Appoggio breathing has remained one of the more ubiquitous terms in vocal instruction since its introduction hundreds of years ago. Yet, it is also one of the more confusing concepts in the voice world, owing to the wide range of definitions that it has received, and the equal lack of clarity that those definitions tend to possess. In this, our contribution to the list of definitions of appoggio, we attempt to provide clarity through means of clear language, and functional, experience-based understanding supported by science.
19th-century vocologist Manuel Garcia II using the first laryngoscope, which he invented. Thanks to the laryngoscope, Garcia was able to define features of the vocal folds like CT stretch, TA thickening, the glottal chink,
and arytenoid cartilage movement.
History
Appoggio is Italian for “leaning”, which provides the first point of confusion. The inevitable first question is “lean what?” The idea appears in plenty of treatises from the 19th century and earlier, and there seems to be a fairly clear consensus among early pedagogues and vocologists going back to the 16th century that a certain type of abdominal muscle engagement is required to sing efficiently and with less effort. James Stark provides a nice summary of these thoughts in Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. Among the people he quotes, Francesco Lamperti says about appoggio in 1884 that “[when singing softly] there must therefore be no relaxation of the tension in the abdominal muscles ” (Stark, Bel Canto, 102). This kind of statement is about as specific as any one gets with the definition. In addition, Lamperti (among others) integrates appoggio into the entire vocal mechanism, giving it credit for laryngeal and acoustic phenomena as well. The added confusion of referring to every aspect of singing as a direct result of appoggio tends to overshadow the existing complexity of the power source.
Appoggio is Italian for “leaning”, which provides the first point of confusion. The inevitable first question is “lean what?” The idea appears in plenty of treatises from the 19th century and earlier, and there seems to be a fairly clear consensus among early pedagogues and vocologists going back to the 16th century that a certain type of abdominal muscle engagement is required to sing efficiently and with less effort. James Stark provides a nice summary of these thoughts in Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. Among the people he quotes, Francesco Lamperti says about appoggio in 1884 that “[when singing softly] there must therefore be no relaxation of the tension in the abdominal muscles ” (Stark, Bel Canto, 102). This kind of statement is about as specific as any one gets with the definition. In addition, Lamperti (among others) integrates appoggio into the entire vocal mechanism, giving it credit for laryngeal and acoustic phenomena as well. The added confusion of referring to every aspect of singing as a direct result of appoggio tends to overshadow the existing complexity of the power source.
Physiology and Body Centering
The abdomen contains several of the key muscles of the power source. The five main muscles of the abdomen (diaphragm, internal obliques, external obliques, transverse abdominis, and rectus abominis), it turns out, have provided significant and conversational debate for a long time. See below for an explanation of their individual function.
The abdomen contains several of the key muscles of the power source. The five main muscles of the abdomen (diaphragm, internal obliques, external obliques, transverse abdominis, and rectus abominis), it turns out, have provided significant and conversational debate for a long time. See below for an explanation of their individual function.
One of the problems with understanding appoggio is that the physiology of the power source is confusing and complex, has been long debated and often misunderstood, includes sensations that map "backward" like much of the vocal mechanism, and remains the part of the voice that we can most easily feel and see, and therefore the part that most people tend to discuss and create their own ideas about. Gripping the abs, for example, is fairly simple and intuitive, though it ultimately causes tension that complicates singing. The impulse of grip has an emotional component that can make people feel as if they are doing something, and they can convince themselves that such a feeling is positive due to repetition.
As noted above, we at VoiceScienceWorks prefer to focus attention toward the body by beginning with the idea of body centering, a concept that we borrowed from several fields of physical study including Alexander Technique, Lightner Method, Feldenkrais, and yoga. We like to promote the idea that a centered body, one that follows the breath, will more easily respond to the needs of the vocalist when they arise.
Operating from this principle, we find that many of the historical approaches to power source physiology face challenges when considering the following understandings:
1) that diaphragmatic engagement is largely involuntary
2) that abdominal, shoulder, or chest tension constricts the diaphragm from contracting freely, and that when the diaphragm isn’t free to contract, the breath mechanism is compromised
3) that consciously holding muscles in place leads to tension elsewhere, often around the larynx
As noted above, we at VoiceScienceWorks prefer to focus attention toward the body by beginning with the idea of body centering, a concept that we borrowed from several fields of physical study including Alexander Technique, Lightner Method, Feldenkrais, and yoga. We like to promote the idea that a centered body, one that follows the breath, will more easily respond to the needs of the vocalist when they arise.
