👉This is a Part 1 of 2 lecture for The Breath Support Summit. For the Part 2 lecture on the balance of work between the abdominal cylinder and the thoracic cylinder click here: ruclips.net/video/kZ_24Zevigo/видео.html 🎯🎯🎯For a free preview of our body muscular exercises mentioned, click here: ruclips.net/video/BYIbvoNJTGQ/видео.html 🏆🏆🏆For full access to the complete set of exercises Breath Support Summit, including one-on-one private coachings from our experts, click here: www.myoforsingers.com/bs-summit
Wow. This is the best video I've ever seen on breath support. I have watched countless correct singing/breathing videos, and always felt like there was some missing information. It's easier to understand everything with images, and because You are so well spoken. Thank you for this.
Thank you, i really feel like treating singing like it's a sport is way more effective to coach and improve on since we're literally just coordinating muscles to perform a certain movement pattern just like you train in sports with.
Hi, thank you for this really interesting video! I would looove to know more about the coordination the breath support have to have with the vocal cords, since the vocal cords (in coordination with the larynx) are the ones cutting the air flow or producing the sound. In other words the communion between the pressurized air flow that we give to the vocal cords. It is so fascinating to think about all the coordination our body has to do in order to sing!!
This is so incredible. Thanks for doing this! I will share with my fellow singing loving friends! One question has been on my mind: if the abdominal muscle is imperative in good singing, does that mean great singers should have body builder-liked abs? But why dont I see that in... For example, Povorrotti?
The long answer is that good breath support does require a certain level of strength that will probably be slightly higher than average, but the most important factor is about control of those muscles groups and being able to fire them at will.
Being overweight helps compressing the air because of the pressure it puts naturaly. Some great singers had to relearn how to use the abdominal muscles after a big loss of wheight .Being in shape ( in mean not fit but sporty might helps). I Remembered how easy the high were after a gym workout ah ah
So, to build pressure in the abdomynal cylinder I basically have to contract the muscles in the area? Is contracting what you mean when you say "muscle firing"?
Yes, contracting multiple muscle groups at once. I cautiously use the word "contract" because most people will 1. isolate one muscle group and or 2. squeeze inwards in some capacity. But yes, we are engaging/firing/contracting the abdominal cylinder muscles
Hello, Thank you for your video! it really helps me with my thesis :) I have a question, When we create this pressure between the thoracic and the abdominal muscles, how does it help for the breath support? does it allow slow air release? I know that when the diaphragm contracts, it is pushed down, so if the pressure is up from all sides during the support, what is happening to the diaphragm during this pressure? another question if its ok :) Can I enlarge the amount of space for air in my lungs by artificially activating the pelvic floor? (without even breathing in and out just by flexing it)
I love questions!!! And I'd love to know what your thesis is! 1. The active balancing between the thoracic and abdominal muscles IS breath support. Breath support is an action, not a thing :) so it's a process. There isn't one specific 'manipulation' or 'contraction' that is 'perfect breath support'. The perfect breath support we need depends on WHAT we are doing! Is it a high note? A low note? For a singer or for an oboe or an olympic gymnast? The combinations/answers are all different! 2. The Thoracic cavity (aka rib cage area) is what controls the AMOUNT (or volume, to use physic terms) of air on release. 3. Ok slight correction of your phrasing: the diaphragm is not down by something- it CONTRACTS in a downward direction when it fires. Now on to the answer...it is my personal belief and understanding that the diaphragm contracts downwards on inhale, and on exhale it is relaxed completely. Many singers and teachers will disagree because they say they FEEL something engage in that area, but there is no SCIENTIFIC evidence of this. ALL the other muscles in the body function this way, so I doubt that the diaphragm is any different. (I would love to pop someone in an MRI and find out!) So basically the diaphragm (now relaxed) is being pressed upwards by the abdominal cylinder (what teachers often say is the feeling and location of "appoggia") 4. Uh, no. the lungs and pelvic floor are a long way from each other and separated by, literally, a whole lot of stuffing! Also- remember the diaphragm is basically acting like a separating, flexible wall that literally separates the thoracic cylinder from the abdominal one. (If you want more air capacity in your lungs, work on building intercostal muscle strength- do specific breathing exercises that encourage maximum rib expansion on inhale and then MAINTAIN that expansion while exhaling. Over time that will increase rib volume and thus lung capacity!! Cheers!
