Are you wondering how to breathe efficiently when singing?
If you are ready to bring your breathing technique in singing to a higher level, then keep on
watching because in this video, I am going to show you how an old Italian approach to
breathing, so called appoggio breathing, can help you sing better.
You will learn what appoggio technique involves and how to use it even if you are not an opera
or classical singer.
And if you stay until the end, I’ll tell you where you can get more breathing exercises
for singers to improve your breath management skills so that you never run out of breath again.
Hi and welcome back.
If we haven’t met yet, I am Katarina from How 2 Improve Singing and here on this channel,
I share tips on how to use your voice in a healthy and efficient way so that you can
sing any note you want.
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Now, I am curious to know: Do you think that concepts from the old Italian school of singing
Bel Canto are applicable only to classical singing?
Or can they be used in any style of singing?
Let me know in the comments below.
Appoggio breathing technique.
What is it and how is it useful to you?
Bel Canto, which means beautiful singing in Italian, refers to the Italian-originated
vocal style that was common in Europe during the 18th century.
Traditionally, we tend to associate bel canto and its concepts like appoggio with classical
singing because that’s where they were originally used.
Just imagine music style of the 18th century with long sustained notes, melodies embellished
with trills and runs, which required great vocal agility.
This style of singing required amazing breath control to maintain a beautiful tone when
singing long phrases and vocal freedom when singing rapid coloratura passages.
And there were no microphones so the singers required a technique that would allow them
to be heard over an orchestra.
Bel canto as a technique had to be learned, it wasn’t something that even the most talented
singers were born with.
Which is great news for contemporary singers.
Bel canto and its concepts like breath management are skills that can be learned.
Now, my belief is that appoggio singing is not necessary for all types of singing, however,
it allows a singer to have vocal freedom, agility and excellent control over breath.
Nowadays, the term appoggio is often used to describe breath support in singing, which
is not really accurate.
Appoggio starts with excellent breathing technique but continues with focused vibration and balanced
resonance.
So appoggio is more than a breathing technique for singers.
The word appoggio comes from the Italian word appoggiare, and while Google translate will
translate it as support, other meanings of this word are lean, lean against or lean on.
You may know that the term breath support is ambiguous and many different teachers will
give you many different explanations of this term.
The same goes for the meaning of the word appoggiare.
Here are some examples of different interpretations: leaning the voice into the body, leaning against
the rising diaphragm, leaning up against the inside of the chest, leaning on air pressure,
physical resistance to the airflow.
To name just a few.
There is a lot of ambiguity in vocal pedagogy because different singers have different sensations
when performing the same movement.
So, let’s focus on things that most vocal teachers agree on.
Appoggio breathing is a coordinated muscle action for managing your breath when singing.
It entails a few important skills: Number 1: High chest posture.
This is an absolutely essential part of appoggio and as I said before, it has to be learned.
Especially in today’s world, where we are slouched over most of the day and the muscles
responsible for keeping the chest up are underdeveloped.
Now, this high chest posture is not associated with any tension, pushing or rigidity.
In old days, singing teachers would describe it as a noble posture.
Appoggio is associated with a dynamic alignment, during which a singer is prepared to take
on any note or musical line.
To establish a high chest posture, just lift your sternum.
Or, you can lift your arms, which will bring your chest up, then bring your arms down but
keep your sternum – your breast bone up.
Number 2: Silent inhale in all three dimensions.
Inhalation is a three-dimensional movement, including your abdomen that moves forward,
the sides of your body that move sideways and even your lower back that expands during
inhalation.
You are achieving expansion in all directions, which allows the diaphragm to move most efficiently
and it can descend fully.
The abdomen is not pushed out but it is allowed to move out with the breath.
If done efficiently, the breath is silent and low.
Number 3: Maintaining expansion.
The inspiratory expansion that is achieved during inhalation is maintained throughout
exhalation or singing.
This prevents your body from collapsing.
In appoggio technique, you create resistance and you don’t allow the expiratory muscles
to take over completely.
Instead, you find a balance between the inspiratory and expiratory muscles, which in practical
terms will look like maintaining that expansion.
But again, this is not a rigid position.
It is a dynamic system, during which you engage opposing muscles and control the breath.
By maintaining this expansion, you are permitting only an absolutely necessary amount of air
go through the vocal folds to create a beautiful tone.
And it’s much less than what you think.
We could say that the main task of appoggio breathing is to delay the rise of the diaphragm.
And while this type of breathing is nowadays used mostly by classical singers because they
require excellent breath management skills to sing long lines without amplification over
an orchestra (which by the way, is even bigger than in the 18th century), this technique
is beneficial to any singer, especially to those who have trouble with breath management.
If you run out of breath, if you inhale too much or too little air or if you have bad
posture, if you inhale audibly, or if you collapse your torso during breathing and singing,
this is a perfect technique for you.
There are many exercises that use components of the appoggio technique.
One of them is the Farinelli exercise or suspending the breath exercise.
Another one is the hissing exercise if done properly.
You can check out my videos, in which I describe and demonstrate these exercises in detail.
I will post the links down below.
But now let’s do an easy version of the appoggio exercises:
First, establish a good chest position, raise that sternum, put your hands on the sides
of your ribcage to feel the sideway expansion, inhale for the count of 5 and make sure that
your torso is expanding in all directions.
Now sustain the SH sound for the count of 5 while keeping your breastbone up and maintaining
the expansion of the torso.
You can even put a fist against your breastbone so that you can press against it in order
to prevent the collapse.
Let’s do it a few more times, inhale for the count of 5, and exhale for the count of
5 on the sh sound.
So, what do you think?
If you are ready to learn more breathing exercises, click this link or the link in the description
below to get 5 free breathing exercises for singers that will help you improve your breath
management skills so that you can sing with ease and confidence.
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I will be posting more useful videos like this.
I’ll cover topics like breathing techniques in singing, vocal health, vocal tension, hoarseness
and many more.
So, I’ll see you soon in my next video.