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Hi, so you want to know how to sing from the diaphragm?
That’s great because in this video, I am going to tell you how.
But I am also going to tell you why the phrase sing from the diaphragm is not the best advice
to improve your singing.
And if you stay with me until the end, I have something for you that will help you improve
your breathing for singing.
So stay tuned.
Hi, my name is Katarina and I am the founder of How 2 Improve Singing.
So, you know that breathing is an essential part of singing.
And now, you want to know how to breathe efficiently.
But let’s start with a question: What does it really mean “to sing from the diaphragm”?
Maybe it means to use your breath more efficiently, maybe it means to sing louder, maybe it means
not to sing from the throat, maybe it means to relax your abdominal muscles, maybe I don't
know … who knows?
In my opinion, “singing from the diaphragm” does not mean anything and does not help anyone
either.
Here is the thing.
If you know what really happens to the diaphragm when we breathe and sing, you would know a
few things: A few things like: when we inhale, the diaphragm
moves down.
So the diaphragm works every time you breathe, if you want it or not.
The diaphragm functions every time you inhale.
Also, when we exhale, when we breathe out, the diaphragm moves up, it relaxes.
So we cannot really control a muscle that is in the state of relaxation.
And the diaphragm is in the state of relaxation when we sing.
We cannot directly affect the function of the diaphragm.
We cannot feel the diaphragm, we cannot touch it, and we cannot directly squeeze it or relax
it.
So if you really want to know what the phrase "sing from the diaphragm” means, you have
to ask the person who is telling you to sing from the diaphragm.
What do you really mean when you say "sing from the diaphragm"?
What do I need to do?
In the meantime, I am going to tell you how to improve your breathing and singing by using
your vocal mechanism, including your diaphragm, in a more effective way.
Here are 3 steps to achieve efficient breathing for singing.
Step 1: Establish and maintain good singing posture.
Your breathing and vocal mechanisms cannot function efficiently in a misaligned body.
If you think that paying attention to your singing posture is a waste of time, you are
actually robbing yourself of the opportunity to improve your singing instantly.
To learn more about posture, check out my other videos.
Step 2: Inhale silently and inhale low.
When inhaling, make sure that your whole torso is expanding in 3 dimensions.
So don’t focus just on your belly or on your abdominal wall but make sure that the
sides of your body and even your back is expanding during inhalation.
I like to call this expansion the 360 ring of breath.
And you can find more videos on this topic on my channel.
When you use your whole torso for breathing, you actually create conditions, when the diaphragm
can descend fully and function efficiently.
Step 3: Use the air you just inhaled for singing.
Use your whole torso for controlling the breath, not just some parts of your body, like your
abdomen or your vocal cords.
Actually, use your vocal cords for creating the sound and use your whole body for controlling
the air flow.
Don’t push your belly in when singing because you are actually pushing too much air through
your vocal cords and you will run out of breath at the end of a sung phrase.
Instead, maintain the feeling of expansion and openness in your throat to create the
most efficient sound.
And that’s it.
Three steps to more efficient breathing for singing.
I created a free breathing checklist that will help you recognize what you are good at
and what skills need more work.
Click the link the in the description below and download this free breathing checklist.
But before you go, click the like button and subscribe for more videos every week.
Thank you for watching and I will see you in the next video.
Bye for now.
Happy breathing and happy singing!