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How to ACTUALLY Use Breath Support (Ultimate Guide) — Transcript

by Bob Smeenk · 5,807 words · 792 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00when someone says you need to use your
0:02breath support do you actually know what
0:04to do what breath support really is and
0:07how to use it this video and this visual
0:09will answer all of your questions you
0:12need breath support to sing high without
0:14straining or breaking
0:17hey and to sing long stable notes like
0:20for example deash does in
0:27stranger right you need breath support
0:30ing without getting horse and damaging
0:31your voice for agility for seeing on
0:34Pitch Etc knowing how to use your breath
0:37support can help you fix a ton of
0:40problems okay Bob that's enough thank
0:42you thank you show off just this past
0:46week I helped three singers finally sing
0:48powerful high notes in their mix past
0:51their voice break using this visual as
0:54the main Agent of Change I've spent
0:56about 60 hours obsessing over this video
0:59making it the ultimate guide on breath
1:01support and breath control and it will
1:03also show you why you're probably
1:05breathing wrong wasting energy and
1:08making things way harder than they have
1:10to be so let's get started for every
1:13note you sing you need a precise amount
1:15of airflow in the visual you can see the
1:18amount of air flow on the vertical axis
1:20on the left and the volume on the
1:22horizontal axis at the bottom PTP in the
1:25visual stands for fation threshold
1:28pressure this is the minimum amount
1:29amount of pressure needed to make your
1:32vocal folds start vibrating and produce
1:34sound if you try to sing with too little
1:37airf flow or pressure you dip below the
1:39PTP and then there is no airf flow and
1:42no sound it's not dangerous and you can
1:45easily fix it by adding a bit
1:48more hey if you try to sing with too
1:50much air flow or pressure your voice
1:53will start to strain hey or wobble and
1:57break to fetto hey
2:01y The Sweet Spot to sing any note is
2:04right above the minimum amount of air
2:06flow or pressure you need to produce
2:08sound in general this means you should
2:11sing with less air flow than you think
2:14for every note every pitch every volume
2:16every sound The Sweet Spot is unique our
2:20goal when singing is to get as close as
2:23possible to that sweet spot every time
2:25that way we'll produce the healthiest
2:27best sounding vocals with the least
2:30effort the way to do this to control
2:32your air flow is by using breath support
2:35for the remainder of the video I'll just
2:37talk about air flow but as you've
2:39already heard when I say air flow you
2:42can often replace it with air pressure
2:45as they are closely linked now if we
2:48sing quietly below our volume Five out
2:50of 10 our sweet spot is larger than when
2:53we sing louder why the most important
2:56reason is this at low volumes below your
3:00volume Five you can sing with added
3:03air you can also sing without added
3:07air hear the
3:10difference singing with added air
3:13literally means singing with more air
3:16flow you can hear this but you can feel
3:18it as well hold your hand in front of
3:20your mouth and Shout yeah now breathe in
3:23a lot fill up your lungs completely and
3:27go do you feel there's more air flowing
3:29out now so if we are singing quietly and
3:32we accidentally sing with a little too
3:34much air flow the air can just Escape
3:37without straining or damaging anything
3:39the only result is an Airy sound hence
3:42the Sweet Spot before you start
3:44straining or breaking is large if we
3:47sing louder than Volume 5 we can no
3:49longer add air to our sound if I try my
3:52voice starts straining
3:55Hey or it breaks to fetto hey
3:59because in fetto my voice goes quieter
4:03and I can sing with added air again so I
4:05can get rid of the air without damaging
4:07the vocal folds so your voice
4:09transitioning to fetto is a way to
4:11protect itself this means that if your
4:14voice breaks to fetto without you
4:16wanting it to you probably try to sing
4:18with too much airf flow so singing
4:21quietly is easier and safer in general
4:24and to sing loudly is harder because we
4:26need to control our airf flow more
4:28precisely if we sing very high The Sweet
4:31Spot becomes even smaller and you need
4:33even more control also generally
4:36speaking the PTP or starting pressure is
4:39a bit higher for louder notes but for
4:43these loud noes while the pressure is a
4:45bit higher the actual airflow does not
4:48have to be larger because of this the
4:50airflow Sweet Spot can seem even smaller
4:53when we sing loudly to sing in this
4:56sweet spot as best as we can there are
4:58two important VAR variables to consider
