. Try inhaling just a little bit less air each time and see if that helps.
It depends somewhat on whether your're singing in a classical or commercial style. The classical tenor would increase the 'outward' resistance (but not the compression of the air from down lower in the body) when going through the passaggio (more than the CCM tenor would) in order to avoid 'pushing' through the passaggio, which could lead to forcing too much breath pressure, throat constriction (leaning on the muscles of the throat to try to generate power or control the breath), a high larynx, etc.. The only thing that we're trying to accomplish here is a slight resistance to the early collapse of the lower ribs, as this helps pace and control the rise of the diaphragm (as opposed to forcing it up immediately) and thus keep the subglottal pressures at manageable levels - high, if needed, yes, but not TOO high. The degree (and duration) of the resistance depends on the singing task - dynamics, length of the vocal phrase, lung volume (how much air is in the lungs at that moment), etc.. We don't want to generate subglottal pressure at the onset by collapsing the ribcage (lower ribs and sternum). The idea is to leave all the subglottal pressure generation to the abdominal muscles until later in the phrase when the ribs need to come inward - in a controlled manner - so that the diaphragm can ascend fully in preparation for the next breath. We're merely pacing the exhale phase of the breath cycle differently by attempting to slow the rise of the diaphragm (avoid forcing it up at the onset of sound). But this kind of control over the subglottal pressure is most critical in the passaggio area and above, where singers tend to try to force their sound too much. Appoggio (even if slightly modified for CCM) can help with this. It's not always intuitive, and it takes a bit of practice and figuring out how much expansion needs to remain and for how long for the given the task - there will be a bit less for CCM, which requires higher subglottal pressures (e.g., belting) and has shorter phrases. There's a fine line between keeping the subglottal pressures manageable and having them be too low, or holding back the air too much, which is undesirable and equally unhealthy as having too high a subglottal pressure. Air still needs to move through the glottis/past the vocal folds. Hope this helps. I've been wanting to demonstrate another aspect of this technique, but I've been without my laptop (and thus editing software) for over a week. I'll try to post that soon and maybe that technique might help make more sense of the coordination.
singwisevocals First I want to say thank you for replying and Second, I am currently training as a classical tenor. I tried this breathing technique today and i have to say it helped a lot with long phrases. My particular problem however is everytime i get to a F natural (almost like its involuntary) my tone becomes very throaty. And I lose my natural tone color. My teacher says I just need to Support it to get to the G natural comfortably. If you end up talking about the coordination in a later video, could i possibly request that you also go in depth on how to keep an even tone across you range as well as neutralizing the throaty sound on high notes? Thank you and I hope to see more on this.
singwisevocals to get a better understading of my vocal issues there is a video uploaded on my channel of a ttbb quartet, myself being furthest to the right.
I plan to record some videos on the topics of equalization of the scale, registration transitions, eliminating breaks, and singing high notes in the near future. They're very involved topics, and I will have to break them down into multiple videos and do some planning.
I think the issue on the word 'die' - the high note - is that you're singing borderline voce aperta because the vowel is too AH. You might do better with UH, which will keep the voice closed (voce chiusa), but not too closed.
Try to expel the air in a very paced manner. The goal is to always go from 'empty to full' evenly over the given count, then from 'full to empty' over the given count. If the count is only 4, then you'll need to expel the air more rapidly than you would if the count were 10. It takes a lot of practice to master control over this - breath pacing. It's more challenging than it seems!
Thanks for you help. You may here from me a lot. I have been singing for 17 years and picked up so many bad habits and got and strayed off somewhere. so I'm having a complete re- boot
Hi!. Could you please clarify this. So at the end, after you exhale out all the air, do you have to wait the same count before starting a new circle? I watched another youtube video and that instructor suggests to hold after the last exhale. Also when I tried this exercise, I can exhale slowing according to the number I count, but for the inhale, it seems like the longest I can inhale (to have a maximum air intake) is around 6 or 7 counts, can't do any longer. Do you know why? Thank you so much
I don't teach a hold or pause between breath cycles. Some believe that there is a natural pause that occurs during normal, 'at rest' breathing, but I don't feel as though the breath renewals of singing are conducive to that kind of a pause. It's simply not practical, and our need for air is higher during singing. The pause is also not part of the original Farinelli Exercise, which was comprised of only three phases. Additionally, the most important phases of the exercises - the coordination and actions that are most relevant and applicable to singing - are the middle and last phases. It's really common for singers to struggle more with the inhalation phase of the breath cycle because we're accustomed to drawing in our air and replenishing our oxygen much more rapidly. Also, if you're taking your breath up high in the chest or extending the exhale phase to the point where your oxygen and residual air supplies are too low, then you may struggle with getting a slow and controlled inhale. I would suggest shortening the exercise overall to accommodate the maximum length of your inhale phase. The length of the phase is less important than developing the coordination itself.
Hey Karyn! I Would Love To Learn That Appogio Breathing But I already Taught Diafragmatic Support Trough Years I Studyed Pop & Jazz Singing . But Now I wanna Learn Something New . I Wonder If You Can Help me , I Can make a Video OF Me trying to Do This Italian Appogio Technique . and you tell me If It's Wrong or not . cuz i honestly can't see my ribs.expanding i can only see my Belly Full as i said . Thank you . Awesome Vid.
I don't know, but a 1:30 breath cycle is not 'normal.' It's possible that you are inadvertently (and covertly) inhaling and exhaling during the middle phase. I'd have to see you do this to know for sure what's going on.
tocutebabi Either will do. Breathing through the nose is more beneficial, though, because it moistens, filters, warms, and slows the air. I usually breathe through my mouth because of chronic allergies, but also because doing so sets up the vocal tract by raising the soft palate. If you breathe through the nose, just ensure that you're 'opening' the throat.
You're the first teacher who's made breathing make sense to me. "If you hold your rib position, the air just sits there", that just took so much tension out of my voice.
Thanks Karyn! The Farinelli Exercise really unlocked my voice as I had very bad vocal habits of both holding in and pushing out breath unnecessarily. The difference it made was astounding and I am confident that diligent application of this daily will helps us all towards vocal mastery!
This is the best explanation of the Farinelli exercise that I have heard.
Thank you! Increasing your control on air automatically increases your confidence that you will have enough air to finish a line. If you know you don't have that ability to manage your air, you will stress out. The natural effect will be a tense voice which will be felt by everybody in the audience.
Wow!!!! This really really worked! But I don’t know if this was supposed to happen. It increased my range!! I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t consistently hit high notes. And when I did sing the high notes consistently, my voice would easily tire. I do community theatre and I am always asked to do the high notes. We did Billie Jean, and I had all the high notes. My voice would tire if I had to practice the song more than 3 Times.
This exercise allowed me to do Bruno Mars Notes! Now can’t stay up there like he can but I can atleast go there. I am also still trying to coordinate my breathing, but this definitely opened my throat. And my tone was also much better. I hope that this was not a fluke and 2 days from now I return to my old self. Thank you so much for this!!!
