CHAPTER IV

BREATHING EXERCISES

Enough has been said in the preceding chapter to make clear the necessity of breath control, and to show what const.i.tutes this control for the singer--the professional breather.

If the singer's breathing is nothing but an amplification of normal, healthy breathing, why dwell upon it, why not let it develop of itself?

Unfortunately, many teachers have taken this att.i.tude, overlooking the fact that, although life is dependent on normal, healthy breathing, such breathing is, in civilized communities, not the rule but the exception, simply because normal living is rare; the artificiality of modern life forbids it. The high pressure under which most people live induces mental tension together with the consequent nervous and muscular tension. We are, without being conscious of it, so habituated to unnatural tension that automatic breathing is shallow and irregular instead of being deep and rhythmic.

The task, therefore, is to reclaim a neglected birthright--natural breathing--to make it habitual and amplify it.

PRELIMINARY SUGGESTIONS

1. Breathing exercises to be invigorating and purifying demand plenty of fresh air.

2. At first do not practise longer than ten minutes at a time, three times a day.

3. Gradually lengthen the time without overdoing. When tired stop.

4. The best time is before dressing in the morning, with the window open. The worst time is directly after a meal.

5. Maintain throughout an easy, flexible poise.

6. Breathe as _deeply_ as possible without abdominal distention. The greatest expansion should be felt at the lower end of the breast-bone.

7. Breathe as _broadly_ as possible, expanding the sides without tension.

8. Breathe as _high_ as possible without shoulder movement or stiffness.

9. Use not the high breath alone, or the mid-breath, or the low breath, but use the _complete_ breath.

10. Breathe _rhythmically_ by counting mentally.

11. Breathe _thoughtfully_ rather than mechanically.

12. Do not crowd the lungs or lay stress on the mere quant.i.ty of air you can inhale. The intake of breath is, for the singer, secondary to its control, economy, and application in song. Increase of lung capacity will duly appear.

13. When not singing, speaking or practising an exercise that demands it, _keep your mouth shut_.

ATt.i.tUDE

Dress the neck and body loosely, so as to give the throat and trunk perfect freedom. Place the hands on the hips, so as to free the chest from the weight of the arms. Stand erect, evenly upon the b.a.l.l.s of the feet; the body straight, but not strained. Raise the back of the head slightly without bending the neck. This action will straighten the spine, place the chest forward, and bring the abdomen backward into its proper relation.

The great majority of people are shallow breathers, chest breathers, who when told to take a "deep breath" do not know what is meant. It is therefore necessary for them first to learn what a deep breath is, and then how to take it.

Exercise I

FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW WHAT A DEEP BREATH IS

Before rising in the morning, remove your pillow and while flat on your back place one hand lightly on the abdomen, the other on the lower ribs. Relax the whole body, giving up your whole weight to the bed. Inhale through the nostrils slowly, evenly, and deeply, while mentally counting one, two, three, four, etc. As you inhale, notice (_a_) the gradual expansion of the abdomen, (_b_) the side expansion of the lower ribs, (_c_) the rise and inflation of the chest, without raising the shoulders. Hold the breath while mentally counting four (four seconds), then suddenly let the breath go, and notice the collapse of the abdomen and lower chest. Remember _the inspiration must be slow and deep, the expiration sudden and complete_. Practise this preliminary exercise for not more than ten minutes each morning for a week. The second week hold the breath six seconds, instead of four, and gradually increase the time, without overdoing.

While, for a novice, the exercises may be taken at first in bed, this is but a preliminary to their practise standing in easy poise as directed in the preceding section.

Exercise II

SLOW INHALATION WITH SUDDEN EXPULSION

Inhale as in I; hold the breath four counts (seconds) or more; then expel the air vigorously in one breath through the wide open mouth.

The beginner is often helped in acquiring a deep breath by slowly sipping breath. Therefore as a variant to Exercise II practise:

Exercise III

SIPPING THE BREATH, WITH QUICK EXHALATION

Through the smallest possible opening of the lips, while mentally counting, inhale very slowly and steadily; hold two to four counts, then expel the air all at once through the wide open mouth.

Exercise IV

FOR RIB EXPANSION

To more completely arouse dormant muscles that should play an important part in breathing, place the hands against the sides, thumbs well back, take, through the nostrils or the slightly parted lips, six short catch-breaths, moving the ribs _out at the side_ with each catch-breath. Hold the breath two counts, and exhale through the mouth with six short expiratory puffs, drawing the ribs _in at the side_ with each puff.

Exercise V

SLOW INHALATION WITH SLOW EXPIRATION

Inhale as in I, while mentally counting one, two, three, four, etc., until the inhalation seems complete. Hold the breath four or more counts; then exhale through the nostrils slowly and evenly while mentally counting to the number reached in the inspiration. With practice the number of counts will gradually increase. Do not, however, force the increase. The muscles that control inspiration are powerful; do not, therefore, make the mistake of seeking to control expiration by contraction of the glottis. Practise these exercises with an open throat and depend on the breathing muscles for control of the outgoing air. Remember that _singing is control of breath in exit_.

Exercise VI

RAPID INSPIRATION WITH SLOW EXPIRATION

Inhale through the nostrils quickly, deeply, and forcefully (one count); hold two counts; exhale through the nostrils evenly, steadily, and as slowly as possible while mentally counting one, two, three, four, etc. With practice gradually increase the number of counts for the exhalation.

Exercise VII