Sandra,
It's entirely possible/probable that you're doing the
usual mad fixation with breathing exercises, rather
than learning to sing!! Lots of teaching is based on
the old breathing 'support' 'method' which is
basically a mistake! I always say that you can have
the most marvellous breath, but then, go and be a
Pearl Fisher 'coz it's got nought to do with singing!!
You have, what is common in a new student a simple
case of breath mis-management, not coordination. If
you take a huge breath, and fill your lungs up, the
first thing your body does is get rid of most of it as
it's not required either for singing/speech purpose or
for breathing. The only time deep breathing is really
useful to get oxygen is if you are being chased by a
pack of lions!!!
> At the end of phrases, where I attempt to take my
> next breath, I sometimes
> find my intercostal and upper abdominal muscles
> "locking" in the place that
> they are when I near the end of the exhalation. It
> doesn't always happen.
> I can't seem to put a pattern to when it occurs yet.
> You could also
> describe it as not completely exhaling or not
> relaxing the muscles
> completely to get back to the starting point one
> needs in order to be able
> to take the next good inhalation. I have a tiny bit
> of air left in the
> lungs and the muscles just seem to want to stay in
> that position holding
> that tiny bit of air. My teacher also describes it
> as trying to pause/hold
> the breath & breath in at the same time. The
> consequence--I don't take in
> enough air to get through the subsequent phrase.
> Right now I am dealing
> with it by cutting short the last note of phrases &
> adding a rest so that I
> can have more time to force that last little bit of
> air out & consciously
> relax the muscles again. This trick buys me more
> time, which works fine
> right now for solo singing, but of it doesn't work
> well for choral
> performances, and of course it is not a satisfactory
> long-term solution.
I'm a bit concerned about pausing/holding your air in,
this will lead to tenseness. Now, the folds need
tension to work correctly, but if you're body is like
a ram rod, then you're lost before you start. Try, and
it's really hard to do believe me. Try and do
absolutely nothing!!! Look at the music and sing. Then
try and analyse what you did. I'll bet you produce a
better sound when you don't do all that breathing
stuff.
Obviously, air is needed to power the instrument, but
your body will supply you with the correct amount if
you get your larynx working right first. Not the other
way round.
This is just for starters, as it's way past my
bedtime, but I'll be back to be interested in what you
think? Personally, I think any sort of imaginative
pictures are, on the whole, pretty feeble! The process
is muscular. The teacher needs to be able to spot the
problem, and deal with it in the most straightforward
manner.
You may also be quite wrong to assume muscular
tensions will go away with time. I find they get worse
if they're not dealt with!!
I hope this may be of some use to you. Be brave and
you may have extraordinary results!
Let me know!!
Ian Voice wrecker to the stars!
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