I'm so glad this exercise was effective for you and that you're already experiencing some of its benefits. This should not be a fluke so long as you consistently apply it. It will probably take time for you to fully integrate a new method of breath management into your working technique, and so it might be hit or miss for a while, but over time, with mindfulness in your practicing, you should develop a consistency. Please keep me updated on your progress.
singwisevocals Thank very much I will SO keep you updated 😊
@@adrianacapella8520 this is awesome Adrian. I don't know why but I remember the Farinelli technique from my vocal lessons in college. She is doing a great job. I studied vocal music ED at Furman and they teach the same thing! I teach this to my middle school chorus students.
Jazzy Trinity I so glad you just sent that message because I forgot all about it!!!😆 I’m going to start doing it throughout the day. That way I will never forget. Thank you so much!!!
@@adrianacapella8520 how are you doing around 5 years later?
I am a complete novice just starting lessons and have been given the Farinelli exercise to do. This is an excellent explanation of how to perform it and the body mechanics behind it. It answered several questions I had. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. My vocal coach suggested this video, and it makes so much sense. I will start working on it today. Being able to do this anywhere is a bonus.
I love that you've been teaching appoggio. Franco Tenelli on RUclips had a whole series on it, then took off and left, lol.
Tenelli absolutely did disappear from RUclips! He had some good teachings on appoggio, for sure, but I think some found them to be a bit difficult to follow. I'm just teaching the basic concepts as I do with my students. I'm hoping to also record a video on how appoggio is applicable to CCM. I've had people in the past hear me teaching on appoggio and immediately rule it out as impractical for their singing needs. For CCM, we 'tweak' appoggio, of course, but there are some general principles that apply to all singers and all styles/genres. I really think that all singers, regardless of what they sing, should train this coordination.
OMG I loved Tenelli and all of his videos.
He made everything so understandable for me.
Thank you so much Karyn
You're welcome.
I remember you helped me over the phone long distance and gave me vocal tips. I had gotten so much bogus advice before and you giving me tips and reading your site helped a lot. It's great to see you have a YT channel now and everything's going well. Thanks again.
I'm so glad that my advice was helpful to you back then! Thanks for visiting this channel!
My comprehension of this vocal technique has greatly benefited from using the Singingbelt. The difference it has made in my voice is substantial. I'm now a regular attendee of Ruth Gerson's class a couple of times per week, and her instruction is simply fantastic.
After using Singingbelt, can you hear the difference even when you're not wearing it?
@ yes absolutely! After a while your body gets used to the appogio style breathing so even when you take the belt off it works. I like to use the belt when I’m warming up and doing vocal exercises and then take it off when I’m singing or practicing songs.
@@mariakhizar1346 yes absolutely, after a while you’re body will get used to breathing with the singing belt on, so even when you take it off, it’ll practice appogio breathing. In the beginning I used to wear it for warmups, vocal exercises, and practicing songs but slowly I started reducing the time I wear it as my breathing improved.
The 'empty tube' analogy really helped me out. Great video as usual.
I'm glad it helped!
Finding this single video has helped me so much. This exercise really helps you focus on the fundamentals of singing and your explanation is great. Thank you.
6:40 Timestamp for daily practice ✨
This video changed my life. Thank you x
Dear Karyn, I've subscribed to your channel a while ago already and I wanted to take the time to thank you for posting these videos. Your approach to sharing your knowledge with us is easily comprehensible and your positive spirit is a gift to the world! Keep it up! :)
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words! I appreciate the support.
Thank you so much. In all the vocal training I’ve had no instructor had ever explained breathing while singing. Which is crazy to me because your breath is the foundation of your singing. Thank you for your beautiful and precise explanation!♥️🫶🏽🙌🏽🎶
Hi Karyn! I would love to see a video about a criminally overlooked aspect of singing: Onsets!! Since they are intrinsically linked to good sound production and to the breath apparatus, I find it odd that almost none of the voice teachers I've had had focused exclusively on creating a coordinated onset as well as a clean offset or release. I hope you can find the time for one soon!
I've been wanting to record a video on onsets and releases. A couple months ago, I posted a video entitled 8 Essential Skills for Singers (ruclips.net/video/q1JncWeaseA/видео.html) in which I do discuss onsets briefly. The teaching on onsets (followed by releases of the tone) starts at the 6:38 mark.
Okay, great! I know you're busy so no worries!
This is type of information that you just wouldn't understand unless you already know and have very good idea of what you are doing. I've understood that I was applying the correct breathing technique only after so many trials and errors of singing. One of the most important things I've learned is:
1. Do not try to actively use abdominal or other muscles to emulate being filled with air. I used to do this for the longest time, thinking that it was the correct technique but it had adverse effect.
2. You are still breathing in with you lungs. When you breathe, it's just better to think that you are chest breathing than forcefully trying to emulate this expansion of the belly, side, and the back, which puts all unccessary pressure that leads to air being forced out.
3. Now with the elevated sternum upright posture, breathe as if you are doing regular chest breathing. Make sure that your chest and shoulder doesn't rise contrary to the regular chest breathing.
4. With all of this, the lateral and the backward expansion will occur passively: nothing forceful. All you now have to do is try to hold this position by trying to hold your breath in.
Of course this is all subjective, but going back to the thought of regular chest breathing while only changing the posture really helped.
Hi, I am a voice teacher from Brazil. This video gave great ideas to work with my students, thank you!
Fantastic !! What a clear, clever and simple explanation of how to really understand the Farinelli exercise!!
Thank you so much !!
I would have just one question if possible : do you keep in the 3rd phase of the exercise as you exhale, the sides of the ribs slightely expended?
Or should the ribs come back completely to the initial position they had before inhalation?
Thank you again!! This video was such a tremendous help and have allowed me to reach the feeling of freedom while singing any aria, even the onee I used to fight with!!😊❤
awesome, this is gonna be my favorite exercise^^
:)
You are a wonderful person!
Hail and blessing.:)
I like the way you explain the things. Pretty solid and scietifically. I think If I were a singing teacher and if I knew so much about voice as you do I would explain it in a similar way.
That's a very nice compliment! Thank you.
Your my new savior! Thanks!
I have been doing something very similar to this for a long time. I had no idea it was an actual thing. The counting method is what was missing. Good stuff, nice video. Thanks.
Thank you so much, verry good teaching!!!
Thank you ever so much for sharing for knowledge and expertise, Maestra. Very didactical the way you explain these important technique aspects.
should you breath from the nose or from the mouth? i ask his because breathing from my nose is does not really suck in much breath yet breathing from my mouth allows mean to sustain an inhale for very long.
Hello! Thank you so so much for this video! I was just wondering how can I properly do inhalation, because I feel I am having those feelings that you described in the over-inhalation. Also, when you do the exhalation I suppose you have to do it quite quick if you are doing 5 or 6 seconds, right? Do you have to exhalate until you feel you are quite "empty"?
