Breathing
Before actually starting to sing, it is important to start breathing properly and from the diaphragm. Start with simple exercises such as hissing. Inhale deeply and then make a hissing sound, continuing until as much air as possible has been expelled. Repeat several times, but be sure to breathe using the diaphragm, not by moving the shoulders up and down, which is a common sign of an untrained breather.
After, use lip trills and tongue trills to help control breathing as well. Start just using a steady note, then making a "fire engine sound" go up and down. Eventually move to real notes, starting in the middle range, such as middle C.
Read more about this topic: Vocal Warm Up, Methods
Famous quotes containing the word breathing:
“I have often observed, there is not a Man breathing who does not differ from all other Men, as much in the Sentiments of his Mind, as the Features of his Face.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)
“Thou hast left behind
Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies;
There’s not a breathing of the common wind
That will forget thee; thou hast great allies;
Thy friends are exultations, agonies,
And love, and man’s unconquerable mind.”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
“You have been here only a short time, Mr. Barnard. You cannot know what it is to live here month upon month, year after year, breathing this infernal air, absorbing the miasma of barbarity that permeates these walls, especially this chamber.”
—Richard Matheson (b. 1926)