Everyone has a natural pattern of breathing that is best illustrated when you sleep because there are no demands on the body at that time. Jane Ingalls, a voice-over actor and former member of the Washington National Opera for 14 years, says, "When you're awake, your brain is adding layers of demands: emotions, anxiety and physical stress. When you're stressed, the vocal cords, throat, jaw and shoulders tighten and affect the breathing, ultimately affecting how you sing or pronounce words."
To relax your body, Ingalls encourages lying on your back and placing the palm of your hand on your lower abdomen. "If you breathe in, your hand should move outward. That's where you place your air." Basic breathing exercises shift your focus away from stress and onto the process. Julianna Gondek, Professor of Voice and Chair of the Vocal Studies Department at UCLA, suggests sitting on a straight-back chair and breathing in and out. "Inhalation expands the floating ribs as well as the back. As you exhale, the front abdominal muscles kick in to keep the ribs wide."
Another exercise Gondek uses is holding your breath, which puts pressure on your ribcage, forcing it to expand. However, you eventually give in to the diaphragm, a muscle that you cannot control or feel that pushes air out of your lungs. "When we exhale, we create a vacuum that gets filled again as air drops in naturally. If you create a space, you'll fill it," says Ingalls.
The lower abdomen is where singers find the power to complete long phrases or hold a strong note. It is where their capacity lives, according to Ingalls. A higher volume requires a greater amount of air. If you are not breathing correctly, the lower part of your lungs will not be utilized to its potential. "You don't actually do anything with the vocal cords except allow air to pass over them. They're a muscle that changes shape to create different sounds, but all the power to do that comes from filling the lungs fully."
Range of ability is unique to every person because of physical structure and limitations such as lung size, body frame and abdomenal strength. Allergies and a deviated septum can also influence to vocal output. Whatever your abilities are, one way to tell if you are breathing correctly is if you are breathing quietly. "If it's quiet and free then you're in the right place. It should be effortless," says Ingalls.