Hi! Thank you so much for this video! I understand breathing a little bit better now but I'm still confused with the exhaling part. I don't understand which muscles SHOULD and SHOULDN'TBE relaxed when I'm exhaling. So the Ribs shouldn't be relaxed, they must stay expanded right? I also know that Chest shouldn't collapse. But what about my Abdomen, Sternum, Back and etc? Also should I exhale "down" or "forward" ??? Sorry I'm asking so many questions but Im really very confused...
Don't overthink if or force it. At some point (as lung volume drops below a certain level), you need to allow the ribs to descend and the diaphragm to ascend. This helps us maintain consistent subglottal pressures and placing the ribs and diaphragm in the right positions for the next inhale. We're not trying to PREVENT this from happening; we're merely trying to DELAY it briefly just so that we can manage our subglottal pressure and pace the outgoing breath a bit more effectively. The rib cage, as a whole, should not fall, and the sternum (breastbone) should not be allowed to sink into the chest in an unconscious attempt to compress the chest cavity to generate subglottal pressure. Honestly, if we just maintain good posture - tall , shoulders out to the sides (not rolling forward) - the sternum and ribcage will be in ideal positions for supporting our singing voices. There isn't much more that we have to worry about; just keeping a bit of lower rib expansion for the early part of the phrase. So don't try to prevent lower rib descent at all costs, and definitely not for the entire phrase. If you're resisting too much or for too long, you'll get a weakened tone or feel as though the breath is too 'held,' as though you can't move it properly through the glottis and you're 'stacking up breath pressure.' You may also experience discomfort or strain. If you start 'letting,' as opposed to 'forcing,' the air out, the right muscles will contract and/or relax at the right times and to the right extent. (When I think of the action of exhaling, I think more in terms of 'inward.' We expand 360 degrees, and so that action is simply reversed during the exhale.) Hope this offers some clarity. Let me know if you need any further guidance.
I benefited by your answer. Thank you very much!
i need to work on this, coming to the voice as an instrumentalist is so sublime... its like, i cannot see what i am doing, i can only imagine the concepts... its the strangest thing ever!
Thanks much. Really love the clarity.
Thank you so much for the tips... I really love singing that is why i need to have my breathing becomes strong...
Please tell me! Thankyou....so our lips must open in all process breathing? And we can exercise this while lying in bed or sitting, ir standing? Thankyou!!..❤
Thank you Karen- good, no, great info! I'm 66 and just getting started, why I never pursued a dream of mine my whole life IDK! But this is good. Tell me, is it too late for me?
THIS WAS THE GAMECHANGER
Hi. That much of the exercise I understand. How can one apply it to singing? I have read a relative article but I would like to see it applied. Here is what I read.
In addition to this exercise, my teacher then had me (immediately after finishing it; it seems these exercises become more beneficial if done this way) she had me do measured inhalations and singing combined. We would take a very quick inhalation (which should fill the lungs with all the air you need, even for a very long passage), then sing a line of music (it didn’t matter what, as we used repertoire most of the time, in fact, the music I was learning as it helped phrase it more effectively). Whatever length of time was written in the rests in the music was how long I had to take to inhale. If it were a single 16th rest, that is all the time I could take; and if it were a whole rest, I had to take that amount of time exactly. If the rests occurred over more than one measure, I slowly took in the breath at whatever pace I wanted, but allowed myself quite a bit of time for the pause before I began to sing. If multiple measures of rests occurred (you know, about 6 or more) I simply took in the breath at the end of the original phrase as the body wanted to take it in (which was quicker than one would think, like is natural when you need more breath), and I would breath normally and in the most relaxed fashion as I awaited my entrance. Now there after we used two different approaches to the next phrase of music: if I knew I would need a touch more breath than just what was in my lungs from normal breathing, I would anticipate the phrase, taking a measured breath in a few notes prior to entry but still allowing me time to pause before singing; but I was to make certain that at no time did I feel “filled up” with this measured breath, I was to feel simply like I was ready to sing; the other approach, if the amount of time was not too long a wait, was to simply activate the breathing mechanism as if I were going to sing right then, letting out a touch of air, pausing, then beginning the musical phrase I was to sing. It was completely up to me to decide which method best suited the situation. The key was to make sure there was no built up stress or pressure around the throat and no choking sensations. One was NEVER to feel “too full” of breath. If ever I felt too full, I was told to release as much breath as needed to remove that sensation, but do it before the time I had to sing, and still allow me time to pause and prepare all the support for the phrase.
After singing a while like this, we then went to extremely long coloratura passages, ones that were many measures long, as long as 30 measures (we used much music written for the castrati). It was here I learned the art of partials and just how quickly they can flit by. Before beginning any long passage like that, we went through it to discover the musical phrases. Yes, long passages like that are actually made up of many much shorter phrases, and to make it seem as if you have never taken a breath at all it is absolutely essential that breathing never happen in the wrong place. Even if it is the shortest breath imaginable, it shines like the sun, as the hearer instantly hears an inappropriate break.
I marked all these musical phrases with ticks. Actually, most of the castrati of old did the same thing with small dots over the ends of musical phrases to mark when partials were to be used. I had to remember that these partials were to be as small as possible, and that I was NOT filling the lungs to full capacity with them, but rather, only restoring what air I had already used. We began a bit slower so as to make sure I was accustomed to singing partials in the correct place and not lose the momentum of the music. Once I was used to the idea of where and when to breathe, we increased the tempo to the correct speed, and I had to keep all the partials where I had them marked. Once the skill is learned, one realizes that one NEVER has to tank up with air (which defeats the entire purpose of breathing forcing you to exhale all your air immediately). And one always has quite enough for any given phrase, for even the longest phrase is made up of many very small phrases.
singwisevocals Thank you! for your availability to make and share this video. Should I breathe through nose or mouth when doing this exercise?
Thank you for your great video. Basic question; I thought during exhalation, the ribs etc are supposed to stay expanded. Watching your good self, it seemed like there was a gentle exhale compression (ribs collapsing) a bit? Just wanting to be clear on this appoggio! 😉
We begin with the lower ribs in (with the external intercostals relaxed) and the diaphragm elevated/domed (at rest). When we inhale, the lower ribs expand, helping the diaphragm's descent as it contracts. As we sing our vocal phrases (on the exhale), we initially keep the lower ribs expanded in order to slow down the diaphragm's ascent, which helps to prevent the subglottal pressures from becoming too high. We slow its rise, not avoid it. We keep those lower ribs expanded for, as Richard Miller taught, "as long as is both possible and comfortable." 'Possible' can be interpreted in a couple different ways: 1) as long as the rib muscles (external intercostals) are able to maintain their contraction; or 2) as long as we're able to maintain a consistent subglottal pressure. At some point during the vocal phrase or exercise, lung volume decreases - it drops below a certain level - and the diaphragm needs to continue its ascent and the lower ribs (to which the diaphragm is attached) need to move inward in order to help maintain a consistent subglottal pressure through to the end of the phrase and in order to get the ribs and diaphragm ready for the next breath renewal. (In order to prepare for a proper breath renewal, we need to start with the diaphragm in its 'at rest' (high/elevated) position, which means that the lower ribs, to which the diaphragm is attached, also need to be in their pre-expanded positions. Otherwise, the breath will be shallow and ineffectual.) There are some who teach rib reserve breathing, which does entail avoiding all inward movement of the lower ribs throughout the entire vocal phrase, but I don't believe that this is in accordance with how the body (respiratory system) is designed to function and I don't believe that it's technically advantageous. So, that's why I teach an initial resistance of the lower ribs' inward movement (for the first half or so of the vocal phrase), but not a complete avoidance of it. I hope this clarifies my take on this technique.
