In a message dated 2/10/2002 8:43:19 PM Eastern Standard Time, soubrette@b... writes:
> Thank You, Lea Ann. I Will Put Your Advice To Good Use. I Agree > With You 110%. It Z*Is* The Cornerstone. And For Me, Breathing > Is The One Aspect Of My Singing I Have To Work On The Most <And > Being Asthmatic Doesn't Help!> >
i, too, suffer from asthma. i have noticed other asthmatic singers seem to be particularly panicked over their breathing.
one of the things that bothers me about those who make a 'gymnastic exercise' out of breathing is that they all inhale too slowly. very often the music that most challenges the supply of breath also gives very little time to take it in (bach, for example, is most evil in this regard) so, any method that requires a mechanical intake of air will be at a disadvantage.
the method we use to breath, when speaking, takes advantage of the laws of physics. nature abhors a vacuum. when you use air, you create a vacuum in your lungs. when you stop expelling the air, the vacuum will inhale for you if, you get out of its way. this will be done more quickly than any mechanical approach to 'drawing in the air' as most of those efforts actually slow down the inhalation.
however, if you are running out of air, it is more likely you are blowing out more than you need to, particularly on high notes (on high notes less air should be coming out if you are singing them correctly).
i would also challenge you to name a piece of music that requires the singer to hold a high note for 25/30 seconds (or, were you just exaggerating?).
mike
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