So, we discovered that breathing through the nose is not the most efficient.
We discovered that breathing I through the mouth is better timing wise in certain ways, but I hear the challenge of singers stating they tend to get dried out when breathing through mouth. I completely understand, but I do not have that issue anymore because of a breathing technique I developed over the years that we are now going to talk about.
We established that breathing though mouth can make me quicker to execute my notes, but again, quicker does not mean the hiccup breath. I understand that sometimes nerves play a part in that type of faulty breathing, and I observe many artists hiccupping. Some singers have said to me that they use for stylistic reasons, and I am fully onboard with that idea, but can you intentionally take a hiccup breath and not employ it at will?
Unfortunately, for many artists it is a hard habit to break. When you can do it at will, you are in control of your instrument and not held in bondage to it.
Now, let’s talk about another way we can take a breath is through nose and mouth at the same time.
Is that even possible? Absolutely! Upon taking a breath through nose and mouth is similar to a snore or a dog panting. I would recommend going 7:00 minutes into the video for a demonstration. Check it out HERE. A powerful discovery on my part is when you take a breath through both, it releases tension in the palate. You can release tension in the palate? Absolutely! Just the sheer nature of taking a breath through both nose and mouth at the same time relieves tension throughout the whole body. There is something about that palate, where you hear others say to raise the palate. Don’t raise the palate, but rather let the palate move according to the vowel you are singing. We don’t want to artificially do something, manually force, but rather let things happen organically.
Now, not only are we going to take a breath through both nose and mouth, but I am going to sing through both nose and mouth at the same time. Yes, this is derived from the Italian School of Singing which is secretly hidden within the literature of old. Warning, we are not talking about singing in the nose or placing our sound in the mask, but rather singing through the cavities of both nose and mouth. This technique is easily applied to any style of music because I sing in both spectrums of music, rock to opera. What I ended up doing is take the classical technique and applied it to any style over time. What I realized, is I learned the art of singing that is easily applied to any style of music rather than train in a particular style which only leads to being held in bondage to it. Breathing in through nose and mouth can generate an amazing amount of sound and tone quality.
Okay, we discussed breathing I through mouth, nose, and both, but when should I use those methods? Wait, what?
There is a time to use those methods. Yes, when I sing “Amazing Grace,” there are some challenges that as singers we run into. I would recommend turning to the video at 11:00 minutes in for the demonstration. Check it out HERE. The challenge we face is that we have to take a breath either between “Grace” and “How,” but we can’t. We can’t? No, we can’t because there is no room for a breath. Okay, stay with me for a moment. If I were to ask a mathematician if I can take a breath between “Grace” and “How,” he or she would tell me that I cannot. Why? Because all of the allotted time in the measure has been used and therefore you cannot add anything more to the measure. Oh, I see, when I realized this many years ago, it revolutionized my singing forever. So, does this mean I can’t ever take a breath? I know this is quite funny, but here is what we need to do as singers. The word “Grace” has a quarter note value allocated to it. What we simply have to do is subtract an eighth note of time from “Grace,” making it a dotted quarter note. When we subtract the time value, now we have room to place in an eighth rest of breathing leading us with ease into the next sentence. I hope this makes sense, again I recommend turning to the video for a more detailed demonstration
Now that is how we will avoid the horrible hiccup breath and know exactly where, when, and how much time we have to breath. One last thing we need to cover to make this breath even more seamless. I mentioned that there are specific times that we will use breathing I through mouth, nose or both. The “How,” can only be pronounced with mouth opened, which is why it would be ridiculous to take a breath in through nose only because that would cause me to produce the sound with two adjustment positions. I would be slower and less efficient in my execution, which eventually leads to exhaustion in singing. Again, turn to the video for a more detailed demonstration.
Lastly, I said I would reveal which one do I use, and which one is the winner takes all.
Drum roll please. The one I use, and winner takes all is breathing in through both nose and mouth. Yes, I breathe I through both nose and mouth all the time, yes, all the time. No matter if the word is pronounced with mouth opened like the word “On” or mouth closed like the word “Boy,” I breathe in through both. It is the most powerful and efficient method for taking a breath for singing. Grab a hold of this and I promise you it will revolutionize the way you sing and approach music forever.
Breathing in through nose and mouth, that is the winner takes all approach. That is the one that is going to lead you and change your singing forever. Again, this is Daniel, and I would love to hear from you.
Let me know if you are able to acquire this method or ask question on its application.
Remember, Keep Singing and Playing Guitar.