How do I breathe for POP sound? I've heard from Michael Trimble that one of the most crucial things. When you breathe in, when you sing- it all depends on what you do when you breathe. So I'm wondering, how do I breathe for POP and what should happen when doing so? Because in Michaels videos he mostly comes from a opera perspective. His breathing lowers his larynx very much.
Thank you. Please tell me if I am supposed to inhale thru my nose and exhale thru my mouth or ?? Thanks
Same question here
Hello Karyn! Your RUclips Channel has been of tremendous help for me cause you've tackled Breath Management thoroughly. I just have two questions (out of a many):
Y'see it's weird cause they say I have good voice quality but lack breath support, like I can't sing a long phrase that's expected of me given my qualities. When it comes to hissing, I'd run out on 23 seconds.
1. I often times could inhale 7 fine, hold 7 fine, but expel faster. Sometimes, I'm having a hard time inhaling 7, hold 7 fine, exhale 7 fine. What am I doing wrong?
2. Do you have any other additional breathing exercises to recommend that could the trick for me? I'm doing the Farinelli's since I learned it from you but I just wanna make sure I'm doing everything it takes to gain the quickest improvement I could in breathing.
I'm so sorry, but I somehow didn't see your comment until now. If you're being told that you have a good voice quality, but lack breath support, that could mean a few things. It could mean that your tone is shaky, and so your breath is not well controlled. But sometimes that 'lacks breath support' is used as a synonym for 'doesn't sing loudly enough.' To me, to have good breath management is about being able to sing loudly. It's about being able to control the breath in all vocal situations (loud, soft, short tones, long tones, etc.) in order to keep the vocal folds healthy. If you're running out of breath too quickly, then perhaps you're not offering enough resistance at the glottal level (i.e., your vocal folds are approximating fully and your tone is airy as a result).
If you're having difficulties with pacing the outgoing air (the last phase), then you're extending your inhale and exhale phases for too long. The goal here is to evenly pace all three phases, so reduce the first two phases to a length that will allow you to evenly pace the exhale phase. It takes time to be able to pace the entire cycle perfectly.
I'm not sure which video I have this in, but the hiss and buzz type exercises are also helpful for developing a more controlled exhale phase, especially if you try to maintain some lower rib expansion throughout the first half of the exercise (like the middle phase of the Farinelli exercise, but without actually suspending the breath - allowing it out, instead). You could start with /ssss-zzzz-ssss/ each for four beats, all on a single breath. Start at a comfortable speech inflection range pitch, then move up in pitch. Then, you can try /ssss-zzzz-oooo-zzzz-ssss/, each for four beats and all on a single breath.
Again, I apologize for the delay in responding to your questions. I hope you're doing well with this exercise and applying the coordination to your singing now.
Hi there, Great video. Question: Are you inhaling and exhaling through your nose or your mouth?
She addressed this in another video (possibly not in this series). I believe her answer was (paraphrasing): Through your nose by default, except when you don't have time (e.g. when you need to take a quick, full breath in-between two long phrases) and then through the mouth (because you can take in more air, more quickly).
wonderful exercise! Thank you!
In this exercise, in the suspension (middle) portion, do you advocate the glottis being open as if air can flow in or out? What are the implications of that choice?
Can you expand on your comments on over-filling, and the affects it has on the epiglottis? Is there generally a healthy parameter in which to operate? How do we reconcile statements from say, Caruso, who prescribes "filling up completely with air?"
TIA
Thanks for your questions. In the suspension phase, we want the vocal tract to feel as open as it does during deep inhalation - we're simultaneously training the 'open throat' coordination - so the glottis should be open. Otherwise, we're just 'holding the breath' and building up subglottal pressure. Suspending the breath cycle is not precisely simulating what happens during exhalation, but neither is holding the breath (since, when singing, we need to allow air to move through the glottis). Additionally, if we're closing the glottis, then we're stopping the air with the vocal folds, rather than training the inspiratory musculature to do this job.
I have some research in the bibliography for the book that I've been writing, but it would take some time for me to try to find the research papers that pertain to this reflex of the epiglottis. But if you try inhaling as fully as you possibly can, you'll probably experience this feeling of air filling up the supraglottal spaces. The pharynx will usually dilate and the larynx descend at first. But if you try to close the glottis at this point, it will feel uncomfortable. You'll probably feel the accessory muscles of respiration (e.g., scalenes and sternocleidomastoids) becoming activated in your neck and pulling up on the first and second ribs (as they do in high chest breathing), so there may be some tension in the neck, as well. I always tell singers to fill up just to the point where it's comfortable and will satisfy their singing needs.
I've always had mixed feelings about Caruso's contention that "The lungs, in the first place, should be thoroughly filled. A tone begun with only half-filled lungs loses half its authority and is very apt to be false in pitch." On one hand, when the lungs are filled to capacity, subglottal pressures are going to be very high, which is not always ideal. So, (and especially if the singer is not holding back some of that pressure lower in the body, with the 'support' muscles), by filling up as much as possible - 'tanking up' - the singer is essentially making it harder to mitigate subglottal pressures. For some singers, a really deep inhale is undesirable, and so I encourage them to only fill up with enough air - and a little more - to complete the singing task at hand. If high subglottal pressures are needed, they can easily generate them with the expiratory forces (muscle driven rib descent, contraction of the abdominals, elastic recoil of the diaphragm, etc.) without having completely full lungs. And we have to remember that, even for a lot of intense singing - in both classical and CCM - long closed quotients (e.g., the 70% that is typically seen in belters and in many of today's operatic tenors) also contribute to high subglottal pressures. They're high subglottal pressure tasks with little transglottal airflow (due to the short open quotient of the glottis). So, unless the belted or forte phrase is extremely long, the singer can easily get through it without 'tanking up' first.