Operating from this principle, we find that many of the historical approaches to power source physiology face challenges when considering the following understandings:
1) that diaphragmatic engagement is largely involuntary
2) that abdominal, shoulder, or chest tension constricts the diaphragm from contracting freely, and that when the diaphragm isn’t free to contract, the breath mechanism is compromised
3) that consciously holding muscles in place leads to tension elsewhere, often around the larynx
For example, any breath exercise that suggests holding the chest in a raised position, or thrusting the abdominal muscles outward or inward, or forcing the ribs open, or gripping any muscles in the pelvic region, have trouble squaring with our understanding of the way the body functions most efficiently. Beginning, therefore, with a body centering focus can greatly limit the number of options available to breathing phonaters, thereby limiting some confusion.
Yet, there is something to the engagement of the body during breathing that operates in addition to body centering. Body centering alone, that is, doesn't answer the question of appoggio. When left to its own devices, the body may come up with the most efficient breathing process for phonation, but the body may also, perhaps most likely, find that habits that exist for exercise, or lifting, or in league with emotional reactions, are more readily employed first. If appoggio requires skill development, then it might not just happen on its own with most people.
Yet, there is something to the engagement of the body during breathing that operates in addition to body centering. Body centering alone, that is, doesn't answer the question of appoggio. When left to its own devices, the body may come up with the most efficient breathing process for phonation, but the body may also, perhaps most likely, find that habits that exist for exercise, or lifting, or in league with emotional reactions, are more readily employed first. If appoggio requires skill development, then it might not just happen on its own with most people.
Generations of singers and teachers have talked about the mythical bird called appoggio. Because of the above-stated complexities, many different descriptions and mental images have been created to try to communicate the sensation of appoggio to others. They tend toward similar kinds of sensations that relate to stoppage, holding, and muscle strength focus.
Here are some examples:
Here are some examples:
|
"You feel as if you continue in your inhalation process while singing."
"The air should back up in your throat. "Feel your support from your pelvic floor." "Feel as if your breath is suspended." "Squeeze a dime between your butt cheeks." "Act like you are a duck paddling like mad underwater, but looking calm and cool on top." "Push from your back to keep your ribs from collapsing." |
"Make the abdominal muscles strong."
"Push the abdominal muscles out." "Pull the abdominal muscles in." "Push out just the upper abdominal muscles" "Pull in only the bottom abdominal muscles, and only when you need extra 'gas'." Hold your body so that your ribs and chest remain out for the whole line." "Push from your diaphragm." |
These are all sensations that creative teachers have used to try to communicate how they feel when they breathe, but they don’t exactly reflect the mechanics, and in many cases, create further confusion.
Contemporary Vocology Has Come Close. . .
Many respected vocology-based books come close to the definition. Richard Miller’s The Structure of Singing, Wendy Legorgne and Marci Rosenberg’s The Vocal Athlete, Melissa Made, Maryjean Allen, and Kurt-Alexander Zeller’s What Every Singer Needs to Know About the Body, and James Stark’s Bel Canto, and Thomas J. Hixon's Respiratory Function In Singing are five examples. They all mention what to avoid from a physical perspective, and include avoidance of upper chest breathing, forcing the abdomen to overly extend or pull in, and excessive body tension. They also mention the extensive debates that have proceeded for centuries in the form of national schools of thought (e.g. Italian, German, American, British, etc.). Yet, they each stop one step shy of saying what appoggio actually is.
Hixon's book, the most in depth repository of research on the power source, goes further than the others, but avoids using the term appoggio. He does refer to the abdominal muscles in several important quotes including:
"Adopting postures that impose unnatural curvatures of the vertebral column (by attempting to overly straighten it) can restrict the attainment of the full range of volumes, pressures, and shapes, and preclude a singer from achieving optimal volumes, pressures, and shapes." (page 105)
"The different segments of the rectus abdominis are capable of independent contraction." (page 32)
"The [abdominal] wall usually protrudes, especially near the bottom." (page 35)
"Also, muscle activity was higher in the lower lateral region of the abdominal wall than in the upper lateral region." (page 100, referring to the Watson et al. experiment, 1989)
Many respected vocology-based books come close to the definition. Richard Miller’s The Structure of Singing, Wendy Legorgne and Marci Rosenberg’s The Vocal Athlete, Melissa Made, Maryjean Allen, and Kurt-Alexander Zeller’s What Every Singer Needs to Know About the Body, and James Stark’s Bel Canto, and Thomas J. Hixon's Respiratory Function In Singing are five examples. They all mention what to avoid from a physical perspective, and include avoidance of upper chest breathing, forcing the abdomen to overly extend or pull in, and excessive body tension. They also mention the extensive debates that have proceeded for centuries in the form of national schools of thought (e.g. Italian, German, American, British, etc.). Yet, they each stop one step shy of saying what appoggio actually is.
