Breath... the solid foundation, no matter what you sing.

Question: I want to study singing seriously; where would a good teacher start?

In her very excellent book on her view of singing and its teaching, Elizabeth Schumann made the uncompromising observation that if a singing tutor did not teach breathing first and foremost, then that teacher, in her opinion, was a charlatan. I have never reached the heights of self reflection that have permitted me to judge any person a charlatan, but her strenuous observation did set me thinking about the fundamentals of vocal technique; so many ‘systems’, ‘franchises’ and ‘methods’ abound to instruct us in an art that the most respected teachers throughout the history of the vocal arts have always referred to as natural, easy and unforced. A singing colleague of mine recently lamented that if you “throw a ball on any street in New York…you’ll hit a (very expensive) vocal guru!”. I asked what these gurus were teaching; “Mostly new ways to breathe!” was the laconic reply. So it would seem that breathing is, has and always shall be a very good place to start...

Not surprisingly I am often asked by students what the significance of breathing technique is to a singer. Breath is both the fuel and raw material for the voice, so how to use it is fundamental. It is the place to start. Understanding how to move the breath through the vocal folds, how to support it as you ‘ration it out’ through a phrase, how to play with it so that it can be a source of expression, how it relates to words, phrases and tone placing, how to have enough of it to start a song in the first place are clearly prerequisites to vocal freedom. This is the case whether you are an opera singer, rock star, actor or having a great time in the back row of the local choral society. This all sounds very complicated, but don’t be daunted by this apparently overwhelming task: you’ve probably been breathing very successfully for most of your life. To sing you need to harness, and develop consciously, an action that you have been (hopefully) taking for granted since birth. The teaching and continual development of the vocal student’s control of breath is vital and has been since singing began. There are no short cuts or special ‘methods’ to it. There is no mystery to breathing appropriately, and despite the fact that harnessing your breath can take time, if taught properly and the student has the patience and tenacity to practice, gaining a sound knowledge and technique of your breath is the very best place to start.