On the other hand, I agree partly with Caruso's suggestion that pitch may become inaccurate when the lungs are full at the inhale. In particular, it's apt to fall flat. We do require an adequate supply of breath to get us through to the end of the phrase, sustained tone, or passage. If we don't have enough air, our pitch is likely to fall flat and weaken because we're not able to maintain a consistent level of subglottal pressure. There's only so 'squeezed' we can get with our muscles (e.g., abdominal girdle) and so compressed we can make the air in the lungs. So this, to me, really comes down to the singer being able to anticipate his or her air supply and sublgottal pressure needs at the time of inhalation. A singer who does a lot of breath work and takes the time to mark his/her music sheets with instructions regarding the timing and amount/extent of breath renewals is more apt to accurately anticipate and prepare for the phrase at the time of inhalation, thereby eliminating this tendency to either got flat in pitch or experience a tone that "loses half its authority." This is something that comes with experience. I don't believe that we always need to fill our lungs to capacity. Sometimes we do. And besides, not all singing is loud or requires high subglottal pressures.
singwisevocals I can always count on you to answer concisely. Thank you for the time and attention you take.
You're most welcome.
I was a bit confused about suspension.. We neither breathe, breathe out or hold breathe. Do we actually hold breathe in suspension just with mouth open and vocal cords abducted?
We don't hold the air in by closing the glottis. We hold it in - suspend the breath cycle - by stopping the actions of the expiratory support muscles. If we basically put the posture of inhalation on pause, the inspiratory muscles (in particular the external intercostals) will remain contracted as though we're still inhaling. And we don't engage/contract the expiratory muscles during that phase. So he suspension comes mainly by the work of the inspiratory muscles. Hope this clears things up.
Hello Karyn, thank you for sharing all these. I have one question, When I am doing the inspiratory hold while doing the panting exercise, the muscles on the sides of my waist don't bounce/push out as much compared to when I am NOT doing the inspiratory hold. Am I locking the support or doing something wrong, or is it normal?
Excellent!
So well explained. Thank you.
Thanks for saying so, Bob.
can you please sell DVD Videos concerning the appogio breathing, for vocal singing
Please use a lapel mic, if you haven't already started, as it allows us to more easily understand what you're saying.
Where are the first 4 videos? I am just now finding out about appoggio, have 0 clues, cant afford any lessons
I've just started this today (my own singing coach recommends this exercise too) and my first problem is that when I'm at 'empty' the tendency is to automatically breathe in strongly at the beginning of the inhalation phase (after the pause) which makes it difficult to maintain the inhalation for longer counts as I tend to get 'full' too soon. So I guess it's just a matter of practise to prevent a strong start to the inhalation phase when empty? If you have any thoughts on this please let me know. Thank you for this excellent series; I really love the fact that you're giving so much back to the singing community by doing this.
When I say 'empty,' I don't mean it quite literally. It's more of an analogy than an actual physiological goal. If you empty too much, you will indeed feel desperate to take your next breath and replenish your air and oxygen supply. You don't want to get to that point. You want to feel comfortable, not desperate, and you always want to feel completely in control of the breath. That's the main goal of the exercise.
Thank you, Karyn, this is very helpful. It also works on the exhale too - now I'm not feeling that I need to exhale more strongly in order to be 'empty' on shorter counts, just keeping it comfortable and under control. I'm also wondering if it isn't also actually OK to use a shorter inhale, changing the cycle, so that it more closely resembles what you encounter when singing, the need to fill up quickly? Perhaps I should see if you have released the video on 'partial breath renewal' that you referred to. That might be the answer.
So sorry I wasn't clear enough with my directives and language in the first place!
It's certainly okay to take a faster inhale. The reason why we pace the breath cycle so differently from normal in the Farinelli exercise is train the strength, endurance, and coordination of the inspiratory muscles. A slow inhale, though, is obviously not practical in most singing situations. I have not yet recorded the video on partial breath renewals. I decided to take a break from the breath management topic for a while because it's exhausting having to deal with so many differences of opinion! When I'm feeling better, I'll probably record that partial breath renewal video.
Thank you, Karyn, that's really nice and clear. Don't tire yourself out!!! Looking forward to your next one - whenever it is
Dear Karyn, thank you so much for this great amount of information that really helps! As I am practicing the Farinelli exercise, I am mostly struggling to lengthen my inhalation phase, so I came up with this question: since we usually have time for medium to short breaths during singing, what is the purpose of slowing down our inhalation to 9 or 10 seconds? This made my muscles lock and I feel I am overbreathing. After a couple of attempts, I was tempted to shorten the inhalation to 1-2 seconds and focus on long hold and appoggio exhalation. Would that be another helpful exercise by the way? Thank you in advance!
Your knowledge and advice is really really good and accurate, thank you !! I wanted to ask more about the inhale. We inhale yet, not want to filled up till the throat. That kinda gives the sensation that the air is going on the back. So i have two questions: You shouldn't take more breath while increasing the numbers, but make a good management though the time, right?
My understanding of "twang" is that the epiglottis restricts which creates supraglottic pressure, thereby matching the subglottic pressure from the lungs and allowing for a focused and ringing tone. If the subglottic pressure is reduced, could that effect the power of the resulting tone, assuming the epiglottis is narrowed?
Hi Karyn! Thank you so much for your videos! I read through all the comments, and didn't see this question that I have:
During the Farinelli exercise, should we keep our lower ribs expanded even during the exhale phase at first, as if we were treating it as the beginning of a sung phrase? Or just let the lower ribs descend immediately during the exhale phase of the exercise, since we "suspended" them already in the suspend phase (even though we weren't letting any air out yet--as we would have in an actual sung phrase)? It does appear in the video that you immediately allow the ribs to descend in your exhale phase.
Hopefully that question makes sense? Let me know if it needs clarification.
I find that when the phase lengths are shorter, the ribs will tend to come in at the start of the exhale phase. (We need to get all that air out in just a few counts.) But when the breath cycle is longer, some singers maintain a bit of the expansion for the first couple counts of the exhale phase. It really depends on the individual.
Great! Thanks!
You're welcome.
Just for clarity , can you sing during the breath suspension then continue throughout the exhalation to finish off very long phrases ? Is that the idea behind farinelli breathing technique?
Thanks so much! first try and my phrase doubled and voice more stable for like ten minutes. Some tension in the shoulder though. is that from posture? cuz when I sing from stomache I don't have this problem. How do I ensure the rib tension doesn't transfer to shoulder?
I'm glad to hear it has helped. You need to make sure that your shoulders are dropped as you sing. Before you inhale, get your posture ready - elevate the sternum and drop the shoulders. Then take your inhale, with expansion in the middle region. You might be getting tense shoulders because you're raising them as you inhale.
What a great exercise! Thanks Karyn for the thorough explanation! I tried it and was actually able to go up to 15 seconds for each phase except the exhale got really hard. I mean I was so much less able to actually exhale for so long because the air just wanted to rush out even though I did not feel like I would have overfilled my lungs because the holding phase was just as smooth and open as it was for shorter counts... Any idea why the exhale might have been so difficult?