You are such a great help! I'm an MA student at Krakow music academy, I'm writing my thesis about breathing techniques before and while playing the recorder (im a recorder player) recorder has very similar breath support needs as singers because there is not any resistance from the mouthpiece. as part of the thesis, I want to clarify breath support because as a music student for 20 years, almost no one could explain it to me, and i got some amorphic answers like "contract your diaphragm" or "push out your stomach" etc.. I actually did a survey and got answers from 25 recorder players all around the world (professionals, students, and amateurs), and only 2 were actually correct!! I'm basing all the information from the books "Breath" by James Nestor and "The Oxygen Advantage" by Patrick Mckeown, but it's really hard to find reliable info about breath support for musicians. Part of my future goals is to educate wind players about breathing before and while playing their instruments. So now about the question: Ok now I got it, the breath support is the pressure between the thoracic and abdominal. - I tried to imagine the thoracic as a balloon filled with air and the abdominal pressing on it in order to release the air slowly. but actually, when you press on a balloon it releases the air fast, right? So my question is, how does pressing on an object filled with gas help to release this gas slower? - Another quesion, I want to prevent people from thinking that breath support is inflating the stomach, and to explain this 360-degree pressure, is it true that if I press down my pelvic floor it allows 360-degree support of abdominal muscles? Really thank you so much Im obviously writing you in my thesis footnote @@OpusMyo
Wow, what an amazing thesis! I actually first learned all this for the EXACT same reasons as you; no one could give me a correct, clear answer! So glad that more correct information will be added to the world through you! YES! Recorder is just like singers! I actually practice singing and playing (cheap) recorder at the same time to help with my over-blowing! Yes, you are right- the analogy of the lungs being balloons and the abdominals pressurizing that is correct. And yes, when we squeeze a balloon, the air becomes pressurized, and therefore releases FASTER. What changes the AMOUNT of air release is the size of the hole/opening/cap/lip of the container- so what is our ‘cap’ as singers and recorder players? We have 1. The glottis- (which many people use out of poor technique or unawareness) but that would be a bad choice to use all the time, as it can cause health problems and also cannot win a pressure war against the abdominal muscles which are much larger! And the 2. Ribs. The ribs control the contraction of the lungs themselves. Only the ribs can cause the lungs to change shape and therefore change how MUCH air is inside them. Imagine a bottle of water filled all the way to the brim- the water inside the bottle won’t be pressed out until the CONTAINTER, the bottle, changes shape, ie. when I squeeze it. This is why the BALACE of work/engagement between the abdominal cylinder and the thoracic is so important- it takes BOTH for EVERY pitch. Yes, agree, we can’t literally inflate our stomach and also shouldn’t try lol. Yogic “belly breathing” is not helpful for pressurizing! Ah, yes, the pelvic floor. (I need to make a video of this…) Short answer: every muscle in the body can only engage in one direction. The pelvic floor as a UNIT engages in an UPWARD direction for all- male and female anatomies. This has a very real and important basic job of preventing anything from “coming out” while we pressurize…Some teachers will describe it as the “hold the pee in” technique. Some other teachers teach the “out” technique and will incorrectly say that the pelvic floor is engaged in a downwards direction. That is completely untrue if you are attempting to pressurize like this. The only times the body will engage downwards is when the body is releasing urine or feces. But those are isolatory muscles of the pelvic floor (not the pelvic floor as a unit) and in order to make this action happen, the body also have to DECREASE the amount of internal volume and pressure to facilitate this. (A childish, but perfectly accurate example is a very big poop. The ribs CONTRACT downwards, the abs as well, and most of the pelvic floor muscles must relax in order to allow feces to pass while a select few muscles will squeeze it through the hole). Another easy example is women who have recently given birth; their pelvic floors are now overstretched and weak, so they cannot engage the UNIT of the pelvic floor and therefore have incontinency issues. P.S. also feel free to email me if you’d like diagrams or just to chat more! info@opusom.com @@NogaRubanenko
Everything is very controversial. 1. Where does the air come from in the lower celirium? Does it pass there from the lungs? 2. Trying to keep my ribs extended during the sound gave me unnecessary tension. My efforts were aimed at the ribs - whereas it would be correct to apply them to the solar plexus - this is where the diaphragm is attached and our task is to hold it in the lower position while the note sounds (so that the air comes out slowly). This is aperture control, which you deny. If we do not have direct access to it, this does not mean that we cannot control it. For example, right now you can hold your breath - you will feel your throat closing and at the same time you have tensed your solar plexus - you have held your diaphragm.
