Take a breath. Feels good, doesn’t it? That’s because breathing is vital to existing—and to perfecting your skills as a singer. Without good breath support and strength, your voice will simply not hit. But how do you acquire that? Practice, of course.
Enter: breathing exercises, the perfect way to ensure you’re working on lung capacity, strengthening your diaphragm and other core muscles, and expanding your ability to control both high and low notes. Curious to learn more? We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite exercises below.
Singing is not a relaxed activity, even if someone makes it look easy. While using your voice, your core muscles contract and engage, and your vocal chords, tongue, mouth, lips, and teeth are all involved in making it sound good. It’s a physical act, which means your body must be prepared to do the work of modulating your voice and breath. Singing may not be considered a sport, but it’s important to treat your body like an athlete’s, because your physical ability plays a major part in how well you can belt out a song.
So, which breathing exercises are best? As a singer myself (with a five-octave range) who has sung everything from opera to Broadway musicals, rock to pop, and a litany of other genres in between, these are my go-tos to ensure my voice is warmed up and my lungs and diaphragm are ready to roll.
Diaphragmatic breathing
Lots of people assume you get your breath strength from your lungs. But if you’re singing correctly, it will feel like it’s coming from a place far deeper, thanks to your diaphragm, the large, dome-shaped muscle that lives directly beneath your lungs. Working on your diaphragmatic breathing not only strengthens those muscles but it benefits you medically, too, by helping to lower your blood pressure and heart rate. Here’s how to do it:
- Lie on the floor or another sturdy, flat surface (a bed is fine if you’re in a pinch) on your back, with your knees bent and your head supported. You can put a pillow under your knees to support your legs.
- Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage. This will help you to feel your diaphragm as you breathe and ensure your chest muscles remain relaxed.
- Breathe in slowly through your nose for two to four seconds, so that your stomach moves outward and pushes your lower hand upward (the hand on your chest should essentially not move).
- Pause for two to four seconds, holding your breath.
- Tighten your stomach muscles as you exhale quickly through your mouth for two to four seconds, and then stop, causing the hand on your ribcage to fall. The hand on your chest should continue to be still.
- Repeat five to 10 breathing cycles, increasing the time (up to 12 seconds) as you go.
The hissing breath
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s a fantastic warmup that ensures you’re singing from your diaphragm. Here’s how to do it:
- Stand up straight and relax your entire body. This will unclench your diaphragm and release any tension that could keep you from singing correctly.
- Breathe in through your mouth and count to four. As you do so, pull the air deep into your lungs, expanding your belly outwards.
- Exhale from your mouth for eight seconds while making a hissing noise, “ssssssssss.”
- As you get stronger and better at it, increase the time of each hold and exhalation.
The Farinelli breathing exercise
This is essentially diaphragmatic breathing, but it’s done standing up. It helps you learn how to “sip” tiny bits of air when you don’t have the ability to take a full breath. To understand the subtle differences between this and other exercises, here’s a good video that breaks it all down:
Lip trills
Lip trills are a great way to warm your voice up and down, stretching your range without hurting your vocal chords. (And you’ve probably already done them to entertain a baby or two in your life.) Here’s how to do it:
- Relax your mouth and lips.
- Take a deep breath in through your nose.
- Push the air out of your mouth through your relaxed lips, causing them to vibrate rapidly.
Tip: If air gets stuck in your cheeks, slightly push into your cheekbones with three fingers on either side of your face and try again. If it feels like it’s getting stuck on or behind your lips, try laughing and/or relaxing your face.
Deep breathing
Any good yogi will tell you how beneficial deep breathing is to your yoga practice, but it’s also vital to improving lung capacity and breath support. To do this one, simply breathe in through your nose until your lungs are full, and then slowly—ideally, taking twice the amount of time it took you to inhale—breathe out through your mouth. Do this sitting or standing—just make sure you are also practicing good posture!
The sighing breath
This is a great exercise to release tension in the face, neck, throat, mouth, and chest. It’s also a useful warmup that helps with vocal resonance (or the quality and richness of your tone). Here’s how to do it:
- Stand up straight and breathe in through your nose. It should feel like you’re breathing down into your butt.
- Release the breath with a sigh through the mouth, the tone of the sigh traveling down your vocal register until there’s no breath left.
- Repeat two to three times. As you advance, you can also sigh “up” your vocal register. This helps you to strengthen those diaphragmatic muscles as you stretch your vocal chords.