5:00your average air flow and your airflow
5:03stability we need the correct amount of
5:05average air flow to stay in the yellow
5:08Sweet Spot area but if my airf flow is
5:10not stable the average might be perfect
5:13but it might fluctuate below and above
5:15the sweet spot if this happens you'd
5:17actually spend quite some time away from
5:20the yellow zone if you'd often sing in
5:22the orange Zone you might not really
5:23notice anything after one song but if
5:26you'd sing a whole concert that way
5:28you'd probably be hoard afterwards your
5:30breath support is the system that
5:32controls your airf flow you've been
5:34using breath support for all of your
5:36life otherwise you would not have been
5:38able to talk but to sing We need very
5:41precise control you could compare it to
5:44Walking On Solid Ground and walking on a
5:47slack line I've been walking for most of
5:49my life and I feel pretty confident as a
5:52walker a while ago I got a slack line
5:54and when I first got on there my legs
5:56started to shake uncontrollably and I
5:59fell off time and again I needed to
6:01expend a ton of energy to try to stay on
6:05and still my legs wobbled and I could
6:07not keep myself from crashing now that I
6:09put in some hours I can confidently walk
6:12from one end to the other without
6:14crashing and without expending and
6:16wasting a ton of energy to get the job
6:18done I'm far from an expert but the
6:21difference is huge and I almost can't
6:24remember how hard it was when I first
6:26started when friends come over and try
6:28and I see them wobble uncontrollably it
6:31helps me to remember talking is like
6:33walking on Solid Ground and singing is
6:35like slacklining yes you can do the
6:38basic thing you can talk you can make
6:40your vocal folds work but once you start
6:42singing you need finer motor skills than
6:45you're used to for just talking
6:47especially when singing loud and high
6:50the nice thing about walking on a slack
6:51line is that you get very direct and
6:54obvious Visual and sensory feedback your
6:57legs start to shake and you fall off
6:59with singing the feedback is more subtle
7:02and more difficult to act on but so very
7:05important so if your voice Falls away
7:08too little air flow and if you start to
7:10strain or wobble or break too much air
7:13flow if you pay attention to this
7:15feedback you'll learn to correct faster
7:18and more subtly and you'll be able to
7:20stay in The Sweet Spot for longer the
7:22more you practice in a particular area
7:24of your voice with a certain sound on a
7:26certain volume and Pitch the bigger the
7:29sweet spot will seem to become and the
7:31less energy you'll have to expend to get
7:34to the end of your lines so to stay on
7:36that slack line to safely get to the end
7:39of our vocal phrases we need breath
7:41support let's now have a look at how
7:43breathing and breath support work
7:45anatomically our lungs are just bags
7:48they're not muscles and they cannot do
7:50anything but our lungs are attached to
7:52our ribs on the sides and to our
7:55diaphragm at the bottom if we contract
7:58our intercostals the muscles between our
8:00ribs our ribs
8:02expand and so our lungs expand and air
8:05Flows In same for our diaphragm if we
8:08contract it it pulls the lungs down our
8:12lungs expand and air Flows In so
8:15breathing in requires us to actively
8:18contract muscles if after breathing in
8:21we just relax and sigh
8:23out the air flows out again so breathing
8:26out happens when we relax the diaphragm
8:29and the
8:30intercostals when we sing We don't want
8:33to breathe out that fast we want to slow
8:36down the air flow to stay in that sweet
8:39spot and to be able to make it to the
8:41end of the line without our voices
8:43Falling Away straining or breaking and
8:46that means we need to actively use our
8:48intercostals and our diaphragm to keep
8:51our lungs expanded so they don't empty
8:53themselves too fast let's try something
8:57place your hands on your lower ribs
8:59breathe breathe into your
9:00stomach and even though you breathe to
9:03your stomach you will probably still
9:05feel your lower ribs expand a little bit
9:08right now can you make the same movement
9:11with your ribs without breathing so try
9:13to push your hands outwards with your
9:15ribs like
9:18this now try this while singing keep
9:21your hands on your lower ribs breathe in
9:24feel your ribs expand and now sustain a
9:27note for as long as you can and try to
9:29keep your ribs wide for as long as you
9:32can
9:36hey at some point your ribs will cave in
9:39to get the last air to flow out but the
9:42longer you can keep them wide the more
9:44control you'll have over your airflow
9:47that was singing with active conscious
