Correct breathing is deep, inaudible, with no perceptible movement of the upper chest and shoulders. Singing teachers generally have defined this manner of breathing "diaphragmatic-costal." t The term refers to muscles that are largely responsible for proper action. The diaphragm is a large, strong muscle, shaped like a dome or inverted saucer that separates the chest from the abdomen. The costals are muscles attached to the ribs. When air is taken into the body for singing, the diaphragm should move downward and the ribs upward and outward, thus expanding or enlarging the chest from top to bottom, from side to side, and from front to back. If you place your hands at the base of your ribs, with thumbs at the back and fore-fingers at the front, and quickly draw in breath as when frightened or startled, the movement of these muscles should be evident.

To permit free action of the breathing muscles, posture must be correct. The chest should be up, the abdomen in, the ribs up from the hips, and the head and chin held naturally and comfortably erect. As a rule, the chin should form approximately a right angle with the throat. When you are standing, the knees should be straight and the weight of the body should be on the balls of the feet, which should not be placed too far apart. The hands •should usually be held easily in front of you about at the waist. If you are seated when singing, the body should be forward or away from the back of the chair, and both feet should rest firmly on the floor. The body should be erect, alert, and devoid of stiffness at all times.

In singing it is necessary that you know not only how to breathe, but also where to breathe. A careful examination of music and text will always show where tone and word may be stopped appropriately for you to replenish your breath. Punctuation of sentences indicates stopping points, as do breath marks in the form of apostrophes (’) that sometime appear above the staff. A curved line also is often used to show musical phrases. Rests in the music are another means of revealing breathing places. However, if you have sufficient supply, it is not necessary or desirable to take breath at every available opportunity. In fact, in some songs, even when the voice part ceases for a brief time, it is often much better to suspend or hold the breath over.2 The phrase line is the determining consideration.

In most compositions, you should not breathe between the syllables of a word, between a noun and its modifier, nor should you divide certain groupings of words, as in a clause or a phrase.3 If there is any doubt in your mind where breath may be taken, read the words for meaning and study the music structure.

It is important in taking breath that the rhythm of the song not be broken. Time for breathing should be taken from the note of departure and not from the one you are to attack.
Often a singer expends too much breath on the first tones of the phrase. Air should be wisely distributed among all tones to be sung on one breath and should flow out quietly and evenly. If thought is directed toward the final words of a phrase as the beginning word is sung, this difficulty may be avoided.

Brett Manning Singing Teacher