Breath and its management are most necessary in maintaining a beautiful tone line and can greatly improve your singing voice. Take the breath with the mouth open. Practice on a definite word so you may form the first vowel sound with the mouth as you take your breath. This must become an automatically simultaneous act—the setting up of the vowel and the taking of the breath.
EXERCISE 1. Speak under pressure from the diaphragm.
Oh – oh – oh – oh – oh.
I – I – I – I – I.
At – at – at – at – at. Ah-men - ah-men - ah-men – ah-men - ah-men.
Anchor the breath deep. Practice “panting like a dog” with the tongue forward; then hold breath gently. Don’t have too much muscle tension—just enough to hold and control the breath. Make believe that someone is placing in your outstretched hands a large heavy bowl—a breath pressure will be established on the diaphragm quite similar to that formed when beginning a cough or grunt.
Now feed the breath through the vocal cords easily so that only a minimum amount of work is done by the vocal cords. Use the sound “zzz” like that of a bumblebee and count slowly up to twelve. Do this several times, and hold the sound easily and continuously.
EXERCISE 2.
Zzz. . ………………….
EXERCISE 3. Do this same exercise, add- ing the word “zoom,” all
in one breath.
Zoom – zoom – zoom.
The pressure flow of the breath should be even and smooth like that of an oil well under control. Encourage an open throat and keep the tongue forward. Don’t waste air at start of the tone by rushing or humping.
Avoid chest heaving. Gradually establish a big breathing organ by expansion of the lower ribs and muscles with a smooth, easy action. Hold back slightly before starting the breath through the vocal cords. Be sure to release breath slowly under pressure quite like the gentle squeezing of a tube of tooth paste.
Phonation and establishing the tone line is the third step in the singing act. First, speak a word like “yet,” emphasizing the vowel sound “eh.” Do it several times.
EXERCISE 5. Exert pressure as in lifting. Yet – yet – yet – yet – yet.
Then hold the vowel sound gently and evenly on the same pitch, sustaining the last one.