9:50breath support the lower ribs are just
9:52one of the areas you can feel your
9:54breath support working here's another
9:56put two fingers on your solar plexus to
9:58find it first find the hard Center of
10:01your ribs and then move downwards until
10:03it goes softer this is your solar plexus
10:06if you cuff you'll feel it push
10:08out now if you breathe in and hold your
10:12ribs wide you'll probably also feel the
10:14solar plexus come out if I breathe out
10:18without active support my solar plexus
10:20caves in along with my
10:23ribs but if I breathe out with support
10:26with my ribs wide my solar plexus will
10:29stay
10:32out you can also practice this by
10:34pushing your fingers out and letting
10:36them come in again without
10:39breathing some singers like to feel
10:41support more in the front While others
10:43prefer the side or the back you can also
10:45feel your ribs expand and hold them wide
10:48in the back an alternative for putting
10:50your hands on your ribs or solar plexus
10:53is to tie a scarf around your lower ribs
10:56put it a bit tight and then when singing
10:58you can try to push your ribs against it
11:01when you sing while keeping your ribs
11:03wide and your solar plexus out you'll
11:05notice your belly slowly moving inwards
11:08this is how you can control your air
11:10flow if your stomach Moves In Fast
11:12there's more air flow If It Moves In
11:14slow there's less important your stomach
11:18should always be slowly moving don't
11:20lock it as you would during a
11:22challenging visit to the toilet because
11:24you'll probably start straining why do
11:26we support like this with our ribs wide
11:29and our stomach slowly moving in if we
11:31control our air flow with our stomach we
11:34can be way more precise than if we try
11:36to do it with our ribs why with our
11:38stomach we just control a tiny bit of
11:41the surface area of the lungs just the
11:43bottom plane our ribs control all the
11:46vertical planes around our lungs the
11:49surface area is a lot bigger and hence
11:51we can be less precise if we use our
11:54ribs to control our air flow compared to
11:56emptying a tube of toothpaste if if I'd
11:59use my whole hand to squeeze all around
12:02it would be difficult to get a nice
12:04subtle dollop of toothpaste if I only
12:07squeeze from the back or with two
12:09fingers I have way more control so try
12:12to keep your ribs steady and out and
12:15your stomach slowly moving in that way
12:17you'll have more control that was the
12:20anatomy of breath support but while I
12:23needed to explain this to be complete I
12:25don't often use this with the singers I
12:28coach often you automatically use the
12:30right amount of breath support
12:32especially when seeing in a Range that's
12:34comfortable for you and when you need to
12:36actively turn it on because you're
12:38seeing challenging vocals there are
12:40probably easier ways to turn on your
12:42breath support and to control your airf
12:44flow let's apply this in an experiment
12:46we'll just sing hey hey hey and keep
12:51going up with a powerful sound this is a
12:54sound with a small Sweet Spot especially
12:56when seeing high and hence requires very
12:59precise airflow and also very precise
13:03breath support I'll give you some
13:04different methods to activate your
13:06breath support and you can decide for
13:08yourself which work best for you how can
13:11you tell if you can sing higher with
13:13less straining and a more stable Fuller
13:16tone without breaking these are all
13:18signs your breath support is doing its
13:20job and the method is working for you
13:23singing with the correct technique feels
13:25good and when you notice strain or pain
13:28that's a sign you're doing something
13:29wrong often because you try to sing with
13:32too much air flow for visual feedback
13:34you can do these experiments in front of
13:36a mirror to see when your neck is
13:37relaxed or straining you don't have to
13:40use all of these methods just pick a
13:42couple you like and use what works for
13:44you the first method sing as if you were
13:47singing backwards inwards or to the
13:49crown of your head this will
13:51automatically limit your airf flow
13:54without you having to think about all
13:56the muscles that are involved try it
13:58first ch out hey then sustain it Hey Now
14:03sing some notes and notice how they feel
14:06you don't have to match my pitch just
14:08find the pitch that's a bit challenging
14:10for you and then see what works so hey
14:15hey hey you can pause the video and
14:18experiment with different pitches and
14:20volumes challenge yourself a bit and
14:23look for the limits of your voice but
14:25remember good singing technique feels
14:28good the second method make a fist and
14:31while singing pull it towards you as if
