6 Easy Steps on How to Sing from Diaphragm

Six Easy Steps to Breathe from Diaphragm and Sing Well

Your vocal chords are like that of a musical instrument. While singing you need to have full control of your voice to hold notes properly and for a long time, bring dynamics into your voice to express the intended feeling, and to sing without a break or crack in your voice. This can be achieved only if you build and strengthen your vocal chords with breathing from your diaphragm.

Diaphragm is the muscle below your lungs and just above your stomach which controls inhaling and exhaling of breath. You must have often heard people say things like, ” Breathe from your diaphragm when you sing”. You might have wondered why people say that when you know you are supposed breathe with the help of your lungs.

What they actually mean is proper breathing is a major requirement for proper singing. Once you develop breath control, you will be able hold long notes, improve your tonal quality and throw your voice to a larger distance. As babies all of us are born with correct breathing capabilities. That is why a child’s wail can be heard at a long distance even when its lungs are so tiny. Since as children we do not know the wrong way of breathing our voice resonates and can be heard loudly and clearly. It is as we grow up that we take shallow breaths from the top part of our lungs resulting in voice breaking and gasping at even a little effort.

Steps on how to Sing from Your Diaphragm:-
Step 1- Learn the muscle movements associated with singing. The diaphragm is a muscle at the bottom of the solar plexus which moves to pull and push air into and out of your lungs. Shallow breathing is done with the top of the lungs leaving no work for the diaphragm and half used lungs resulting in short breaths. So practice to breathe deeply from the diaphragm.

Step 2- Sit or stand erect while singing. A hunched posture will not allow you to breathe from your diaphragm. Hunched postures cause restriction of air movement damaging the delivery of your song.

Step 3 – Proper Posture. Your feet while standing should be shoulder width apart, your back straight and your chin parallel to the floor. Tilting your head back while singing will strain your vocal chords and hinder free flow of air.

Step 4 – Breathing Exercises. Even as you practice singing every day, you must practice breathing for at least ten minutes. Sit on a rug on the floor with legs folded, your hands resting lightly on your knees. Inhale slowly till you feel the air reaching your stomach expanding it . Hold the breath as you count ten in your mind. Then exhale as slowly as you inhaled. This exercise is a must for any aspiring singer.

Step 5 – Check breathing while singing. Keep your palm on your solar plexus when you start singing simple scales. If you are breathing properly then you will feel you palm being propelled outward with your stomach movement. Only this can help you get control over your voice and improve your singing technique.

Step 6 -  Sing with an open mouth. Just as we realize the need to take deep breath, we should also allow air to flow out freely while singing. So it is important to sing with you mouth open and your throat muscles relaxed. This helps in proper diction, voice throwing and volume control.

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