The 360 degree pressure happens naturally as a result of firing the cylinder in a specific way- so we don't need to try to 'send' the pressure in a direction or anything.
@@azarchalabiani592 Think of the abdominal muscles as a balloon. Just like regular balloons- when we blow them up, the air inside the balloon is pressing OUTWARDS against the latex in 360 degrees (which is why balloons are spherical!) A similar thing is happening inside us: since the spine is the only major HARD surface inside the abdominal cylinder area (the rest is organs, muscles, tendons etc- all soft), we therefore are also expanding in all directions.
What I tried was like breathing from the center of my lungs down to my pelvis and keep it like that, while pressing the lower part of my belly inside. Like higher body pressure inside to outside to keep the lung space and lower belly pressure outside to inside to put the air out
@@OpusMyo Yeah thats what I'm saying ,like is this nonsense ? cuz why doesn't it have more views ? This deserves way more views.!!! This is the most simple and easy to digest info about breathing for singing I have ever seen on youtube.
@@OpusMyoI found this very helpful, but for some reason couldn't find the 2nd part of the video. Would you by any chance be uploading it any time soon? Thank you for being a catalyst for true information. 🙏
👉This is a Part 1 of 2 lecture for The Breath Support Summit. For the Part 2 lecture on the balance of work between the abdominal cylinder and the thoracic cylinder click here: ruclips.net/video/kZ_24Zevigo/видео.html
🎯🎯🎯For a free preview of our body muscular exercises mentioned, click here: ruclips.net/video/BYIbvoNJTGQ/видео.html
🏆🏆🏆For full access to the complete set of exercises Breath Support Summit, including one-on-one private coachings from our experts, click here: www.myoforsingers.com/bs-summit
Your simple, literal, non-BS explanations are refreshing. Thanks.
This is a very rare approach to singing yet so efficent! There are thousands of singing yt channels but none like this! Amazing job!
OMGEEE thank you so much!!!
Wow. This is the best video I've ever seen on breath support. I have watched countless correct singing/breathing videos, and always felt like there was some missing information. It's easier to understand everything with images, and because You are so well spoken. Thank you for this.
Wouah! Clear and perfect. Exactly what I need to understand correctly.
Thank you very much
YAY! I am so glad :D
This video is so good👍👍👍 I was confused about air pressure for a while, but now I understand it. Thank you so much.
Hello, im a new subscriber from indonesia. Thanks for your good work here.
Thanks a lot, it is really helpful🙏🏻♥️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you, i really feel like treating singing like it's a sport is way more effective to coach and improve on since we're literally just coordinating muscles to perform a certain movement pattern just like you train in sports with.
I KNEW IT. I don't have any breath support because they took my gallbladder. That's clearly the important part.
YES exactly! These are not "normal human day" movements so they need to be trained, strengthened, and coordinated!
Great information 👏🏼👏🏼 but i wish you can also demonstrate so we can do the same amd know if we are doing properly or not
Ah ha- you should check out this video where you can do the exercises with me! Here: ruclips.net/video/BYIbvoNJTGQ/видео.htmlsi=YdymA3cu2-vqRCXg
Please keep making videos ❤
Wow this was so helpful 🙏
Hi, thank you for this really interesting video! I would looove to know more about the coordination the breath support have to have with the vocal cords, since the vocal cords (in coordination with the larynx) are the ones cutting the air flow or producing the sound. In other words the communion between the pressurized air flow that we give to the vocal cords. It is so fascinating to think about all the coordination our body has to do in order to sing!!
yessss its all about the PRESSURE. We discuss this in the second video! (check the description)
This is so incredible. Thanks for doing this! I will share with my fellow singing loving friends! One question has been on my mind: if the abdominal muscle is imperative in good singing, does that mean great singers should have body builder-liked abs? But why dont I see that in... For example, Povorrotti?
Good question: the short answer is no- we singers don't need a lot MORE muscle, we need better CONTROL and isolation of those muscles.
The long answer is that good breath support does require a certain level of strength that will probably be slightly higher than average, but the most important factor is about control of those muscles groups and being able to fire them at will.
Being overweight helps compressing the air because of the pressure it puts naturaly. Some great singers had to relearn how to use the abdominal muscles after a big loss of wheight .Being in shape ( in mean not fit but sporty might helps). I Remembered how easy the high were after a gym workout ah ah
So, to build pressure in the abdomynal cylinder I basically have to contract the muscles in the area? Is contracting what you mean when you say "muscle firing"?