14:34against a light resistance as if you
14:36were pulling in something with a bit of
14:37weight so not like this floppy but like
14:41this while you do this you can also lean
14:43back with your body focus again is
14:46directed backwards and you can combine
14:49this with the first method try it hey
14:53hey hey hey the third method is one that
14:57can work well if you notice your notes
14:59are unstable or wobbling I call it the
15:02grease lightning move your hand from one
15:05side to the other and make a straight
15:07line as you would want your airf flow to
15:09be if you want you can finish the move
15:11but that probably won't help your
15:13singing so hey hey hey hey with the
15:20fourth method now we'll focus on Anatomy
15:23after breathing in keep your ribs wide
15:25and your SoDo plexus out let your
15:27stomach slowly move in and don't lock it
15:30if you manage to keep your ribs wide the
15:32speed your stomach moves in determines
15:34the amount of air flowing out so if you
15:36notice your straining or breaking let
15:39your stomach come in slower
15:41hey hey hey hey what I like about the
15:47first three methods is that you don't
15:49have to think you just do the thing and
15:52hopefully notice the result with the
15:55fourth method the anatomical approach
15:57the risk is that you focus too much on
15:59the individual muscles and start flexing
16:02and straining too much because of that I
16:05hope some of these methods worked for
16:06you combine whichever you like notice
16:09how high you can get and how much you
16:11strain also notice it takes quite some
16:13energy to sink powerful high notes like
16:16this and this is really like walking a
16:18slack line you can easily fall off but
16:21the more you practice the steadier you
16:23become and the less energy you'll have
16:25to expend to get to the end of your line
16:28whether it be a slack line or a focal
16:30line another way to test these methods
16:33is to pick a comfortable starting note
16:35and then slide up to a challenging note
16:38so like this
16:41hey again try some different methods see
16:44what works for you now we know how we
16:47can use our energy to control our airf
16:49flow what if I told you there's an easy
16:51way to decrease how much breath support
16:53energy we have to expand I know you
16:56probably noticed that bar on the right
16:58side of the visual and you've been
16:59wondering what's that for it's about how
17:02you should breathe for efficient
17:04effortless singing I'll first explain
17:07how it works and then we'll do some
17:09experiments if you walk on the street
17:11and you see someone do you first need to
17:13go before you can say hello no you can
17:17just say hello you don't need a lot of
17:19air to produce sound we need just a tiny
17:23bit of air for speaking and we don't
17:25constantly gasp for air while in
17:28conversation it would be tiring singing
17:31is almost the same as speaking we just
17:34sustain our vows for a bit longer and
17:37then we're singing the difference is
17:40that when we sing we do often gasp for
17:43air
17:44hello it's me the breath we take in also
17:49needs to come out specifically before
17:52the next moment we want to take a new
17:54breath otherwise we cannot take a new
17:57air and we die our bodies want to stay
18:01alive so if I take in too much air my
18:03body will make sure to get rid of the
18:05air before the next intake this can
18:08happen in two ways one during sing two
18:12after singing the first during singing
18:15and there will be added air on my voice
18:17if I sing quietly this is not a big
18:20problem la la I won't damage my voice
18:23but I will also automatically have an
18:25Airy sound while singing H versus H and
18:29maybe I don't want that the second if I
18:32choose I want to sing loudly above
18:35volume Five out of 10 or quietly and
18:38without added air I can use my breath
18:40support system to limit the air flowing
18:43out but the more air I take in the more
18:47air I have to keep from flowing out and
18:49the more breath support energy it will
18:51take and if I succeed the Superfluous
18:56air will still need to come out if I
18:58don't let it out during singing it will
19:00come out after singing like this
19:04hello it's me I was wondering you hear I
19:09need to breathe out first before I can
19:12breathe in again and start my next line
19:14if you start paying attention to this
19:16you'll hear many singers do this often
19:18with little sigh or cry after hello it's
19:23me it means they probably took in more
19:25air than they needed for a line and were
19:28fighting the pressure from that air to
19:30prevent it from coming out maybe the
19:32biggest problem with this is that if we
19:34breathe in a lot we can often not come