Hixon's book, the most in depth repository of research on the power source, goes further than the others, but avoids using the term appoggio. He does refer to the abdominal muscles in several important quotes including:
"Adopting postures that impose unnatural curvatures of the vertebral column (by attempting to overly straighten it) can restrict the attainment of the full range of volumes, pressures, and shapes, and preclude a singer from achieving optimal volumes, pressures, and shapes." (page 105)
"The different segments of the rectus abdominis are capable of independent contraction." (page 32)
"The [abdominal] wall usually protrudes, especially near the bottom." (page 35)
"Also, muscle activity was higher in the lower lateral region of the abdominal wall than in the upper lateral region." (page 100, referring to the Watson et al. experiment, 1989)
A Link To The Past
We had the pleasure of listening to Alexander Kariotis present a workshop on bel canto singing, during which he specifically discussed appoggio as essential to bel canto teaching. Refreshingly, he defined bel canto teaching overall in a much more narrow way than most people tend to use the term. Alex is special in the American voice world because he bears a direct lineage to the Italian bel canto tradition, having studied with Gianni Raimondi and Arrigo Pola, who happened also to be Pavarotti’s teacher. These gentlemen added to Alex’s initial understanding of bel canto, and gave him direct insight into the private bel canto traditions unfiltered by the contemporary American education system. In addition to being a successful teacher and operatic tenor, Alex can also tear up the rock n’ roll stage, and he focuses on appoggio as one key ingredient to all singing styles. By comparison to some historical methods that credit appoggio with all aspects of the voice, Alex focuses on appoggio as a power source event. He said that appoggio is so important to the Italian bel canto school that famous singers who have trained their appoggio greet one another by saying “appoggio, appoggio" as if it’s a secret hand shake. In other words, appoggio is extremely important.
We had the pleasure of listening to Alexander Kariotis present a workshop on bel canto singing, during which he specifically discussed appoggio as essential to bel canto teaching. Refreshingly, he defined bel canto teaching overall in a much more narrow way than most people tend to use the term. Alex is special in the American voice world because he bears a direct lineage to the Italian bel canto tradition, having studied with Gianni Raimondi and Arrigo Pola, who happened also to be Pavarotti’s teacher. These gentlemen added to Alex’s initial understanding of bel canto, and gave him direct insight into the private bel canto traditions unfiltered by the contemporary American education system. In addition to being a successful teacher and operatic tenor, Alex can also tear up the rock n’ roll stage, and he focuses on appoggio as one key ingredient to all singing styles. By comparison to some historical methods that credit appoggio with all aspects of the voice, Alex focuses on appoggio as a power source event. He said that appoggio is so important to the Italian bel canto school that famous singers who have trained their appoggio greet one another by saying “appoggio, appoggio" as if it’s a secret hand shake. In other words, appoggio is extremely important.
Alex's "Nessun Dorma - No One Sleeps", an piece that features rock stylings mixed with Puccini's famous aria.
Here’s a summation of what Alex had us do
1) Place your hand on your abdomen and cough. Do you notice that your abs cave in?
2) Move your hand to your belt area and cough. Did you feel the abs poke out? If not, you may want to try slightly lower. The "kick out" sensation is the key.
Once you’ve found the “kick out” spot, repeat the cough several times to get used to the experience. The experience of a lower muscle pushing outward during a cough is what Alex calls appoggio. During singing, he says, that these lower muscles contract while the other abdominal muscles remain soft. That means that the voice user will want to learn to isolate the "kick out" spot from the others in time. The cough is a direct way to feel the "kick out" sensation, but, since it also engages the other abdominal muscles, it is just a beginning stage. The combination of the "kick out" muscle engaging while the other abdominal muscles remain soft allows for more even air pressure, because the abdominal muscles apply less pressure on the ribs while still operating in their function of helping the ribs expand. He also said that there is no point in his sung line when he releases the contraction of that "kick out" muscle. During the inhale, it relaxes with all of the other abdominal muscles, and then contracts again, as the others stay lax.