I only can guess that my muscles are just not used to yet to such control... Interestingly when you were explaining the details I imagined a zip bag... when it is brand new it is completely empty and the zip part closed, but as you open it the inside fills up with air (as we pull on the two sides similar to when we open a bag of chips) and then we keep the bag open (without any pressure the air just inside the bag) and then if we want to empty it again then we need to slowly squeeze the air out - from the bottom up - but the air is still NOT rushing out like it would be from a balloon...) So, I guess the Farinelli exercise is like training our lungs to be more like plastic bags instead of balloons... ;)
Good analogy! If you're unable to get through the exhale phase in a controlled and evenly pace manner, then you're extending the entire breath cycle for too long. You're dealing not only with the recoil forces that want to bring the ribs down and the diaphragm up, but also with your body's need to exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. Having a super extended breath cycle is not nearly as important as having a controlled and evenly paced one.
singwisevocals thank you for the insight! No need for overdoing it... I have a pretty big lung capacity due to years of martial arts. :)
True! We don't really need that much air for most singing.
Great video, thanks! Do you have a video on breathing 101? I keep getting told different things, particularly in terms of how the abdomen is involved, and would appreciate a quick, thorough re-education! :-)
I do lots of pilates and love it and how much it helps my posture and rib breathing for singing, but I've heard different things about pilates not engaging abdominal breathing properly. How does that work/how is singer's breathing different, since I need to engage my core and maintain abdominal stability for good posture - how am I supposed completely relax my abdomen for breathing without compromising posture? Wouldn't it follow that singers would all have weak abdominal muscles? Sorry, lots of questions! :-)
I am a Pilates Mat Instructor.
I would add in some Yoga postures to keep the abdominals flexible.
Also, since the breathing patterns are different, you begin to fill the whole body with air
Cool, thanks for the advice! :-) Since you know pilates, does the transverse abdominis and pelvic floor still stay engaged and pulled in, or are they relaxed as well? How are those muscles involved in singing? :-)
Thanks for your question. I have a few videos related to breathing that you can find in my playlists on this channel. The first video was about posture that helps us get the best breath possible, as well as how to inhale properly. I have another video that explains what subglottal pressure is and talks about managing it (ruclips.net/video/9SNT2Aji_FE/видео.html). I'm trying to present this concept in a somewhat systematic way.
You don't completely relax your abdominal muscles for supporting the tone. You are engaging those muscles to help generate the subglottal pressure that you need to initiate and sustain your tones. The only difference that I'm suggesting here is that we simultaneously keep the inspiratory muscles somewhat engaged - they dynamically oppose the expiratory forces to help keep them in check, but don't prevent them from working. The entire torso - all the muscles of the abdomen, ribs, and back - are engaged during breathing for singing. It's actually when we over distend the belly (protrude it too far forward) that our posture is negatively affected (e.g., the balance and centre of gravity are shifted, and the lower back will tend to sway a bit). So getting and maintaining a 360 expansion around the middle of the body helps to maintain good posture and stability because both the back and abdominal muscles are engaged (in a dynamic opposition - antagonist - sort of way). So singers most definitely engage their abdominals when exhaling. They just don't completely release the inspiratory intercostals until later in the phrase. I hope that clears things up for you.
Thank you so much, that's MUCH clearer! :-)
I'm glad to help.
Should you breathe out until "empty" on the exhale? This means for me I have to force the air out, because if I don't, I only exhale about half that I inhaled in the same amount of time.
No, not completely empty. Exhale as much as you normally do in a relaxed state!
How is the stomach supposed to be during be during the appoggio technique. Is it supposed to suck in while the ribs and obliques expand? Or is the stomach supposed to stay out?I’m still confused on that
Hello Karyn, Just wondering how do we know whether we are holding our breath at the throat level you mentioned? I am trying to put a pause on the inhale during the suspend stage but it kinda still feels like there is this slight feeling in the throat. Is it as long as we dont reach the max level of inhale (overfilling) we shouldnt be holding the breath at the throat level? thank you, grace
I'm wondering the same
There's something that I can't fully understand. In the exhale part it is impossible to maintain that "open" posture, some muscles has to get in, not by force, not intentionally, but in orden to not create a vacuum it's necessary to let some muscle get in. My question is wich one? My lower abs? Upper abs? Rib cage? Chest? Wich muscle I have to stay in place and wich muscle I must let go?
Does it have to be in through the nose and exhale through the mouth?
Thanks for the video! I'm a fan! You always explain things so well. Could I still use diaphragmatic breathing when singing in conjunction with practising this technique? Or do the two not go together?
The diaphragm is always involved in 'support,' but if you're talking about the 'diaphragmatic support' that involves thrusting the abdominal wall inward, then this exercise will not train that coordination. (I have a video on Appoggio versus Diaphragmatic Support that explains the differences between these two support strategies.) The Farinelli Exercise is designed to help slow and control the rise of the diaphragm (part of appoggio) - to pace the outgoing breath - but 'diaphragmatic support,' as it's often taught, encourages the diaphragm to move upward rapidly. Our needs for subglottal pressure change all the time, and consequently, the coordination that we employ when managing our breath changes. My belief is simply that, even when we need higher subglottal pressures (e.g., belting), we still need to manage the ascent of the diaphragm to avoid negative consequences going upward along the vocal tract (e.g., trying to manage these pressures with the muscles of the throat).
I I see, thanks!
Thank you. I find it hard not to close up the trachea with my epiglottis. Have any further tips?
This is awesome! Thank you!
Hey I just to thank you for this video. There are times i sang high notes and don't feel my neck straining. However my tone is struggling to control the intensity of the mixed note registers. Two common issues that I always deal with is singing back of the throat when too much air is applied or neckish when there isn't enough air quality. Do you have a video that talks about tone balance and clarity pitch?
I am not trying to cause problems, but there is a total difference in what you say vs what Guy Babusek says in regards to this, which might explain my confusion. While you say the retention phase is unlike anything we see in singing (therefore looking towards the exhalation phase, as the way to control the out going breath) Guy states that the exhalation phase is *not* what we are going for in singing, but rather that breath retention phase.
For the retention phase, I can both single out my lower rib muscles as bearing the brunt of the work, vs recruiting the help of the upper rib muscles (not clavicular breathing) as well. Which of these sounds correct to you? I might have already answered my own question, as an inhalation recruiting the help of the upper rib muscles helps me to keep an open throat, whilst simply focusing on the lower rib muscles (and disregarding the upper rib muscles) makes my throat feel tight or squeezed, and produces a "squeezier", more choked sound. Hope to hear from you! Thank-you very much in advance.
What I mean by that statement is that we simply don't ever stop the breath flow (or leave the glottis completely open) during singing as we do during the middle phase of the Farinelli exercise. Air must move during phonation/singing (and the vocal folds must be approximated). But we train this retention phase because, during singing, we want to encourage more and continuous engagement of the inspiratory forces during the exhale phase in order to control and pace the outgoing airflow and manage subglottal pressures. Throughout this video (e.g., starting at the 7:14 mark), as well as in other videos on the topic of breath management, I have talked about maintaining the 'inspiratory hold' for 'as long as is both possible and comfortable.' I also talk about how the middle phase of this exercise is the most critical because this is the phase that strengthens the inspiratory musculature and trains that control. Starting at the 9:01 mark, I talk about maintaining the inspiratory posture for at least part of the vocal phrase. So, Guy and I are not in total disagreement.