19:36up with the required breath support
19:37energy to stay in the airflow sweet spot
19:40and so we'll start straining maybe ever
19:42so slightly but after a while will start
19:45to get horse or even get focal cord
19:48damage in the visual the bar on the
19:50right represents your lungs and how full
19:53they are if the amount of air in your
19:55lungs is in the yellow zone it's easiest
19:58and requires the least amount of energy
20:00to control your air flow if your lungs
20:03are Fuller or very empty you enter the
20:06orange and red zones and you'll need
20:08more support energy to control your air
20:11flow now let's try some experiments so
20:13you can experience all this for yourself
20:16breathe in until your lungs are
20:17completely full and then hold your
20:22breath keep holding it do you notice you
20:25have to work quite hard to hold that
20:27breath in maybe feel a bit of pressure
20:29in your throat already do you feel the
20:31air wants to come out okay now relax and
20:33let the air flow out now we'll do it
20:36again but this time we'll just take in a
20:38tiny bit of air here we go and hold it
20:43much easier to hold right and you
20:45probably don't feel strain or pressure
20:47now okay relax and let it go so you felt
20:52that the Fuller your lungs are the more
20:54energy you need to control your air
20:56during seeing this works the same if you
20:58breathe in more air than you need for a
21:00certain line you need to use more breath
21:03support energy because of that you go
21:05tired quicker and when you're tired you
21:07won't be able to support enough anymore
21:09and you won't be able to control your
21:10air flow you'll start straining losing
21:13control and getting horse now here's the
21:17dumb thing when do we generally strain
21:20the most when singing High powerful
21:22notes when do we reflexively breathe in
21:25the most when singing High powerful
21:28notes not and when do we actually need
21:30the least airf flow when singing High
21:34powerful notes for most people myself
21:36included when a tricky high note is
21:38coming I'm a bit scared and I
21:40reflectively want to take in a Big Gulp
21:42of air what happens as you just found
21:45out if you take in a lot of air you feel
21:48immediate pressure even before you start
21:51singing I think this might be some sort
21:53of fight or flight response we know the
21:56high note or the climax is coming we're
21:58a bit scared we prepare and we take in a
22:01big go of air to be able to fight or
22:03flee but here's the problem taking a big
22:06Gul of air oxygenates our body and helps
22:09us fight in case we need to face down a
22:11tiger but we don't need that for singing
22:14it even makes it worse air that flows in
22:17also wants to flow out we create
22:20unnecessary pressure so for singing it's
22:22an unhelpful reflex now try this breathe
22:26in sigh out and then sing a powerful hey
22:30sustain it for as long as you can
22:34so
22:38hey Etc notice how long you can sustain
22:42the Noe even after exhaling this proves
22:46you don't need a lot of air to be able
22:48to sing a powerful note if I take in a
22:50big breath I can still control it and
22:53avoid straining by using a lot of breath
22:55support
22:56energy hey
23:00but why would I do that it's a waste of
23:03energy okay now let's talk about your ra
23:07breathe in fully and now relax and sigh
23:10out this point of balance where no air
23:14wants to flow in or out when you just
23:16relax is called your it stands for
23:19resting expiratory level the average
23:22human lung capacity is about 6 L about 4
23:25L or 2/3 of your lung capacity are above
23:28your well and about 2 L or about 1/3 of
23:31Your Capacity below now let's breathe in
23:34again then relax and sigh out and then
23:36try to push out the last bit of air on
23:39an F or S sound until your lungs are
23:42completely empty
23:50so two things to notice here before the
23:52rail we need to hold back air and after
23:55the rail we need to actively push out
23:58air did you notice how much energy it
24:00takes to push out that last bit of air
24:02when going beyond your Rail and did you
24:04notice it's quite hard to control and
24:06keep the air flow stable so how to sing
24:10efficiently only inhale the air you need
24:13to end up near your rail after your line
24:17take in more and you waste energy
24:19holding air flow back take in less and
24:21you waste energy pushing air out here's
24:24an exercise progression to help you do
24:26this pick a song preferably one you find
24:29difficult with some high powerful notes
24:31you're afraid of level one take a moment
24:34to take a couple of small relaxed
24:36breaths in and
24:41out a relaxed inhale like this provides
24:44you with enough air to sing 90% of your
