Breath Basics

breath | technique

April 25, 2023

There’s the inhale, and there’s the exhale.

As our starting point, let’s start with the exhale, as it makes one of the biggest differences at the beginning of learning about your singing voice.

Breathing out for speaking and singing are different.

When we speak (which happens on the exhale) we have short bursts of air for each word. Words are seperate, and their air comes in little, non-connected moments. 

When we sing, which also happens on the exhale, we connect everything together and get one continuous sound. Say ‘here are some words’ as normal spoken words, and now say it again, but this time make all the words long and connected so there is no space between them. That’s basically singing. 

The Upside Down Waterfall

Or a babbling brook, or a leaf on a stream, or a vomit…..These are all ways I have to think of how constant the air flow feels, and how it starts in your belly, flows up your body and out your mouth, being constantly renewed and constantly flowing and alive. 

A Breath Warm Up Song

Listen to this one a few times first to notice the pattern and how it goes. It is a simple repeating pattern, which moves through vowels. Really notice the feeling of that constantly flowing air, staying connected. Try for a really long note or two, and see how it feels! This is also a great one to pay attention to how vowels feel, and to keep them consistent.

 

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Rumi Partners

Two sets of Rumi words. Two tunes by me. Much loveliness. Sing them by themselves, then sing them...

I’m Rose.

And I know you can sing.

You are allowed to sing. 

As you are, for whatever reasons you want. 

You can learn to sing, to allow it to feel even better, if you want to. 

I’ve been teaching singing for over 20 years and delight in sharing simple and highly practical tools, along with buckets of motivation and magic, to help normalise and proliferate singing in our everyday lives. 

 

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