1) Place your hand on your abdomen and cough. Do you notice that your abs cave in?
2) Move your hand to your belt area and cough. Did you feel the abs poke out? If not, you may want to try slightly lower. The "kick out" sensation is the key.
Once you’ve found the “kick out” spot, repeat the cough several times to get used to the experience. The experience of a lower muscle pushing outward during a cough is what Alex calls appoggio. During singing, he says, that these lower muscles contract while the other abdominal muscles remain soft. That means that the voice user will want to learn to isolate the "kick out" spot from the others in time. The cough is a direct way to feel the "kick out" sensation, but, since it also engages the other abdominal muscles, it is just a beginning stage. The combination of the "kick out" muscle engaging while the other abdominal muscles remain soft allows for more even air pressure, because the abdominal muscles apply less pressure on the ribs while still operating in their function of helping the ribs expand. He also said that there is no point in his sung line when he releases the contraction of that "kick out" muscle. During the inhale, it relaxes with all of the other abdominal muscles, and then contracts again, as the others stay lax.
This idea aligns with the kinds of descriptions that all of the historical authors attempt, though you have to read through the cracks on some of them. It also provides a clear, straight forward physical experience that can be isolated and trained.
Scientific Insight On What Happens During Appoggio
The question of how individual abdominal muscles function within the whole has provided an ongoing debate in sports science as well. There are five main abdominal muscles. The diaphragm is the upper dome, or ceiling, of the abdomen. It contracts during inspiration, and relaxes during expiration. The internal and external obliques bend the body from side to side, compress the chest cavity, and pull the stomach inward. The transverse abdominis acts like a girdle, surrounding the front and sides of the abdomen. Lifters talk a lot about how engaging this muscle while closing the glottis creates power for lifting (see T-Nation's article on the subject). The rectus abdominis is the one in the middle, the “6 pack” muscle, and it’s the more curious of them all.
The question of how individual abdominal muscles function within the whole has provided an ongoing debate in sports science as well. There are five main abdominal muscles. The diaphragm is the upper dome, or ceiling, of the abdomen. It contracts during inspiration, and relaxes during expiration. The internal and external obliques bend the body from side to side, compress the chest cavity, and pull the stomach inward. The transverse abdominis acts like a girdle, surrounding the front and sides of the abdomen. Lifters talk a lot about how engaging this muscle while closing the glottis creates power for lifting (see T-Nation's article on the subject). The rectus abdominis is the one in the middle, the “6 pack” muscle, and it’s the more curious of them all.
A video by AnatamyZone that shows the front abdominal muscles and their function.
The rectus abdominis, unlike other muscles in the body, has 6-10 distinct muscle bellies (hence the 6-pack) that are separated by tendons. Researchers over the last couple of decades have tried to determine whether these muscle bellies can contract independently of one another. A team in Brazil discovered that, indeed, they can. According to the article Selective Activation of the Rectus Abdominis Muscle During Low-Intensity and Fatiguing Tasks, the whole of the rectus abdominis muscle is innervated (turned on) by a common nerve, but each muscle belly also has individual nerves that can innervate them separately from the other muscle bellies. They say in their conclusion that:
“These results suggest that a dual control system may be operating simultaneously on the different portions of the rectus abdominis muscle: one that activates two or more portions in a parallel way (a common drive) (De Luca and Erim, 2002) and another that provides independent control of the portions. That is, each portion of the rectus abdominis muscle can be partially controlled by the nervous system in an independent way while different portions simultaneously contribute to the same task, acting like a functional unit. This mathematical evidence for a common drive as well as independent control of the rectus abdominis portions is consistent with neuroanatomical descriptions of rectus abdominis muscle innervations based on corpse dissection and electrical nerve stimulation (Duchateau et al., 1988; Hammond et al., 1995; Pradhan and Taly, 1989; Sakamoto et al., 1996). These studies have shown that different portions can be innervated by different nerves as well as by a common nerve branch, supporting the common drive and independent control of the rectus abdominis portions" (Marchetti, Selective Activation of the Rectus Abdominis Muscle).