24:47songs especially the high and Powerful
24:50bits then after a normal relaxed inhale
24:53sing a phrase from your song then pause
24:56and reflect how how far away from your
24:59rail do you think you are did you end
25:02before or after then take some relaxed
25:05breaths in and out again and repeat for
25:07the next line try to end up near your
25:10rail most singers tend to take in too
25:12much air so experiment with how little
25:15air you can inhale level two do the same
25:18thing but instead of taking multiple
25:20breaths in between lines just take one
25:22small relaxed inhale while doing this
25:25try to aim for ending a line near your
25:28Relic again if you find this hard you
25:30can also for this exercise breathe in
25:32through your nose because that way you
25:34won't be able to take in as much air as
25:36when you gasp through your mouth if you
25:38do this correctly you'll need to expand
25:40a lot less physical energy to sing both
25:43on the inhale which costs energy if you
25:46actively Tak in a Big Gulp and on your
25:48exhale because it takes more energy to
25:50control large amounts of air and now
25:53you've experienced you don't need that
25:55air why take it in while getting used to
25:57this it will take a huge amount of focus
26:00and mental energy this is normal you're
26:03changing habits that have been there for
26:06years level three now just sing the song
26:09without thinking sometimes pause after a
26:12line and check how far you are from your
26:14rail if you find this hard to determine
26:17you can pause after a line and try to
26:19sigh out
26:21hello if you notice a lot of air flows
26:24out when you do this you could probably
26:26have inhaled less if no air comes out
26:29you are very close or past your well
26:32there are two exceptions to this kind of
26:34minimal breathing the first when singing
26:37quietly and with added air it literally
26:40costs more air to sing with added air so
26:43you'll need to take in more quick tip if
26:45you find it hard to sing with added air
26:48just take in a huge breath and then sing
26:51quietly hey you won't even be able to
26:55sing without added air then the second
26:57exception when you have an
26:59extraordinarily long phrase sometimes
27:01you will need to take in a larger breath
27:04to make it to the end of your line but
27:06this does not happen often if you need
27:08to do this make sure to use a lot of
27:10breath support at the start of the line
27:13or you'll lose the extra air you took in
27:15straight away use the air past your well
27:18as a backup a reserve it's not nice to
27:21sing with that backup air but it is
27:23possible in a pinch if you don't find
27:25you sometimes go past your ra you
27:27probably still breathe in too much this
27:30is a great time to return to the hey hey
27:34hey exercise first try doing the
27:37exercise after a huge
27:39inhale hey hey hey that was hard to
27:43control and I was straining a bit now
27:46taking just a little air and then go hey
27:49hey hey that cost less energy and it
27:54felt way more relaxed if you find it
27:56hard to take in just a little breath you
27:58can also talk for a bit and then go
28:00straight into singing without breathing
28:02in before like this
28:05hey now you know what kind of breath you
28:07need to sing efficiently a little one
28:10try the exercise again with your
28:12favorite breath support methods so
28:14singing backwards pulling your fist
28:16backwards or using the grease lightning
28:19if you need to First Take a couple of
28:21relaxed breaths in and out or breathe in
28:24then out on an F sound and then go
28:26straight into singing with without
28:28breathing
28:29in hey hey hey I think with this kind of
28:34minimal breath you'll need to use Less
28:36Breath support to get similar or even
28:39better results now here are two breath
28:42support workouts because even when we
28:44sing more efficiently we still need
28:46breath support and using it still
28:49requires physical energy if you're tired
28:51after seeing for a long time being sick
28:53or a bad night's sleep that's when to
28:56pay extra attention to your breath
28:58support as you'll probably use less than
29:00you normally would and should even on
29:03comfortable notes once you get tired and
29:05you cannot support your singing or
29:07speaking voice anymore your voice will
29:09quickly get horse and it will all be
29:12downhill from there so here's a workout
29:14to increase your breath support stamina
29:17and to activate it before singing It's
29:19called the shitty kitty imagine there's
29:22a cat about to take a in your
29:24garden you would prefer if he would take
29:26his crappy business elsewhere in the
29:29Netherlands the sound we use for a job
29:31like this is so
