>>>>i would describe normal breathing as the following: when we
talk, we begin talking on whatever air is in our lungs. as we talk,
we use air, creating a vacuum. when we stop talking and relax, we
stop the process that is creating that vacuum and, nature, by virtue
of eliminating that vacuum, inhales for us. i have found that this
process is quicker than any of the approaches that attempt
to 'manually override' the process of breathing in hopes of making it
more efficient. i am not alone in my thinking on this. carlo
bergonzi, piero cappuccilli and daniel ferro (i think) all believe in
this type of breathing. jerome hines discussed the approach, along
with quite a few others, in his book 'the four voices of man'.
one other benefit to this type of breathing; as it is the breathing
of everyday life, there is a calming effect when performing (or, at
least, it doesn't contribute to the general panic).
mike<<<<
I agree with your thinking wholeheartedly Mike, and in a perfect
world, this is all we would ever need to impart to our students about
breathing. Mind you, nothing that I teach about 'breathing' is to
>>>'manually override' the process of breathing in hopes of making it
more efficient.<<< Far from it. You might like to check out Kristin
Linklater's book "Freeing the Natural Voice", as well. I find her
technique invaluable.
Many students though, the moment they walk in the door, will suddenly
become all self conscious about their singing or themselves or both
and the first "casualty" is their ability to breath naturally. (Try
asking a group of six year olds to sing. All those raised shoulders!
*groan*) I don't even have to mention breathing, all I have to do
is "be me" with my "singing teacher hat on" and there it goes! My
first steps in re-establishing their connection with their breath is
to go via the "natural breathing" route you mention.
Further to this though, there is always a number of students whom, no
matter HOW much you try to avoid this pattern of faulty breath, will
continue to go on and make this a major stumbling block. They will
also be PARALYSED with performance anxiety. They practically BEG you
to give them "a method" whereby they can simply do Step a b and c and
proceed to d when they have perfected the previous and feel they are
in control. It is always a relief if you can halt the rot at this
point and they can just settle with that and never look back.
Even further to this, there are yet another sub group of these
students who will NEVER "get it" and finally go off to another
teacher citing "breathing problems" as their nemisis.
(I often run group workshops for my hardest cases and employ a mix of
things depending on what addresses the individuals. My starting point
is usually the Kristin Linklater.)
Hence the "need" for "breathing exercises" or even discussing
or 'teaching breathing' in the first place. As I said previously,
there are students who from the moment they come to lessons never
need to "do" anything about their breathing. It is perfect the way it
is. The only instruction they get is basic anatomy.
Also, the high number of asthmatics I seem to get through my studio
are never going to get anything from me telling them to just
breath "normally" either.
Doing it and teaching it are different animals.
~Michelle
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