And there’s one other special property to the rectus abdominis in that the upper three quarters of the muscle are surrounded by a tendenous sheath created by the transverse abdominis and the two oblique muscles (see the AnatomyZone video above at 5.40' for an explanation). The lower quarter, however, is only partially covered by this sheath, making the lower quarter of the muscle unique to the other portions. Consider that the place where you feel the "kick out" sensation when you cough is at your belt, right where the lower quarter of the rectus abdominis resides, and all of the sudden centuries of debate has some specificity to chew on thanks to relatively new research.
Just like in the voice world, those who explore Eastern philosophies rely on an understanding of breath connection, and there are as many was to describe the sensations. Their "appoggio" terms include "den tien/dantian", "prana", and "hara", depending on the practice. Interestingly, they often describe the location of these points of energy as being around 2.5 inches (three fingers) below the naval, exactly where the lower belly of the rectus abdominis resides.
A quote from Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands World Champion Josh Waitzkin's "The Art Of Learning" will sound strangely familiar to many in the voice world: "Many Chinese martial arts masters impose a forced, old-school breathing method on their students. The idea is that a particular art has created a superior method of breath control and this method should be followed religiously. William Chen’s [Waitzkin's teacher's] humble vision of this issue is that breathing should be natural. Or, more accurately, breathing should be a return to what was natural before we got stressed out by years of running around a hectic world and internalizing bad habits. . .He gives the example of reaching out to shake the hand of someone you are fond of, waking up after a restful sleep, or agreeing with somebody's idea. Usually, such positive moments are associated with an in-breath" (page 100).
Waitzkin, Josh. The Art of Learning. Free Press, New York, 2007.
Just like in the voice world, those who explore Eastern philosophies rely on an understanding of breath connection, and there are as many was to describe the sensations. Their "appoggio" terms include "den tien/dantian", "prana", and "hara", depending on the practice. Interestingly, they often describe the location of these points of energy as being around 2.5 inches (three fingers) below the naval, exactly where the lower belly of the rectus abdominis resides.
A quote from Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands World Champion Josh Waitzkin's "The Art Of Learning" will sound strangely familiar to many in the voice world: "Many Chinese martial arts masters impose a forced, old-school breathing method on their students. The idea is that a particular art has created a superior method of breath control and this method should be followed religiously. William Chen’s [Waitzkin's teacher's] humble vision of this issue is that breathing should be natural. Or, more accurately, breathing should be a return to what was natural before we got stressed out by years of running around a hectic world and internalizing bad habits. . .He gives the example of reaching out to shake the hand of someone you are fond of, waking up after a restful sleep, or agreeing with somebody's idea. Usually, such positive moments are associated with an in-breath" (page 100).
Waitzkin, Josh. The Art of Learning. Free Press, New York, 2007.
Ways to explore appoggio
We’ve found success using the following method. When first introducing appoggio breathing, cough or silently giggle (as if they are in class and not aloud to laugh) with your hand on your belt and notice the “kick out” muscle (lower belly of the rectus abdominis). Now spend a week with that muscle, getting used to the sensation of the “kick out,” and trying to notice how the other abdominal muscles react as well. Most people’s habitual response, according to the Journal of Sports Science article above, will be to innervate all bellies of the rectus abdominis simultaneously. It is, therefore, important to establish that the process of achieving appoggio is a patience game. We also encourage regular check ins with body centering as people form this new habit that entails focusing on a muscle that usually engages with many others.
After some time getting comfortable with the presence of the "kick out" muscle, cough again, notice the difference in most of the abdominal muscles and "kick out" muscles. Then, inhale using a glottal stop inhale, like this:
1) Blow the air out of your lungs
2) Begin to inhale
3) Stop the glottis so that no air can pass into the lungs, but, act as if you are continuing to inhale. During the time when the glottis is stopped, focus on different parts of the body and ask them to release, including the jaw, throat, upper ribs, lower ribs, abdomen (especially), hips, and thighs, and place your final focus on the "kick out" muscle. At this time, release the vocal folds and finish the inhale. You should feel your body swell with breath inspiration.
4) After you have finished the inhale, stop the glottis again. Again, notice the sense of release in the same muscles across the body, and then engage the "kick out" muscle alone. Once you’re set, release the exhale. See if you can feel the "kick out" muscle contracted for the entire exhale. You can also add some resistance with a consonant like [f], [s], [z], etc.
