Controlling your breath is one of the most important techniques you have to master regardless of what kind of genre you wish to sing.
You can learn to control your breath by learning it from the song and developing an ear for it. There are other specific exercises you must do in order to become proficient at it. Regular practice is the only way to make it seamless in your singing.
Now, what I am about to tell you is going to blow your mind and it’s quite amazing how effective it is. Thank me later. Let’s dive into this and unravel this mystery!
Learn From The Pros
I want to tell you a secret that is going to change how you perceive how singers take breaths during singing.
You can pick up any song you like and pay close attention to when a singer is ‘about’ to sing. At that moment they are going to take a breath and you will hear the singer take it! You can hear it very clearly and for the rest of the song, you won’t be able to help yourself but be able to hear what they’re doing with their breathwork!
You’re welcome.
So, how do you become competent at something you aren’t yet?
Practice
Practice is the quintessential thing that will separate you from amateurs, people who don’t learn to do proper breathwork for their singing end up regretting it.
It also works like a tire on a vehicle. It works fine until it doesn’t. When you haven’t practiced deliberately on an aspect of your craft, it works fine until it doesn’t.
There is nothing more important than practice for someone who wants to get better at something. Doesn’t matter if it’s science, doesn’t matter if it’s singing and it doesn’t matter if it’s any other endeavor. How (the quality) you practice it and how much you practice are the only determining factors in your success.
I have written extensively and how 30 minutes of practice can help you tremendously. You can read it here.
But, how do you practice taking breaths in singing?
Cover Songs
Covering songs allows you to put yourself in the shoes of someone who is better than you are. So when you cover the songs that you listen to on a daily basis you are allowing yourself to become as great as the original singer is, even though it is only for a few moments. This may seem exaggerated but if you’re able to do what the singer is able, then your techniques are matched.
Of course, a professional does do it effortlessly and it’s going to be effortless for you when you’ve practiced enough.
As you copy their every move you also copy their breathing and you can’t just do breathing exercises in isolation. We need to do it in the context of a song and in the context of something that you are having fun with.
If you don’t, well, you’re just breathing. I am so funny.
So, pick a song you’ve been listening to lately and try to cover it and just really focus on the advice I gave you and this is to listen for the breath and then copy them for what it is.
The same applies to a fast song you can’t sing. YET.
If you are struggling with the speed of the song then I have written another article on how to cover fast songs which you can read here.
You Get Better With Time and Practice
Don’t fret over the fact that you are not able to get the breathing right from the get-go.
This does not mean that you are any less capable of achieving it but rather something entirely else. It means that you are capable (the end goal) but you are on your way to achieving it.
Practicing means that you make a mistake that is necessary for you to make to be made aware of what you are lacking so that you can make up the difference.
This allows you to see practice in a light that you have never done before. This is why we practice.
Practicing in this sense is actually self-reflection which is why it is a lot like meditation when you’re just focused on doing something right. It reveals to you what is wrong and it gives you an idea of what you can improve upon in order to improve altogether.
I tell this to everyone and I’m going to tell this to you as well. Don’t fret about not improving at a certain rate. Everyone improves at different things at different rates. At music college, I was really good at my instrument but it was not as good with my ear. It just took me longer.
You have strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else. To compare yourself to someone else for the ability to do something one particular thing better than other things is unfair to yourself.
I said this before and I’ll say this again you need to put practice deliberate and effective practice into its proper place. Without which you cannot improve. No playing around and no sugar coating.
What you have to remember is that the most important part of all of this is that in the end…..
Learning Sing as a Whole
As much as it is fun to talk and bust myths about the techniques of singing, learning how to sing happens as a whole as well. Your teacher or instructor shows you how it’s done and tells you to copy it. There are multiple things happening. Compared to physical classes you get your money’s worth in time. If you understand something at a particular time, good if not, pay up so that you can try to understand and
Unlike online classes, once you’ve paid you get those lessons forever. The return on your investment is equal to how much time you spend understanding the lessons when you want and you can practice things until you’re actually good at them.
No time barriers. Read more about the importance of online courses here.
If you’d like to see the courses I believe that can improve you you can check out the page here.