Enchanting Instruments 20 - Voice 3 [The Breath Part 2]

To better explain this topic for this article, let’s divide vocalization into three parts: breathing, vocal cords, and resonance. Continuing on from the previous article, we will discuss the breath.

■ Mammals Are Designed to Breathe Through the Nose

During normal conditions, when inhaling, mammals fundamentally breathe through the nose. In humans, however, it is often observed that air is also inhaled through the mouth. Especially in singing, since it is necessary to fill the lungs with air instantly, the mouth is often used together with the nose. Structurally, the relatively short epiglottis does not obstruct inhalation through the mouth.

Yawning is also clearly inhalation through the mouth. Although yawning seems to have various purposes other than taking in fresh oxygen, the fact remains that a large amount of air enters the lungs. Interestingly, dogs and cats also yawn in the same way. It’s probably due to the mouth allowing air to be taken in more efficiently. However, the mouth is basically meant for eating and the nose is for breathing. And, the sounds of animals that vocalize while inhaling resonate very well. What this means is that nasal breathing and inhalation play an important role in vocalization as well. This part relates to resonance, so I would like to discuss it later.

■ Exhalation and Inhalation During Vocalization

In actual vocalization, more attention is focused on exhalation than on inhalation. In the previous article, it was mentioned that during vocalization, rather than being conscious of exhaling, it is better to have a sense of keeping the lungs filled with air at a constant pressure. To explain a bit further, when the vocal cords are open and there is enough air in the lungs, there is no difference in pressure. From this state, when the vocal cords are set to the standby position for vocalization and the inflated lungs are lightly pressed by the surrounding muscles, a pressure difference is created, and with vocalization, air begins to leak out—this is the sensation. To give you an image of exhalation during vocalization, it may be like when you blow your breath saying “haa” on a cold day. The actions we perform naturally can serve as useful hints.

There are differing opinions regarding whether the abdomen contracts or does not contract during diaphragmatic breathing, but in practical vocalization, it likely does not contract. It is far more stable to keep the abdomen expanded and use your back muscles, waist, and inner core to continuously press the expanded lungs with steady force. There may be individual differences, but when most people blow their nose, their abdomen does not contract but remains firm—this sensation can also serve as a hint.

Regarding inhalation, after vocalization ends, the feeling of air naturally entering the lungs as multiple muscles tightening around the lungs relax and loosen is also important. This is the opposite of the feeling of trying to force a lot of air into the lungs. The diaphragm tends to stay in a lowered position rather than moving up and down. In reality, it does move slightly up and down, but the sensation is one of maintaining its position.

■ The Range of Lung Capacity Usable for Vocalization

In general, diaphragmatic breathing can be described as breathing that uses the lungs’ full capacity, but in singing, control over exhalation is more important than total lung capacity, and it is necessary to minimize the amount of air expelled. Additionally, the range in which exhalation can be efficiently controlled is not when the lungs are fully filled with air, but rather from a state where there is still a little more room to inhale to a state where air can be exhaled comfortably. The usable range is not very wide. It is possible to forcefully exhale more air, but this cannot be used in practical vocalization.

■ Keep the Rib Cage Expanded

Breathing that involves expanding and contracting the rib cage is called thoracic breathing. In diaphragmatic breathing, to make full use of lung capacity, the rib cage is kept expanded and is not actively moved. This seems to also affect vocal resonance. Actively using thoracic breathing, which relies on rib cage movement, can influence the muscles around the neck and even affect the condition of the vocal cords, so it is not desirable.

■ Posture

Forcing yourself into a so-called ideal posture for singing often results in an unnatural outcome, so I’m not convinced it’s necessary. If you can breathe naturally, comfortably, and deeply, your posture should already be optimized. Poor posture makes deep breathing and stable exhalation difficult. To put it bluntly, if your voice is stable and has good quality, your breathing and posture are likely in a natural, ideal state. It’s better to judge and adjust based on the sound rather than the appearance. Individual perception varies greatly, so it can be challenging to figure out.

■ The Problem of Relying on Sensation

Unlike playing a musical instrument, vocalization tends to rely heavily on sensation. This causes significant individual differences. With instruments, you can often compare with a model and see the differences clearly, but with vocalization, what’s visible is only the very surface. The most important internal body movements can only be imagined. In the end, teaching and learning are inherently less efficient. If there’s even a small shared sense or feeling, that may be the only starting point.

Dividing vocalization into three categories as breathing, vocal cords, and resonance makes the topic of breathing relatively easy to understand. Next time, I plan to write about the vocal cords, which serve as the sound source. Interpretation around the vocal cords varies greatly among individuals, so it’s harder to describe, but personally, I consider it to be quite simple.

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