How to Breathe When You Sing

Your voice runs on air

Your voice comes from two small folds in your throat, called vocal folds, that buzz as air passes between them. Steady air makes a steady sound. Under your lungs sits a dome shaped muscle called the diaphragm. When you breathe in, it moves down and flattens, which gives your lungs room to fill and lets your belly expand. When you breathe out, it rises back up. Singers learn to let that low breath happen on purpose, then let the air out slowly.

Stand tall and loose

Good breathing starts with how you stand. Put your feet about as wide as your hips and keep your knees soft, never locked. Let your spine grow tall, as if a string pulls gently up from the top of your head. Let your shoulders hang relaxed and keep your chin level, not tipped up toward a high note. Sitting works too. Sit near the front of the chair with both feet flat on the floor.

Find your low breath

Put one hand on your chest and the other on your belly button. Breathe in slowly and deeply. The hand on your belly should move out while the hand on your chest stays almost still. Keep your belly soft and relaxed as the air comes in, and never suck it in. If the chest hand rises first, let the air out and try again, thinking of filling a glass of water from the bottom up.

Feel the book rise

If the low breath feels hard to find, lie on your back with a light book on your belly. Breathe in slowly and watch the book rise. Breathe out and watch it sink. Lying down takes your shoulders out of the picture, so most people find the low breath quickly this way. Try ten slow breaths, then stand up and see if your belly hand moves the same way.

Breathe into your sides

The low breath is not only in front. Put your hands on the sides of your rib cage and breathe deep, toward your belly button and your sides at the same time. Your hands should move out a little, like an umbrella opening. You may feel your back widen too. As you sing, let the ribs close slowly instead of all at once.

Try it with your arms out

Hold your arms out to the sides like wings and take a slow, deep breath. Opening your arms helps open your rib cage, so the side breath is often easier to feel this way. If a song has you lift or spread your arms, that is fine for your breathing. Practice your breaths with your arms held the same way you will hold them when you perform.

Keep your shoulders loose and down

Shoulders that jump up on every breath are a sign of a high, shallow breath. Even a little tension in the shoulders makes the rib cage lock up, so the lungs cannot expand. It also squeezes the neck, which tightens the voice. Watch yourself in a mirror while you breathe in. If your shoulders rise, roll them back and down, let them drop, and breathe again with your hands on your ribs.

Open the back of your throat

A good singing breath is almost silent. A loud gasp usually means the throat is tight. Relax your jaw, keep your tongue low, and breathe in as if you are starting a yawn in the back of your throat. The air should feel cool and easy. That same open space keeps your sound full, which helps most on low notes.

Let the air out with a hiss

Now practice letting the air out slowly. Breathe in for 4 counts, then let the air out on a long, even "sss" for 8 counts. Keep the hiss the same strength from the first count to the last, like a faucet left on low rather than a burst from a hose. When 8 counts feels easy, try 12, then 16, then 20. Set a metronome to about 60 clicks a minute so every count is the same length.

Laugh on ha ha ha

Sing "ha ha ha" on a few notes going up and back down, like a friendly laugh. Put a hand on your belly and feel it bounce gently on each "ha." That bounce is your breath support at work. Using your belly and diaphragm this way helps notes land in tune, high notes included.

Start the breath early

A full breath needs time. Before a long line, start breathing about a full measure early, three or four beats before you come in. Count "two, three, four" in your head and breathe as you count. A breath taken only a beat or two before you sing comes out short, and the line runs out of air near the end. Once the breath is in, start singing right away instead of holding it.

Take a quick breath in a short gap

Sometimes a song gives you only one beat to breathe. Then take a quick rib cage breath. Keep your belly relaxed, open the back of your throat, and let the air drop in fast and quietly. Quick breaths get easier with practice, so practice them on purpose in the spots where your song has only one beat.

Plan where to breathe in a song

Singers decide where to breathe before they sing. Look at the words and find the natural pauses, usually at a comma or the end of a line. Mark each one with a small check mark in pencil. In "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" you can breathe after "star" and after "are." Never breathe in the middle of a word, and try to sing each line all the way through without a breath in the middle.

Practice the hard spot

Find the line in your song where you always run out of air. Practice just its breathing a couple of times a day, with the full breath starting early, the whole line sung in one breath, and the quick breath after it. Hold every long note for its full length. If the line still runs short, move the breath a little earlier and try again. Breathing can start to improve after even one short, focused session.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

1. Breathing too late. A breath taken a beat or two before you sing is too short. Start a full measure early. 2. The belly pulls in on the breath in. This is breathing backward. Keep the belly soft and let it move out as the air comes in. 3. Shoulders lift or tense up. Tight shoulders lock the rib cage. Keep them loose and down, and check in a mirror. 4. Cutting a long note short. Plan a breath before it so you have the air to hold it all the way. 5. Breaking a line in the middle. Plan your breaths at the commas and ends of lines instead. 6. A loud gasp. Open the back of your throat as if starting a yawn so the breath comes in quietly. 7. Holding the breath before singing. Begin as soon as the breath is in.

A five minute practice plan

Five focused minutes every day do more than one long session a week. Stand in front of a mirror and try this: 1. Stand tall, roll your shoulders, and take five slow breaths into your belly and sides, once with your arms out (1 minute). 2. Hiss for 8, 12 and 16 counts with the metronome (1 minute). 3. Ha ha ha up and down with a hand on your belly (1 minute). 4. Practice the early full breath and the quick one beat breath (1 minute). 5. Sing your hard spot with your breaths marked (1 minute). Take a normal breath or two between rounds so you never feel light headed.

Questions families ask

Here are short answers to a few common questions.

Should we breathe through the nose or the mouth

Both are fine. A nose breath is slow and calm, good when you have a full measure. A mouth breath is faster, which helps when you have only one beat. Many singers use both at once.

Is it normal to feel dizzy

Taking many big breaths in a row can make anyone a little light headed. If that happens, stop, breathe normally for a minute, and rest between rounds. Breathing practice should feel calm, never strained.

Why do my low notes sound weak

Low notes only need a steady sound. Relax your jaw, keep your tongue low, and keep the back of your throat open. For higher voices, low notes are naturally softer than high notes, and that is fine.

What age can children start

Young children can start with simple games like the book on the belly or the arms out breath. Older children and teens can add the hiss counts, early breaths and breath marks.

What do we need to get started

A mirror, a light book and a free metronome app. Your voice and your breath do the rest.

Breathe low, start your breath early, and plan your breaths before you sing. If you would like help with your singing, visit our vocals page to book a time.