5) Once you’ve done this several times and have a feel for the process, add phonation. Go through the same process, but rather than releasing the glottis prior to exhale, simply begin singing from the closed glottis position.
Remember that the coordination challenge lies in allowing the other abdominal muscles and the intercostals to remain relatively quiet while the lower bellies of the rectus abdominis ("kick out" muscle) engage. If all of the abs and intercostals squeeze inward at the same time, tension will result. As a side note, the kind of tension that comes from that squeeze is emotionally connected to fear, so, the more time you spend contracting all of your muscles, the more you tell your body to feel fear while you phonate.
We’ve found success using the following method. When first introducing appoggio breathing, cough or silently giggle (as if they are in class and not aloud to laugh) with your hand on your belt and notice the “kick out” muscle (lower belly of the rectus abdominis). Now spend a week with that muscle, getting used to the sensation of the “kick out,” and trying to notice how the other abdominal muscles react as well. Most people’s habitual response, according to the Journal of Sports Science article above, will be to innervate all bellies of the rectus abdominis simultaneously. It is, therefore, important to establish that the process of achieving appoggio is a patience game. We also encourage regular check ins with body centering as people form this new habit that entails focusing on a muscle that usually engages with many others.
After some time getting comfortable with the presence of the "kick out" muscle, cough again, notice the difference in most of the abdominal muscles and "kick out" muscles. Then, inhale using a glottal stop inhale, like this:
1) Blow the air out of your lungs
2) Begin to inhale
3) Stop the glottis so that no air can pass into the lungs, but, act as if you are continuing to inhale. During the time when the glottis is stopped, focus on different parts of the body and ask them to release, including the jaw, throat, upper ribs, lower ribs, abdomen (especially), hips, and thighs, and place your final focus on the "kick out" muscle. At this time, release the vocal folds and finish the inhale. You should feel your body swell with breath inspiration.
4) After you have finished the inhale, stop the glottis again. Again, notice the sense of release in the same muscles across the body, and then engage the "kick out" muscle alone. Once you’re set, release the exhale. See if you can feel the "kick out" muscle contracted for the entire exhale. You can also add some resistance with a consonant like [f], [s], [z], etc.
5) Once you’ve done this several times and have a feel for the process, add phonation. Go through the same process, but rather than releasing the glottis prior to exhale, simply begin singing from the closed glottis position.
Remember that the coordination challenge lies in allowing the other abdominal muscles and the intercostals to remain relatively quiet while the lower bellies of the rectus abdominis ("kick out" muscle) engage. If all of the abs and intercostals squeeze inward at the same time, tension will result. As a side note, the kind of tension that comes from that squeeze is emotionally connected to fear, so, the more time you spend contracting all of your muscles, the more you tell your body to feel fear while you phonate.
To summarize, what we think is happening when people engage the appoggio breath includes:
1) Body centered with a sense of release in key areas like the head, neck, jaw, ribs, hips, abdomen, and thighs.
2) Soft feeling and relatively relaxed-feeling position for the transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles, back muscles, and upper three quarters of the rectus abominis (at all times). The diaphragm is, of course, contracted during inhale, and in a relaxation posture during exhale.
3) Soft feeling and relaxed position for the lower quarter of the rectus abdominis ("kick out" muscle) during inhale, and contracted/engaged feeling during exhale.
1) Body centered with a sense of release in key areas like the head, neck, jaw, ribs, hips, abdomen, and thighs.
2) Soft feeling and relatively relaxed-feeling position for the transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles, back muscles, and upper three quarters of the rectus abominis (at all times). The diaphragm is, of course, contracted during inhale, and in a relaxation posture during exhale.
3) Soft feeling and relaxed position for the lower quarter of the rectus abdominis ("kick out" muscle) during inhale, and contracted/engaged feeling during exhale.
A picture of the three Tan T'ien areas used in the Taoist tradition. They are similar in concept to chakras, with important differences in application and practice. The lower Tan T'ien is especially important, considered to be the foundation of rooted standing and breathing.
