Breathing and relaxation should go hand in hand and are the foundation of vocal production. We will start with relaxation, then go on to breathing. This section applies for speakers as well as singers. Singing is speaking on pitch. The principles cross over into both areas.

RELAXATION

First of all, all the muscles in your face, tongue, jaw, chin, throat, and neck must be relaxed or your singing will be muscle-bound. I'll outline a couple of great excercises here. If your outer muscles of your throat are relaxed, your inner muscles will take care of themselves. So let's go step by step with some excercises.

RELAXATION EXCERCISES

1. Massage with index and 3rd fingers from your hairline to your throat. (If your hairline is receding, from your temples!) Let your face fall limp, jaw henging slack.
2. Let your tongue fall out over lower lip.
3. Take your chin between your thumb and forefinger and lightly move up and down.
4. To relax swallowing muscles, gently press one side, then the other on the soft part of your throat between your chin and adams apple.
5. Move you head up and down.

After moving through these steps, focus on your posture. Shoulders should be relaxed and chest out. Tuck hips in without changing upper body position.

Spend time on this section as we seldom take time to relax before speaking or singing. This will minimize strain and will help us do the next section correctly.

BREATHING

Normal inhaling occurs when your brain signals a need for oxygen. Exhaling occurs when your brain wants to get rid of carbon dioxide. We don't even have to think about this process. But as soon as we open our mouth for singing, a different kind of breathing than the norm should begin.

When we breathe in before singing, we take in 3-4x as much air as for passive breathing. And it will no longer be rhythmic because we exhale slower than we inhale. We will be focusing on the diaphragm (the large dome-shaped muscle that separates your chest and stomach cavities), the lower belly and the ribcage.

The Diaphragm, though elastic, is very powerful. At rest, it looks like an inverted bowl and with a deep breath, it flattens. As we breathe in, our waist and lower belly should get larger. Put your hands on your shoulders and breathe in. Your shoulders should not go up at all, but your mid-waist area and lower belly should expand.

Your ribcage is flexible. There are 12 pairs of ribs (for most of us!) joined to the backbone and connected to the breastbone by cartilages, except for 2 at the bottom. As our diaphragm flattens out, our ribs should be lifted and kept in position while expending air.

BREATHING EXCERCISES

1. For your abdomen and lower belly: Breathe in and out, standing erect, shoulders down. Put hands on shoulders and feel your mid-waist expand. Then lie flat on your back or lean back on some cushions and do the same thing. You should see your lower belly go out and in. The more relaxed your body is, the more relaxed the voice is. Let the belly expand and feel the wave of expansion all the way through your ribcage and lower back. Feel the connection of the air and the voice as you let out a sigh on "ahh".
2. For ribcage: Bend at the waist and allow the lower belly, then ribcage to expand.

If you maintain good posture when you sing and are careful not to let your chest "collapse" as you exhale, your diaphragm is able to move freely and be regulated by your abdominal muscles automatically. There is no need for tension in these muscles.

Many entertainers get into bad habits, not taking the time to properly warm up or breathe. Over time, this may damage the vocal instrument. Proper breathing and technique should keep the vocal cords moistened and relaxed. These excercises are just a beginning but good breathing and posture is the building block on which all other vocal technique should stand.