As for whether or not the upper rib muscles should become engaged, I think it actually depends on the individual and the kind of singing being done. When I'm singing full voiced in head voice or belting higher, I barely feel any sense of engagement of my upper rib muscles - it's very subtle. The bulk of the engagement sensation is in my transverse and oblique muscles with very noticeable resistance of the lower ribs to collapsing - they remain expanded/open - and some in my pelvis. When I'm not singing forte, I only notice the engagement in the transverse and obliques, with the lower intercostals working to keep the lower ribs up. Richard Miller often wrote of the pectoral muscles becoming engaged. I, personally, do not experience my sense of 'support' there, but it could simply be a matter of the type of singing that I do and also my individual anatomy. One thing that I will say is that if we 'bear down,' that can indeed lead to the feeling of the throat tightening. Air will not move properly. It's all about balance and finding what works for us as individuals. This includes breath management. There are some general principles that apply to all individuals for all singing styles, but then there is a bit of wiggle room.
Wow, thanks for the quick response!
Ah okay, that makes SO much more sense to me now. I understand that we are indeed to hold the inspiratory posture, as you both *clearly* indicate. I think I became confused with the wording, as I was hyper-focusing (and that out of context it seems). My apologies (: . I am seriously struggling with the Farinelli exercise (my exhales are *super slow*, and if I pushed the exhale at all, my tongue would respond with pain, clearly indicating "STOP!".) I keep am having trouble exhaling on a 4 count. (I have yet to try it however while engaging the pectoral muscles.)
When you speak of "bearing down", do you mean that I am using "too much" external force to hold my ribs out? Maybe I need to relax a little? Lol.
Have you ever experienced the "pressing the breath" against the chest, as people like Lilli Lehmann will suggest?
By 'bearing down' I mean the sensation and coordination of a bowel movement (or pushing out a baby). Some pedagogues teach this concept (or pushing down and out) as a means of maintaining lateral expansion and mitigating subglottal pressures, but I've found that in every case that I've come across, it merely leads to a whole host of problems. When I'm singing classically in the head register, I do experience a degree of this 'pressing the breath against the chest.' You might find that the imagery of a little person leaning up against the inside walls of your ribs helpful. With the Farinelli exercise, it may be helpful to simply 'let the air out' by relaxing the lower ribs (but not depressing the sternum into the chest). This is like a sigh, but silent. The throat has to be very open/released for the air to pass freely and efficiently. At the 4 count, I don't attempt to maintain rib expansion during the exhale phase. I just let them come back down and the diaphragm to ascend to its pre-inspiration posture. (I've already had four seconds of the inspiratory hold by the start of the exhale phase, anyway.) It's usually not until about the 6 count that I start having to maintain a degree of lateral expansion during the first couple seconds of the exhale phase. (Remember that, at some point, the ribs need to lower and the diaphragm needs to rise so that they can prepare for the next inhale. We don't need to keep the ribs raised at all costs, and especially if doing so is causing discomfort, throat pain, inefficiency with the breath, pressed phonation, etc..) Honestly, don't overthink it. Don't try to micromanaged every muscle in your torso in an attempt to get this right. That will actually lead to imbalances and poor coordination, with each muscle doing its own thing and not working in concert with one another. This exercise - and all breathing during singing - should feel comfortable. You may feel a sense of 'work' happening - 'engagement' - but it shouldn't be uncomfortable, painful, or awkward, or something that distracts you.
QUESTION
Do you let the ribs go when you're on the exhale phase or continue to push out?
this is excellent.
Thank you!
Hi Karyn,
I'm having a difficult time with the exhalation part of this exercise. I can inhale for four counts and suspend it for four counts, but by the time it is time to release, my body wants to push out the air rather than let it out over several counts. Sometimes if I am counting at a higher number, I can get the first few seconds of exhalation to be regulated, but I have a hard time getting through the last few seconds. Is this just indicative of weak muscles that need training? Would regular practice help train the muscles in the right way?
You may need to decrease your count, even if that means sticking to something like 3-3-3 and not increasing it for a while. Or, you can try shortening the middle (retention phase) so that you can have better control over the exhale phase. A lot of singers find this exercise deceptively challenging. Don't be afraid to improvise and adjust the exercise according to your unique needs. You will get better with this over time. Your muscles will get stronger and your coordination better. Keep at it!
So when we do 3-3-3 are we supposed to inhale less deeply so we can exhale to empty, or are we supposed to inhale fully and use the lower ribs only to force out the breath so it exhaust the air faster?
In suspending state I feel tension in my jaw and cheeks... any advice.? Thank you Karen
Is it okay to inhale and exhale through the mouth as if you're breathing through a straw?
Hello...What is appoggio singing, please...can boys/men do it ?
Appoggio is a way of managing our breath and keeping our throats open by keeping some lateral expansion (sideways rib expansion) and slowing down the rise of the diaphragm as we exhale (sing). It's a strategy that can be used for by singers. You should find a few videos on the topic of appoggio in my breath management playlist.
Hi! Is there any benefit to also doing a retention at the end of the exhalation? I find I naturally want to do that.
Thank you Karyn, but your hand shouldnt move in when you exhale because you need to suspend that posture for appoggio to work. It would be good if you also quote Richard Miller in your website article and video technique if you are using his book as your modern explanation for old technique. Otherwise, your work as singing teacher is great, i am only concern that Appoggio cannot be taught by "concept" it should be demonstrated with vocal phonation.
God! teacher, please could you explain what happened after 10 or even 15; there is no place where get " air"; ribs should not be more open , even at the back...thanks would be great to follow you doing the exc; the problem is not 10 ; it is upwards; Im triple colocature; included flute voice ; but ...
Im advanced opera singer; specialized in " barroque time". I do not the air throatly; I can even talk or sing before expelling I feel " confortable" very very relaxed for doing it...
Messa di voce is also a challenge; mellismatics mov. etc, basket of thanks and the best
Seeing is believing!!!😂😂😂❤❤❤
every time I sing through the passagio I seem to break in intervals. going upwards I break from the note up the a fifth, downwards I go a third
I suspect I compress during my passagio. Any reasoning behind it skipping in intervals?
6:40 for daily practice
beautiful! thanks so much, this one gold nugget :)
You're welcome.
When I start to sing I flex my obliques when I start to go higher and relax my obliques flexes even more. Is this right?
thank you! from your new subscriber! God bless!
Sometimes it feels like my neck is slightly chocking. I find my breathing is relaxed only when I lean forward and focus on my lower back for the air to fill up.
Hmm - Struggle with suspension (stop the continuation of something) without holding my breath. So I failed there since I can't or understand your explanation and HOW TO do suspension. Sing when in suspension - Hmmm - I wish you would have demo by singing. Cause singing while trying to suspend I found difficult.
