So you want to sing better?  You want it to appear that you sing effortlessly?  When singers appear effortless, it is because they have mastered the mind-body connection in release.  If you don’t take things too seriously, the release will be easier.  To be successful you have to lighten up and relax.

You may be saying, “But I am nervous about the upcoming performance?  That is not a setting for me to relax!  I have to be on my game….”
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So here is our technique for you to release your mind, and free your singing in turn. 

AWARENESS:  Take stock in how you are feeling.  Are you feeling tense or worried?  Not sure about the key of the music?  Couldn’t pay your rent this month?  Not enough cash to pay your Singing Teacher?  These things can affect your singing in a negative way.  First be aware that we all have tensions and they will still be there AFTER your singing session.  So for the time you are singing, try to go in your mind to a safe and calm place.  (For me, that place would be right in my own studio, playing my drums.)  Think about and feel what your body feels like when you go to that place.  FEEL IT.

RELEASE:  Now that your body is calm, relax your abdomen and open your mouth - let your breath become very calm and regular.  Feel your body relax into this calm, even more.  Let the movement of your body naturally release any remaining tension.

INTENTION:    Try to consciously feel how your body will behave as you sing with this new released energy.  Think about releasing your body into your song.
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ACTIVATE:    Sing and move naturally as you sing.  TIP:  Release your abdomen completely after every phrase of music.  (Easier said than done).
Be prepared to hear this comment!   “Look how free that singer seems!”
 
Steven Flam is the developer of the groundbreaking teaching technique called BreathingRx For Singers which includes diaphragm target training. For more information or to debate the content of this article please contact him at [email protected] or check out our website at:  www.breathingrx.com

I LIKE MY WASHBOARD ABS, BUT MY SINGING TEACHER TOLD ME TO LAY OFF EXERCISE. WHAT SHOULD I DO? 

​Exercise done correctly will support your singing, and maybe your emotional health. I think your singing teacher is worrying that you might tighten your abs too much.

Remember that the diaphragm is part of a system. When you are building the lego truck and you put too tight a rubber band around the wheels, it becomes difficult for the other parts to move. Likewise, as you tighten the muscles around your diaphragm with too many ab crunches, it may take more work to loosen the muscles around the diaphragm so it has proper space to move. (I imagine you are breathing a sigh of relief to take a break from your crunches). Keep breathing – passively!

So, my advice would be to stay away from core (abdominal) workouts within 2 days of a performance or important audition. I am NOT recommending that you let you become a “nerf person” – soft around the middle, but there are lots of exercises that are great regardless of your performance schedule.

For example, aerobic exercise is great, strength training is terrific – but not body building. Try combination intervals with low weights and high reps. That will lengthen your muscles, instead of bulking you up – and the stress on your body will be moderate so you have plenty of physical energy and strength for singing.

Yoga is also okay if you do not hold or control your breath while you are holding your postures. The key with singing is to let the diaphragm operate organically and passively. Often yoga teachers ask their students to monitor and control their breath. This is contrary to the requirements your singing body has. Try to do the yoga postures but let your breath be completely free and passive.

Steven Flam is the developer of the groundbreaking teaching technique called BreathingRx For Singers which includes diaphragm target training. For more information or to debate the content of this article please contact him at [email protected] or check out our website at: www.breathingrx.com

Singing is not all imagery-based vocal exercises. Body awareness is equally important if the student is going to be able to progress at a reasonable rate. To teach singing without first having the student understand their body as an instrument is to promote bad habits.

Imagery and standard vocal pedagogy techniques alone do not solve body issues with students. Most if not all need more specific techniques for body release apart from the techniques required for the act of singing.

The whole body is an instrument and the instrument has be properly tuned. When students can’t produce vibrato, have tongue tension that limits their progress, have body tension that sacrifices sound quality, etc. their teachers will tell me they are frustrated.

With the limited amount of time available in a lesson teachers must focus on the whole instrument as it applies to the music. Given good body release techniques your students’ singing will improve quickly, your reputation and results will be evident and your career will flourish.

Diaphragm training is one body awareness and development technique that works.

Diaphragm Target Training, or DTT, includes instruction and knowledge about tension release in areas of the body. Using these techniques we have been able to accelerate the singing success of thousands of students.

When the singer learns the proper release of the body and diaphragm training, apart from the act of singing, your application of good vocal instruction speeds up their progress geometrically. So, consider in your next lesson spending the first 15 minutes teaching your students body awareness.

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Steven Flam has perfected the training of your diaphragm for vocal power.
GET YOUR FREE ‘FROM THE PRESCRIPTION PAD OF BREATHINGRX’ EBOOK NOW

   Dear Keeper of the Breath for Singers,
I am the proud mother of three children.  Sammy is 10 and he thinks he will be singing on Broadway by next year, Abigail is 7 going on 15, and dear little Joey wants to be like his older brother and sister, but he is just 4 and a half years old.  I want them all to learn how to breathe with intention.  Gawd knows, they have great lungs when they want something!  How old must a child be to learn the Diaphragm Techniques?
                                                                                           Signed:  Proud Mom
 
Dear Proud Mom,
Good for you mom, you want to teach your children proper techniques at a young age.  This opportunity will set them up for life!  The breathing muscle memory that we develop at a young age, translates into increased singing capabilities as we grow.  So, one would think that even little 4 and a half year old Joey can benefit from learning diaphragm breathing techniques.
 
However, unless the instruction is structured correctly, it is unlikely that Joey will get it.  A good structure for teaching children is to set up games that can be played in 10-15 minute increments.  That way, no one gets overwhelmed or loses focus.

AS SINGERS, WE CAN ASPIRE TO BECOME TODDLERS WITH OUR BREATH.  QUICKLY RELEASING TENSION, FREEING UP YOUR BODY AND RELAXING YOUR MIND, YAWNING AND LAUGHING WITH INTENTION, AND ULTIMATELY ENJOYING A GREATER RESONANCE IN VOICE THAT CAN CREATE CALM FOR OTHERS.

STEVEN FLAM HAS PERFECTED THE TRAINING OF YOUR DIAPHRAGM FOR VOCAL POWER.
GET YOUR FREE ‘FROM THE PRESCRIPTION PAD OF BREATHINGRX’ EBOOK NOW

I love the women in my life.  My mom, my sister, my girlfriend.... and they all love me back.  However, sometimes love does not bring out the best in ourselves and when those times happen, I find myself tensing up.

Once again - I have to take a prescription from the BreathingRx methodology and practice my passive diaphragm training.  The stress I feel is both physical and emotional.  Yet, I find, that if I release the physical stress, it plays well in releasing the emotional stress too.

Ideally I will find a place where I can lie down for 5 minutes and do my Connect your Vocal Cords:  Diaphragm Target Training exercise.  Don't confuse this with a yoga or meditation breathing exercise.  It is completely different because in yoga and meditation training you are trying to be conscious and control your breath.  In Diaphragm Target Training your breath and body are passive.

Once I have spent the 5 minutes lying down, my body is calm, oxygenated, and more positive thoughts can enter my mind - and viola, I am over it!  What do you do to calm down when loved ones trigger your lizard-brained behavior?