Yes, contracting multiple muscle groups at once. I cautiously use the word "contract" because most people will 1. isolate one muscle group and or 2. squeeze inwards in some capacity. But yes, we are engaging/firing/contracting the abdominal cylinder muscles
Hello, Thank you for your video! it really helps me with my thesis :)
I have a question,
When we create this pressure between the thoracic and the abdominal muscles, how does it help for the breath support?
does it allow slow air release?
I know that when the diaphragm contracts, it is pushed down, so if the pressure is up from all sides during the support, what is happening to the diaphragm during this pressure?
another question if its ok :)
Can I enlarge the amount of space for air in my lungs by artificially activating the pelvic floor? (without even breathing in and out just by flexing it)
I love questions!!! And I'd love to know what your thesis is! 1. The active balancing between the thoracic and abdominal muscles IS breath support. Breath support is an action, not a thing :) so it's a process. There isn't one specific 'manipulation' or 'contraction' that is 'perfect breath support'. The perfect breath support we need depends on WHAT we are doing! Is it a high note? A low note? For a singer or for an oboe or an olympic gymnast? The combinations/answers are all different! 2. The Thoracic cavity (aka rib cage area) is what controls the AMOUNT (or volume, to use physic terms) of air on release. 3. Ok slight correction of your phrasing: the diaphragm is not down by something- it CONTRACTS in a downward direction when it fires. Now on to the answer...it is my personal belief and understanding that the diaphragm contracts downwards on inhale, and on exhale it is relaxed completely. Many singers and teachers will disagree because they say they FEEL something engage in that area, but there is no SCIENTIFIC evidence of this. ALL the other muscles in the body function this way, so I doubt that the diaphragm is any different. (I would love to pop someone in an MRI and find out!) So basically the diaphragm (now relaxed) is being pressed upwards by the abdominal cylinder (what teachers often say is the feeling and location of "appoggia") 4. Uh, no. the lungs and pelvic floor are a long way from each other and separated by, literally, a whole lot of stuffing! Also- remember the diaphragm is basically acting like a separating, flexible wall that literally separates the thoracic cylinder from the abdominal one. (If you want more air capacity in your lungs, work on building intercostal muscle strength- do specific breathing exercises that encourage maximum rib expansion on inhale and then MAINTAIN that expansion while exhaling. Over time that will increase rib volume and thus lung capacity!! Cheers!
You are such a great help! I'm an MA student at Krakow music academy, I'm writing my thesis about breathing techniques before and while playing the recorder (im a recorder player) recorder has very similar breath support needs as singers because there is not any resistance from the mouthpiece. as part of the thesis, I want to clarify breath support because as a music student for 20 years, almost no one could explain it to me, and i got some amorphic answers like "contract your diaphragm" or "push out your stomach" etc..
I actually did a survey and got answers from 25 recorder players all around the world (professionals, students, and amateurs), and only 2 were actually correct!! I'm basing all the information from the books "Breath" by James Nestor and "The Oxygen Advantage" by Patrick Mckeown, but it's really hard to find reliable info about breath support for musicians. Part of my future goals is to educate wind players about breathing before and while playing their instruments. So now about the question:
Ok now I got it, the breath support is the pressure between the thoracic and abdominal.
- I tried to imagine the thoracic as a balloon filled with air and the abdominal pressing on it in order to release the air slowly. but actually, when you press on a balloon it releases the air fast, right? So my question is, how does pressing on an object filled with gas help to release this gas slower?
- Another quesion, I want to prevent people from thinking that breath support is inflating the stomach, and to explain this 360-degree pressure, is it true that if I press down my pelvic floor it allows 360-degree support of abdominal muscles?
Really thank you so much Im obviously writing you in my thesis footnote
@@OpusMyo
Wow, what an amazing thesis! I actually first learned all this for the EXACT same reasons as you; no one could give me a correct, clear answer! So glad that more correct information will be added to the world through you!
