Breathing

For the next few days you have only ONE job. To check how you're inhaling every time you take a breath when you practice.

Now this is going to require you to focus and probably SLOW DOWN.

Please don't resist it, everything we're going to do over the next 6 weeks rests on your preparing in the best possible way - and that's all in the inhale baby.


OLD WAYS OF INHALING

When I was a younger singer, I was taught to expand my ribcage as wide as it would go and keep my ribs out as I sang.

My teacher wasn't deliberately misleading me, it was simply what teachers believed to be the best way to breathe for singing at the time.

Now that we're got more information (thanks science!) we know that there's a better way.

So you may have been taught other ways of taking the breath in and I encourage you to practice the "old way"/your habit and then try this new way and feel and listen for any differences.

I always want YOU to make the final choice here, but I'm telling you - this way has eliminated so much tension from my body that I assumed was "normal" and it feels MUCH EASIER to sing now.


WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

STEP ONE:

Follow along with the video as we go from lying down (please don't skip this step as many singers find it hard to lower the breath standing up, especially on Day One) to standing up.

STEP TWO:

Download the Inhale Training audio and go through it on Days 1 AND 2. No skipping!

STEP THREE:

If you're extending your practice to working on a song or songs, make sure you replace the old way of inhaling with the new.

This will probably require that you don't sing it with your usual backing and instead SLOW IT RIGHT DOWN.

Now is not the time to get cocky and keep it at speed. It takes time and focus to replace those ingrained habits, so take it easy.


SHARE WITH US: How did you go?

How does it feel different than the way you would usually inhale for singing?


PSST! FOR NEXT WEEK'S BREATHING TRAINING YOU WILL NEED A REGULAR SIZE DRINKING STRAW, SO MAKE SURE YOU GRAB ONE THIS WEEK!

The audio to help you practice inhaling in this different way is below.

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED GRAB A STOP WATCH/TIMER


In the video below I show you two breathing exercises where you'll inhale to 100% capacity (much more than we inhale for singing) and control the exhale.

This is going to help you with those long lines in songs that you can't quite get to the end of without running out of breath!

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