Singing For Dummies. Pamelia S. Phillips

Forcing the ribs to stay open results in pressure being put on your body and a tight sound.

      When you’ve been working with breath for some time and you can easily manage quick, efficient inhalation and have some control over longer exhalation, try the exercise that follows.

      1 Practice flexing open your ribs.Stand in front of the mirror and try to open your rib cage. You want to open your ribs on the side of your body, not raise your chest. Watch the movement in your body to make sure that you’re not lifting your chest. It may take a few tries before you can figure out how to open the ribs. When you know how to move them, allow the ribs to open as you inhale. The area that you’re trying to move is at the bottom of the rib cage.

      2 Inhale and open your ribs.Practice inhaling and allow your ribs to open. If you aim the air at the lowest rib, you can open the ribs without forcing your chest to rise.

      3 Work for a time just allowing your ribs to open when you inhale and to close as you exhale.As this becomes easier, allow the ribs to stay open longer on the exhalation.

      4 Inhale and allow your ribs to open.Leave the ribs open as you exhale. Take the next breath and allow your abdominal muscles to expand.

      5 Now that your ribs are open and your abdominal muscles are expanded, exhale.As you exhale, allow the abs to move in as the ribs stay out.

      6 As you reach the end of your breath, allow the ribs to gradually close or collapse back to their normal position.

      The long-term goal of this exercise is to provide you with the option of opening the ribs as you inhale and letting them close by choice, depending on the length of the phrase you’re singing. I keep my ribs open if I have to sing a long phrase. This motion may take a month or more to master. Keep trying.

      Singing slowly

      Earlier in this chapter, I suggest simple tunes, such as “Happy Birthday,” so that you can easily concentrate on many details at one time. However, you may be ready to try a tougher song. Think of a song that gives you trouble when it comes to managing the long phrases. It can be a hymn or familiar tune in which you just can’t quite conquer the phrases. Some familiar tunes with long phrases are “Danny Boy”; “Come Unto Him” from The Messiah; and “Over the Rainbow.”

      

Sing through the song to refresh your memory of the words and the tune. When you’re ready, sing through the song at a slow pace. You want to sing more slowly so you extend your exhalation. By singing more slowly, you have to figure out how to extend your breath over a longer period of time. Singing faster songs with short phrases doesn’t require a long exhalation, and it doesn’t require that you control your exhalation over long phrases.

      Practice the exercise that follows to move on to the next level of breath control so that you can manage your breath easily during longer phrases.

      1 Sing the song slowly.If you’ve chosen a long song, sing through part of it. If you’ve chosen a shorter song, sing it all the way through.

      2 Sing through each phrase with a consistent exhalation for a smooth, connected line.Make sure that you inhale slowly before the beginning of each phrase.

      3 Sing through the song again slowly, but inhale quickly, while taking in the same amount of air that you did when you were inhaling slowly.

Be careful not to gasp when you’re singing through this exercise; open your throat and allow the air to come in. Gasping prevents you from getting the air in quick enough.

      In exhaling, your ribs and abs must be moving in using the innie method. Then try letting the abs move while the ribs stay open, the outie method.

      

Gaining weight or losing weight quickly can totally confuse your body. If your body is used to moving a certain amount of weight around, it affects your breathing. You have to slowly get used to your body being a different size after the weight change, especially if you’ve gained weight. Take your time when you lose weight to allow your body to slowly adjust.