YES! Recorder is just like singers! I actually practice singing and playing (cheap) recorder at the same time to help with my over-blowing! Yes, you are right- the analogy of the lungs being balloons and the abdominals pressurizing that is correct. And yes, when we squeeze a balloon, the air becomes pressurized, and therefore releases FASTER. What changes the AMOUNT of air release is the size of the hole/opening/cap/lip of the container- so what is our ‘cap’ as singers and recorder players? We have 1. The glottis- (which many people use out of poor technique or unawareness) but that would be a bad choice to use all the time, as it can cause health problems and also cannot win a pressure war against the abdominal muscles which are much larger! And the 2. Ribs. The ribs control the contraction of the lungs themselves. Only the ribs can cause the lungs to change shape and therefore change how MUCH air is inside them. Imagine a bottle of water filled all the way to the brim- the water inside the bottle won’t be pressed out until the CONTAINTER, the bottle, changes shape, ie. when I squeeze it. This is why the BALACE of work/engagement between the abdominal cylinder and the thoracic is so important- it takes BOTH for EVERY pitch.
Yes, agree, we can’t literally inflate our stomach and also shouldn’t try lol. Yogic “belly breathing” is not helpful for pressurizing! Ah, yes, the pelvic floor. (I need to make a video of this…) Short answer: every muscle in the body can only engage in one direction. The pelvic floor as a UNIT engages in an UPWARD direction for all- male and female anatomies. This has a very real and important basic job of preventing anything from “coming out” while we pressurize…Some teachers will describe it as the “hold the pee in” technique. Some other teachers teach the “out” technique and will incorrectly say that the pelvic floor is engaged in a downwards direction. That is completely untrue if you are attempting to pressurize like this. The only times the body will engage downwards is when the body is releasing urine or feces. But those are isolatory muscles of the pelvic floor (not the pelvic floor as a unit) and in order to make this action happen, the body also have to DECREASE the amount of internal volume and pressure to facilitate this. (A childish, but perfectly accurate example is a very big poop. The ribs CONTRACT downwards, the abs as well, and most of the pelvic floor muscles must relax in order to allow feces to pass while a select few muscles will squeeze it through the hole). Another easy example is women who have recently given birth; their pelvic floors are now overstretched and weak, so they cannot engage the UNIT of the pelvic floor and therefore have incontinency issues.
P.S. also feel free to email me if you’d like diagrams or just to chat more! info@opusom.com
@@NogaRubanenko
I recommend reviewing this section- it will help with the lungs vs air amount idea. ruclips.net/video/kZ_24Zevigo/видео.htmlsi=HNy99xNgoG11pZRR&t=324
Everything is very controversial. 1. Where does the air come from in the lower celirium? Does it pass there from the lungs? 2. Trying to keep my ribs extended during the sound gave me unnecessary tension. My efforts were aimed at the ribs - whereas it would be correct to apply them to the solar plexus - this is where the diaphragm is attached and our task is to hold it in the lower position while the note sounds (so that the air comes out slowly). This is aperture control, which you deny. If we do not have direct access to it, this does not mean that we cannot control it. For example, right now you can hold your breath - you will feel your throat closing and at the same time you have tensed your solar plexus - you have held your diaphragm.
But I still can't imagine how to create 360 degree pressure in the abdominal area? Is it related to abdominal movement or sending out the air...?
The 360 degree pressure happens naturally as a result of firing the cylinder in a specific way- so we don't need to try to 'send' the pressure in a direction or anything.
@@OpusMyo Would you please explain more?
@@azarchalabiani592 Think of the abdominal muscles as a balloon. Just like regular balloons- when we blow them up, the air inside the balloon is pressing OUTWARDS against the latex in 360 degrees (which is why balloons are spherical!) A similar thing is happening inside us: since the spine is the only major HARD surface inside the abdominal cylinder area (the rest is organs, muscles, tendons etc- all soft), we therefore are also expanding in all directions.
What I tried was like breathing from the center of my lungs down to my pelvis and keep it like that, while pressing the lower part of my belly inside. Like higher body pressure inside to outside to keep the lung space and lower belly pressure outside to inside to put the air out
Is this nonsense ? 🤬🤬🤬
Nope! It's science ;)
@@OpusMyo Yeah thats what I'm saying ,like is this nonsense ? cuz why doesn't it have more views ? This deserves way more views.!!! This is the most simple and easy to digest info about breathing for singing I have ever seen on youtube.
@@MineCraft-nz9pg Wow, thank you so much! It is BRAND new, so thats probably why! So glad you found it helpful!
@@OpusMyoI found this very helpful, but for some reason couldn't find the 2nd part of the video. Would you by any chance be uploading it any time soon?
Thank you for being a catalyst for true information. 🙏
@@ahmedel-beih8908 of course! here you are: ruclips.net/video/kZ_24Zevigo/видео.html