Diaphragmtic breathing. Is it supposed to be hard?!
Question: I'm having extreme difficulty for over a year. All exercizes possible are useless in my case but they make it seem as though it doesn't take much effort. (Telling me your stomach is supposed to rise doesn't help at all). I was wondering if I'm over looking things. Is it supposed to be this hard? I have no support for my singing at all. Breathing with my chest (like when talking) is much better then this.
Answers: I'm having extreme difficulty for over a year. All exercizes possible are useless in my case but they make it seem as though it doesn't take much effort. (Telling me your stomach is supposed to rise doesn't help at all). I was wondering if I'm over looking things. Is it supposed to be this hard? I have no support for my singing at all. Breathing with my chest (like when talking) is much better then this.
Diaphragmatic breathing might SEEM difficult because many people have NO IDEA what they are talking about. They just make up something based on a small description. It really isn't that hard. I've answered this question several times in this forum. Here is the exercise I share often. AND PLEASE don't take that sing naturally advice. I don't even think that person knows what that means. Diaphragmatic breathing is what we do NATURALLY when we are BORN. As we age, we develop a high breathing bad habits that actually isn't natural. Many doctors have asthmatic and respiratory patients practice it for breathing. I breath naturally that way now. So that is more natural than what that person above described.
Now diaphragmatic breathing consists not just the diaphragm. It includes all of those muscles in that area working together to create better breathing support. The diaphragm doesn't do all the work, because it works involuntary. It is what you do with the area around it that makes diaphragmatic breathing work.
Here is a frequent exercise I share in this forum. Get in front of a mirror (or if you don't feel like getting up, sit on the edge of your chair right now sitting straight up). Place your hands parallel to eachother with the tips of your middle fingers touching. Now on inhale, don't move your shoulders or upper chest. Slowly concentrate on filling your tummy with air like a balloon. Don't force it. Just do it slowly as if you are a baby (infants and toddlers use diaphragmatic breathing automatically. Watch a baby's tummy the next time they nap. That is how we all should breathe). Your middle fingers will part slightly. You should feel expansion in your tummy area, your sides, and your back. Now exhale SLOWLY. Don't blow the air out. Hiss like a snake if that keeps you from blowing all the air out. Try to conserve as much air as you can as you exhale. By the time you are done, the tips of your middle fingers will touch again.
Try this exercise over and over again, until you get the hang of it. It might be awkward for a minute, and you might feel as if you are doing it wrong because you aren't quite used to the concept. But the more you try it, the more you will get used to it. It will eventually fall in line naturally. You can use the same exercise with singing, but instead of exhaling with the HISS sound, you can sing scales. As you sing scales, continue to conserve the air you can as you go. You will get used to it.
Whatever you do, don't force it. Eventually it will get into your psyche and become automatic. You also can google "diaphragmatic breathing" if you want to see visuals of how the muscles work. Good look and try the exercise. See if that doesn't physically give you an idea of how it should feel.
I hope that answer helped. Don't make it difficult by reading horrible websites that are wordy and can't make it relative to us "regular" folks. The only reason I understand the wordy stuff is because I had to study the mechanics in school. You don't have to know all that. So throw all the technical terms out of your mind, and try the exercise. Also, allow a voice teacher or a chorus teacher to SHOW you. Sometimes demonstrations are more help than anything. Don't give up on it. Once you figure it out, it will be like common sense.
It shouldn't really be too hard. It takes practice and all, but most people can talk or sing with their diaphragm. It could be that i's just not for you.. but my suggestion would be to keep trying.
I'm in the same situation as you.
I've spent hours and hours on the internet reading about the diaphragm and the "correct" way to sing etc, but i find it much easier to just sing naturally. It also sounds better when i'm just singing normally instead of concentrating on breathing properly.
If you've got natural talent, then you'll already know what to do and you'll be sounding great.
Just sing and have fun :)
I read somewhere that when your blowing out candles, the muscle that your using is the diaphragm.
So try singing like that. If its too hard, or doesn't feel right...just sing as you want to.
Good luck!
x