East and West Align
Stephen Cheng's The Tao Of Voice, a pedagogical approach that creates "A New East-West Approach To Transforming The Singing and Speaking Voice", underscores the information presented above by translating the Taoist understanding of Tan T'ien into a voice instruction model. He regularly defines what Taoists call the "lower Tan T'ien", or the foundation of Qi energy, in similar ways described above. Phrases like:
"your lower abdomen will feel a bit firmer";
"direct your breath by imagining that it goes to your center of vital energy or Tan-T'ien. This area of your lower abdomen will then become firm";
and "about two inches below your navel"appear regularly in his text. His "Simply Flying", "Flapping My Wings", and "Golden Rooster" exercises all directly engage the lower bellies of the rectus abdominis in different ways. That this same area of muscular focus appears in multiple traditions from around the world and in multiple approaches to training the body surely underscores the benefits and importance of understanding how to engage these muscles with ease.
Stephen Cheng's The Tao Of Voice, a pedagogical approach that creates "A New East-West Approach To Transforming The Singing and Speaking Voice", underscores the information presented above by translating the Taoist understanding of Tan T'ien into a voice instruction model. He regularly defines what Taoists call the "lower Tan T'ien", or the foundation of Qi energy, in similar ways described above. Phrases like:
"your lower abdomen will feel a bit firmer";
"direct your breath by imagining that it goes to your center of vital energy or Tan-T'ien. This area of your lower abdomen will then become firm";
and "about two inches below your navel"appear regularly in his text. His "Simply Flying", "Flapping My Wings", and "Golden Rooster" exercises all directly engage the lower bellies of the rectus abdominis in different ways. That this same area of muscular focus appears in multiple traditions from around the world and in multiple approaches to training the body surely underscores the benefits and importance of understanding how to engage these muscles with ease.
As all vocalists know, we can't spend all of our time focused on breathing if we are to communicate song and/or text. Habitually integrating the use of the lower bellies of the rectus abdominis into the body/mind takes time and practice. For this purpose, one of the exercises that Cheng most emphatically encourages is the "circular breath". This is a mental image paired with a physical action, and one that we've translated as the "Yin-Yang Breath Game". They physical/mental pairing helps integrate the body/mind, and the gaming approach helps to eliminate judgement and pressure. This concept is similar to Lamerti's "inhalare la voce", found in the Italian school.
Yin-Yang Breath Game
This game is inspired by Stephen Cheng’s “The Tao Of Singing”. Destiny Books, Rochester, VT, 1991 (page 18-20).
Goal: To release the body to function efficiently, maximizing connection across the vocal mechanism and freeing tension by utilizing physical gesture and mental image.
Length of time: This is a life-long game, since the body changes frequently and is used throughout the day. You may notice immediate results, but long-term change will come with regular execution.
Game Play:
1) Allow yourself to stand or sit comfortably.
2) Inhale and exhale several times. Feel free to use the glottal stop breath (see above).
3) Choose a hand to make a large circle in front of your body like so: Begin with your hand parallel to your procerus muscle (the base of your forehead), and draw it slowly downward toward your naval (the lower bellies of the rectus abdominis). When your hand is parallel to your naval, begin to arc it outward away from your body as it begins to rise toward your procerus muscle, and then begin the circle again, lowering your hand toward your naval.
4) Coordinate the downward motion of your hand with your exhale, and the upward motion with your inhale. According to Cheng, a key principle in body/mind habituation is “...the interplay of opposite forces; thus, when pulling in, you aim at maintaining a proper degree of mental and physical balance...” (Cheng, page 14). Notice that as your air comes in, your hand gesture moves away from your body, thereby providing an opposite reaction.
5) Imagine that your inhale breath begins in your lower abdomen and rises up, and that your exhale breath begins at your procerus muscle and flows downward toward your lower abdomen. Allow yourself to create a mental image for this "opposite" sensation, and focus on that mental image as you breathe.
Carrying this into daily practice: This exercise provides a wonderful way to calm and focus the brain during anxious or scattered moments. It’s an easy way to focus the body silently during moments when you can’t make sound. You can also use it prior to phonating, and instead of releasing the airflow in #7, simply begin to sing. Use the hand gesture while singing to remind yourself of that opposite energy sensation.
Yin-Yang Breath Game
This game is inspired by Stephen Cheng’s “The Tao Of Singing”. Destiny Books, Rochester, VT, 1991 (page 18-20).
Goal: To release the body to function efficiently, maximizing connection across the vocal mechanism and freeing tension by utilizing physical gesture and mental image.
Length of time: This is a life-long game, since the body changes frequently and is used throughout the day. You may notice immediate results, but long-term change will come with regular execution.
