How to breathe to sing without straining your throat?

Caution : You must consult your doctor for your health. This page presents only a personal and alternative point of view which should not be considered as an attempt to prescribe medicine.

To sing well, you have to breathe well.

To state this is to support the idea that voice quality and vocal power depend on breathing.

It cannot be otherwise, because when you sing and you are short of breath, it is felt in your voice.

You lose power and sometimes you have to strain your throat.

To avoid this, it is imperative to improve your breathing to have more vocal ease.

So how do you get there?

Practice breathing with your stomach

Learning to breathe through your stomach is one of the best ways to stop straining your throat.

Better, this technique will allow you to emit beautiful sounds and to be more enduring (e) vocally.

Keep in mind that you need to relax at first to relieve any tension you may be feeling in your throat and stomach.

It is therefore obligatory to let go of all thoughts, to clear your mind and to focus your attention on the exercise.

To perform this exercise better, you should lie on the floor.

Preferably, you should be lying on your back.

The legs should not be crossed but rather relaxed.

Then place your hands on your stomach and inhale slowly.

You will notice that your hands will lift slightly.

If you want, you can use a book instead of your hands.

The exercise will end with a gradual exhalation while making vocalizations.

After several applications, you can do the exercise while standing.

By using this breathing practice when you sing, you will propel your voice without straining your throat.

NOTE: Singing with the stomach also means keeping the throat (larynx) open. Practice opening it on purpose by making the sound "OOOooo".

Relax the diaphragm

When the diaphragm is relaxed, it's easy to hit high (and low) notes or just sing along without titillating the throat.

Several exercises allow this muscle to be quickly relaxed.

Here is one that will be of great help to you.

• Sit on a stool or chair.
• Place your hands between the breastbone and the navel, more precisely at the level of the floating ribs.
• Take a deep breath.
• Breathe out once you feel your rib cage is full.
• During this exhalation phase, lean forward.
• Try to reach your thighs by lying on them.
• Repeat as many times as you can.

It is good to note that the higher the level of inspired air, the more relaxed your diaphragm will be.

NOTE: do this exercise as slowly as possible, so as not to fall into a chronic hyperventilation syndrome.

Practice dog breathing

To apply this technique, you must be standing and your shoulders must be completely relaxed.

Then you have to stick your tongue out to breathe just like dogs.

This means that breathing here should not be done through the nostrils but rather through the mouth.

You just need to be able to stretch your tongue out while keeping your throat open to let air circulate.

During the exercise, your shoulders should not move.

Otherwise, you will not have the desired result.

Your belly should be the only part of your body that needs to move.

Stop when you notice that you can open or close your glottis.

This exercise should not be done while you sing, but rather well before your workouts.

Learn to breathe by blowing bubbles

It sounds like fun, but it's a special exercise in keeping the airflow constant.

Not only does it relax the vocal cords but in addition, it opens the pharynx.

It is therefore an exercise that also deserves special attention.

To start, you need a glass of water and a straw.

Blow on the straw to make bubbles, just like a child playing for example.

So inhale through your nose and exhale as long as possible through the straw and into a glass of water.

You will see, it's not that easy to hold out for a long time ...

Save your breath

Singing sometimes, we can find ourselves breathless.

To remedy this unfortunate situation, you must be able to control your lung capacity.

By doing this, you will be able to sing long phrases or larger verses.

To learn to control your breath, you need to inhale for a count of 5 and then exhale on the “s” sound counting to the maximum you can.

Then take it up a notch.

Inhale for a count of 8 and still exhale making the sound “s” and counting again to the maximum.

Repeat a few times and make sure the hissing (“s” sound) is even and consistent.

Having good breathing allows you to acquire good vocal technique.

To achieve this, the few breathing exercises above will be of great help to you to sing better without straining your throat.

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