I tried this exercise doing 4-4-4 and started feeling slightly light headed after a couple tries. Am i doing something wrong?
You're probably inhaling too deeply. If you inhale too deeply (and exhale too deeply) each time, you may get a bit lightheaded because your respiratory system will start to get into a sort of hyperventilation state. Try inhaling just a little bit less air each time and see if that helps.
OMG 😳 thank you so much really thank you ❤
so just to be clear, how would this kind of breathing help tenor passaggio notes (E4-G4)? Im still confused when it cones to applying the technique
It depends somewhat on whether your're singing in a classical or commercial style. The classical tenor would increase the 'outward' resistance (but not the compression of the air from down lower in the body) when going through the passaggio (more than the CCM tenor would) in order to avoid 'pushing' through the passaggio, which could lead to forcing too much breath pressure, throat constriction (leaning on the muscles of the throat to try to generate power or control the breath), a high larynx, etc.. The only thing that we're trying to accomplish here is a slight resistance to the early collapse of the lower ribs, as this helps pace and control the rise of the diaphragm (as opposed to forcing it up immediately) and thus keep the subglottal pressures at manageable levels - high, if needed, yes, but not TOO high. The degree (and duration) of the resistance depends on the singing task - dynamics, length of the vocal phrase, lung volume (how much air is in the lungs at that moment), etc.. We don't want to generate subglottal pressure at the onset by collapsing the ribcage (lower ribs and sternum). The idea is to leave all the subglottal pressure generation to the abdominal muscles until later in the phrase when the ribs need to come inward - in a controlled manner - so that the diaphragm can ascend fully in preparation for the next breath. We're merely pacing the exhale phase of the breath cycle differently by attempting to slow the rise of the diaphragm (avoid forcing it up at the onset of sound). But this kind of control over the subglottal pressure is most critical in the passaggio area and above, where singers tend to try to force their sound too much. Appoggio (even if slightly modified for CCM) can help with this. It's not always intuitive, and it takes a bit of practice and figuring out how much expansion needs to remain and for how long for the given the task - there will be a bit less for CCM, which requires higher subglottal pressures (e.g., belting) and has shorter phrases. There's a fine line between keeping the subglottal pressures manageable and having them be too low, or holding back the air too much, which is undesirable and equally unhealthy as having too high a subglottal pressure. Air still needs to move through the glottis/past the vocal folds. Hope this helps. I've been wanting to demonstrate another aspect of this technique, but I've been without my laptop (and thus editing software) for over a week. I'll try to post that soon and maybe that technique might help make more sense of the coordination.
singwisevocals First I want to say thank you for replying and Second, I am currently training as a classical tenor. I tried this breathing technique today and i have to say it helped a lot with long phrases. My particular problem however is everytime i get to a F natural (almost like its involuntary) my tone becomes very throaty. And I lose my natural tone color. My teacher says I just need to Support it to get to the G natural comfortably. If you end up talking about the coordination in a later video, could i possibly request that you also go in depth on how to keep an even tone across you range as well as neutralizing the throaty sound on high notes? Thank you and I hope to see more on this.
singwisevocals to get a better understading of my vocal issues there is a video uploaded on my channel of a ttbb quartet, myself being furthest to the right.
I plan to record some videos on the topics of equalization of the scale, registration transitions, eliminating breaks, and singing high notes in the near future. They're very involved topics, and I will have to break them down into multiple videos and do some planning.
I think the issue on the word 'die' - the high note - is that you're singing borderline voce aperta because the vowel is too AH. You might do better with UH, which will keep the voice closed (voce chiusa), but not too closed.
Jaclyn Leigh Music discloses this perfect
Appogio Breath though
Yes, she does. She's great at explaining it.
For me the hard bit is to pace the exhale evenly so that I get my lungs from full to empty over the given time and not sooner or later.
Hi. I always have to much air left on the release cycle at the end of my count so I end up pushing it out.
Try to expel the air in a very paced manner. The goal is to always go from 'empty to full' evenly over the given count, then from 'full to empty' over the given count. If the count is only 4, then you'll need to expel the air more rapidly than you would if the count were 10. It takes a lot of practice to master control over this - breath pacing. It's more challenging than it seems!
Thanks for you help. You may here from me a lot. I have been singing for 17 years and picked up so many bad habits and got and strayed off somewhere. so I'm having a complete re- boot
Hi!. Could you please clarify this. So at the end, after you exhale out all the air, do you have to wait the same count before starting a new circle? I watched another youtube video and that instructor suggests to hold after the last exhale. Also when I tried this exercise, I can exhale slowing according to the number I count, but for the inhale, it seems like the longest I can inhale (to have a maximum air intake) is around 6 or 7 counts, can't do any longer. Do you know why? Thank you so much
I don't teach a hold or pause between breath cycles. Some believe that there is a natural pause that occurs during normal, 'at rest' breathing, but I don't feel as though the breath renewals of singing are conducive to that kind of a pause. It's simply not practical, and our need for air is higher during singing. The pause is also not part of the original Farinelli Exercise, which was comprised of only three phases. Additionally, the most important phases of the exercises - the coordination and actions that are most relevant and applicable to singing - are the middle and last phases. It's really common for singers to struggle more with the inhalation phase of the breath cycle because we're accustomed to drawing in our air and replenishing our oxygen much more rapidly. Also, if you're taking your breath up high in the chest or extending the exhale phase to the point where your oxygen and residual air supplies are too low, then you may struggle with getting a slow and controlled inhale. I would suggest shortening the exercise overall to accommodate the maximum length of your inhale phase. The length of the phase is less important than developing the coordination itself.
Thank you so much :)
You're welcome.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Hey Karyn! I Would Love To Learn That Appogio Breathing But I already Taught Diafragmatic Support Trough Years I Studyed Pop & Jazz Singing . But Now I wanna Learn Something New . I Wonder If You Can Help me , I Can make a Video OF Me trying to Do This Italian Appogio Technique . and you tell me If It's Wrong or not . cuz i honestly can't see my ribs.expanding i can only see my Belly Full as i said . Thank you . Awesome Vid.
Am I doing something wrong,because I can do 30-30-30 easily.
I don't know, but a 1:30 breath cycle is not 'normal.' It's possible that you are inadvertently (and covertly) inhaling and exhaling during the middle phase. I'd have to see you do this to know for sure what's going on.
Am I supposed to breathe through my nose or mouth?
tocutebabi Either will do. Breathing through the nose is more beneficial, though, because it moistens, filters, warms, and slows the air. I usually breathe through my mouth because of chronic allergies, but also because doing so sets up the vocal tract by raising the soft palate. If you breathe through the nose, just ensure that you're 'opening' the throat.
THANKS YOU SO MUCH
You're welcome!
Aside from singing, has anyone benefited from this for SPEAKING?
Why does inhaling for like 10 seconds is very difficult?
are you on facebook?
Yes! You can connect with me on the SingWise Facebook page: facebook.com/SingWisevocals/