I’d like to start this week by sharing a few more bits of wisdom from Giovanni Lamperti…”Generally, faulty singing is caused by awkward respiration. In fact all bad habits of the throat are merely efforts of protection against clumsy management of the breath.” My other favorite is, “Power either builds or destroys. The energy in regular vibration is constructive. The violence in irregular vibration is destructive.”
Hopefully your week of practicing a consistent and buoyant rib expansion has paid big dividends! Now on to the next step!
In regard to the muscles involved in breath management, James McKinney says it this way: “Perhaps the best way to gain control of the exhalation process is to try to maintain the expansion around the middle of the body. The upper abdomen, the lower ribs, and the back.”
In The Structure of Singing, Richard Miller says it this way, “A skillful singer remains in the inspiratory position for as long as possible, maintaining a relatively high sternal position (taking care not to elevate it in military-parade manner), allowing muscles of the lateral abdominal wall to stay close to the position of inhalation and consequently delaying early rib cage collapse. Of course, something must eventually move, either the chest wall of the abdominal wall. Slowing these movements depends on an acquired, disciplined breath management technique.”
He goes on to say, “A technique of lateral abdominal wall retention and the noble, elevated sternum has for centuries been known as appoggio. Clearly, one cannot continue to inhale while phonating, but the singer can retard the upward surge of the diaphragm and the collapse of the rib cage by training the musculature of the abdominal wall in cooperation with the pectoral musculature, to delay normal collapse of the breath mechanism.”
In studio, I talk to my singers about their abdominals, lateral abdominals and their intercostal muscles. When the inspiration has been achieved correctly the lower torso has expanded laterally, dorsally and frontally. I’m a firm believer that if a singer doesn’t understand what’s working they can’t control what’s working. I make sure they understand that all of these muscle groups are involved in helping the body “remain in the posture of inhalation”. I’m very careful to focus in on the stomach wall. I’m not sure about your singers, but mine tend to want to protrude the stomach wall. When this happens the outward push causes laryngeal tension. We work for all of the muscle groups working in combination to “remain expanded”, therefore keeping the diaphragm muscle engaged.
I like to explain breath management to my students this way…the breath intake is their “Deposit”, the beginning of the phrase is their “Savings” and the end of their phrase is their “Spending”.
(original posting: October 21, 2013)
Jon Arterton says