Chapter Summary: Breath is the source of life. In order for humans to phonate we must have breath and air flow. Breath is essential to speech, singing, and expressing ourselves. As singers we rely on breathing and speaking as "the two active ingredients". "Getting them to function in coordination and alignment with each other -- that we find our authentic, naked voice." In order to breath for singing, we must have proper body alignment. This allows our sound to flow most freely, and for the true colors in our voice to come out. Breath support is not an accurate term to describe breathing while singing, because it causes rigidity in breath. Releasing the air while singing is important to the success of our breath and phrasing.
Key Terms: Good body alignment, Alexander Technique,
Key Concepts: Breath = life. Breath is a natural instinct for life. Breath and speech are the two active ingredients in singing. We shouldn't focus too much on the mechanics of singing because that's what is happening when we are singing correctly, not what we are doing to sing correctly.
Making Connections: I think this is an idea that I did not receive in my early voice training. I was taught to use my abdominal muscles--to tighten them, and to approach breath by supporting it. I think this has set me back. I am excited to teach breathing to my future students as something we do naturally, rather than having it be something so labored and controlled.
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