29:34KSS we'll do it with a lot of power in
29:37groups of three like
29:43this while you do this try to keep your
29:45ribs wide and pull your stomach in
29:48hard you can use this in two ways to
29:52activate or to train you can do a couple
29:54of shitty kitty rounds as part of your
29:57warmup to activate your breath support
29:59and to remind your body to use breath
30:01support when you actually start singing
30:04do this until you feel your stomach
30:05activate but not until you get tired
30:08probably 10 times three shitty kitties
30:10is enough you might notice you strain
30:13less when singing after activating your
30:15breath support like this to use the
30:17shitty kitty to train your stamina do it
30:20after singing and do the shitty kitty
30:22until your abs are burning most singers
30:25will experience this within 2 minutes as
30:28if you just did an ab workout in the gym
30:30good breath support stamina will help
30:32you sing longer without getting horse
30:35don't do this before singing because
30:37otherwise you'll be tired before the
30:39actual work starts and don't do this
30:42while pregnant or while in traffic as
30:44you might get lightheaded the second
30:46workout is called The Leaky Tire where
30:49the shitty kitty trains Brute Force this
30:51one trains control and awareness breathe
30:54in and then breathe out on a very quiet
30:58s
31:00sound try to sustain it for as long as
31:03possible and try to keep the volume as
31:06stable as possible if the volume is
31:08stable the air flow is stable and that's
31:11what we want the quieter you do this the
31:14harder it is variations One play with
31:18your inhale try this breathing in a lot
31:20try it with a tiny breath or even after
31:24exhaling notice how it feels and how
31:27much energy it it takes to control
31:28variation two play with how long you
31:31sustain it you can choose to stop at
31:33your rail or to go beyond your rail
31:36until you're completely empty if you go
31:38beyond your rail you'll also learn to
31:41control that backup air if you get good
31:43at this you can use it without people
31:47noticing I'm on reserve now Bey on my
31:50rail and it sounds okay
31:53versus I'm on reserver now and it sounds
31:56like my Tombstone might say death by
31:58song the third variation do this while
32:01sustaining a note
32:04hey sustain it and keep it steady try it
32:07on different pitches volumes and vows
32:10while doing the Leaky Tire you can use
32:12the methods from the hey hey hey
32:15exercise to help you so sink backwards
32:17to the crown of your head slowly pull
32:19your fist backwards or do the grease
32:21lightning to get the most out of these
32:23two workouts try to keep your ribs wide
32:26while doing them it'll train your
32:27muscles harder and the muscle memory
32:30from these workouts will seep into your
32:32normal singing too and here is the most
32:34important part of this video how to use
32:37what you've learned if I had watched
32:39this video 10 years ago I would have
32:41started hyperventilating halfway through
32:44how can I remember all of that and think
32:46of all that while singing but here's the
32:48good news most of the time you'll use
32:51the right breath support automatically
32:53while singing you don't have to think
32:55about it when breath support often goes
32:57wrong is when you're tired or when
33:00you're going to the extremes of your
33:02voice because breathing and breath
33:04support are such automatic behaviors if
33:06you'd focus on them all the time you'd
33:09be at risk of going absolutely breath
33:11crazy I'm a dad please allow me my
33:14dad jokes so here's my advice sometimes
33:18focus on your breathing and your breath
33:19support for a short time practice hard
33:23with full Focus I know that some of the
33:25ideas in this video spoke to you more
33:28than others pick your favorite one or
33:30two and experiment then forget all about
33:33breath support and just enjoy singing
33:35for a while slowly what you practiced
33:37will turn into new habits that will
33:39automatically turn up in your singing if
33:42you're ready come back to this video and
33:44try a new idea and if you ever find
33:46yourself straining wobbling or breaking
33:49when singing you can always try to sing
33:51backwards use your fist use the grease
33:53lightning or think about keeping your
33:55ribs wide if you want to download this
33:57video Visual and get some more help with
33:59your breath support some extra breath
34:01support workouts and some tips to make
34:02your singing even more efficient go to
34:05Bob sm.com control for a free mini
34:08course if you combine what you've
34:10learned in this video with this one
34:12you'll sing with even less effort

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