Singing from the Diaphragm. What is it? Can it Help Me?...

Question: ” Hello Guy, I am Annie and here go my doubts.  I have seen many vocal coach sites and met something confusing. It’s the expression “sing from the diaphragm”.  I studied this a lot but didn’t get a full explanation. I only know that this is the correct singing manner. Right? I’d like you to help me with this and tell me how to do it?” – Annie

Answer:  Annie,  Great question.  If you desire a truly great sounding voice, it is of utmost importance to get in touch with the abdominal diaphragm.   As a student, I also was very confused about what these coaches were talking about.  

When we sing or speak exclusively using the  upper chest, our voices sound thin, tend to be quiet, lacking resonance and warmth.    If you sing or speak from the diaphragm, the opposite is true.

The abdominal diaphragm is a muscle at the base of our rib cage.  It’s shaped like a parachute.  It spans the entire base, front to back, side to side and has a hole near its center for organs to pass through.  It acts like a tight skin on a drum, not to generate sound, but to increase interior volume when lowered.  This causes air to rush in. 

The primary purpose of the abdominal diaphragm is to increase interior volume when flexed, creating a vacuum drawing air into the lungs.  The secondary purpose is to pressurize the vocal folds during exhale, forcing them to vibrate.  When the vocal folds vibrate, we generate sound.

The Lungs Are Passive…
This means they require an external source to make them inflate.   In order to get air into them, we use muscles.  Many Americans use only the intercostal muscles to breathe with.  The intercostals are muscles woven, between the ribs.  When flexed, the ribs expand and contract.  Due to limited expansion, this causes a modest amount of air to come in during inhale.  During exhale, they have a poor capability of making the vocal cords vibrate.  These are great muscles, just not enough ooomph… for professional speaking or singing.

Belly Breathe…
I think coaches are trying to say, breathe using your belly.  Not your upper chest.  Great singers also use the upper chest when breathing.  Poor singers only use the upper chest when singing. The upper chest, is best suited for supporting the upper torso when speaking or singing.  This will free up the abdominal wall and abdominal diaphragm to move with great freedom.

Singers who use the abdominal wall and diaphragm to support the torso will experience poor vocal results.  To have great results:  Inflate the upper chest, keeping it high and full at all times, permitting the abdominal wall to release, permitting the diaphragm to lower, allowing the belly to swell during inhale and contract during exhale.

Ballet Chest, Yoga Belly…
The best habit is to maintain a ballet dancer’s torso, keeping it nice and high and maintain a yoga belly, swelling and contracting.

Suck In Your Gut!…Yikes.
This may take practice because we’ve has been taught to suck in our guts in order to look good.  Which means we basically hold our breath in public.  Perhaps it’s an attempt to look thinner, and be socially acceptable.  If we do this, we may look great, but singing or speaking  beautifully will be difficult because we’re constricted.

Exercises:  
Place your hands at your side in the gap above your hips and below your ribs. Now dig your hands in.  Inhale and say “FFFFFFFFF…” for three seconds.  Repeat this 5 times.  Now, inhale and say “Puh..Puh…Puh..Puh”  five times.  This activity will push your hands away from your body.  The muscle causing the response is the abdominal diaphragm.  Lay on your back, place a heavy book on your belly.  Inhale in such a fashion as to make the book rise and fall.  Practice this often.  Then do it without the book while standing up. You’ll be on your way!

A New Habit…
Get in the habit of flexing the diaphragm while speaking or singing.  Continue to explore your abdominal diaphragm, and notice when you flex this muscle during speaking or singing, your voice is richer, fuller and warmer.  

I hope this is helpful.  All my best, – Guy.