Game Play:
1) Allow yourself to stand or sit comfortably.
2) Inhale and exhale several times. Feel free to use the glottal stop breath (see above).
3) Choose a hand to make a large circle in front of your body like so: Begin with your hand parallel to your procerus muscle (the base of your forehead), and draw it slowly downward toward your naval (the lower bellies of the rectus abdominis). When your hand is parallel to your naval, begin to arc it outward away from your body as it begins to rise toward your procerus muscle, and then begin the circle again, lowering your hand toward your naval.
4) Coordinate the downward motion of your hand with your exhale, and the upward motion with your inhale. According to Cheng, a key principle in body/mind habituation is “...the interplay of opposite forces; thus, when pulling in, you aim at maintaining a proper degree of mental and physical balance...” (Cheng, page 14). Notice that as your air comes in, your hand gesture moves away from your body, thereby providing an opposite reaction.
5) Imagine that your inhale breath begins in your lower abdomen and rises up, and that your exhale breath begins at your procerus muscle and flows downward toward your lower abdomen. Allow yourself to create a mental image for this "opposite" sensation, and focus on that mental image as you breathe.
Carrying this into daily practice: This exercise provides a wonderful way to calm and focus the brain during anxious or scattered moments. It’s an easy way to focus the body silently during moments when you can’t make sound. You can also use it prior to phonating, and instead of releasing the airflow in #7, simply begin to sing. Use the hand gesture while singing to remind yourself of that opposite energy sensation.
There are many other ways to engage the power source during phonation.
Each difference will have direct impact on the sound, and can be habituated through repetition. We are fans of finding the body's most efficient modes of performance, and adjusting for sound from that place of centered engagement. We have found that this approach helps singers maintain vocal health, increase their vocal capacity, and remain emotionally engaged.
The appoggio breath seems to allow for this reality.
Each difference will have direct impact on the sound, and can be habituated through repetition. We are fans of finding the body's most efficient modes of performance, and adjusting for sound from that place of centered engagement. We have found that this approach helps singers maintain vocal health, increase their vocal capacity, and remain emotionally engaged.
The appoggio breath seems to allow for this reality.
References:
Cheng, Stephen Chun-Tao. The Tao Of Voice. Destiny Books, 1991.
Legorgne, Wendy and Marci Rosenberg. The Vocal Athlete. Plural Publishing, 2014.
Hixon, Thomas J. Respiratory Function In Singing. Redington Brown, Tuscon, AZ, 2006.
Made, Melissa, Maryjean Allen, and Kurt-Alexander Zeller. What Every Singer Needs to Know About the Body. Plural Publishing, 2016 (third edition).
Lombardi, Riccardo. Body-Mind Dissociation in Psychoanalysis. Routledge, New York, 2017.
Maisel, Edward. The Essential Writings of F. Matthias Alexander: The Alexander Technique. First Carol Publishing, New York, 1967, 1990.
Marchetti, Paulo H. , Andre F. Kohn, and Marcos Durate. Selective Activation of the Rectus Abdominis Muscle During Low-Intensity and Fatiguing Tasks. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, June 2011, 322-327.
Miller, Richard. The Structure of Singing. Wadsworth Publishing Inc., 1986.
Stark, James. Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 2003.
Cheng, Stephen Chun-Tao. The Tao Of Voice. Destiny Books, 1991.
Legorgne, Wendy and Marci Rosenberg. The Vocal Athlete. Plural Publishing, 2014.
Hixon, Thomas J. Respiratory Function In Singing. Redington Brown, Tuscon, AZ, 2006.
Made, Melissa, Maryjean Allen, and Kurt-Alexander Zeller. What Every Singer Needs to Know About the Body. Plural Publishing, 2016 (third edition).
Lombardi, Riccardo. Body-Mind Dissociation in Psychoanalysis. Routledge, New York, 2017.
Maisel, Edward. The Essential Writings of F. Matthias Alexander: The Alexander Technique. First Carol Publishing, New York, 1967, 1990.
Marchetti, Paulo H. , Andre F. Kohn, and Marcos Durate. Selective Activation of the Rectus Abdominis Muscle During Low-Intensity and Fatiguing Tasks. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, June 2011, 322-327.
Miller, Richard. The Structure of Singing. Wadsworth Publishing Inc., 1986.
Stark, James. Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 2003.
