Support: It’s Not Just for the Breath

Imagine you are conducting one of those “person-on-the-street” surveys. You ask random strangers, “What does a singer need to do to sing well?” What do you think will be on the list of responses? I have no doubt that one will be: support. Even a non-singer will know this because it has become cemented in common knowledge. Now, exactly what they mean by “support” is anyone’s guess. Mostly likely, they will link it to the breath, and they won’t be wrong. But is that really all there is to say?

On today’s episode of The Voice Science podcast, let’s expand our concept of support in the act of singing. Let’s begin.

Before exploring other dimensions of support, I want to reaffirm that breath support is key to singing. Yet, to be so fundamental, it is frustrating and discouraging to see the level of misunderstanding that exists. Beware what you read or view online, especially via AI!

To address this issue, the inaugural Voice Science podcast was on this very topic. Rather than repeat the information here, I urge you to listen to “Unlocking Breath Support: Sing Powerfully Without More Air,” written by VoSci founder/director, Josh Manuel, for a deep dive. Until you have such an opportunity, here’s a teaspoon-sized summary, in Josh’s own words: 

• Breath support [is] “the voluntary physical activity of regulating exhalation to manage subglottal air pressure.” 
• “The goal of breath support is to delay the natural breathing process by controlling and extending the exhalatory process.”
• “To do that we are going to focus on inspiratory muscles that can be controlled: the external intercostal muscles, the pectoral muscles, and the lats. When they contract they expand the chest cavity, slowing the collapse during exhalation.”

What Josh is describing is what has been known in the Italian singing school as “appoggio,” which translates to “support” or “to lean upon.” (Fun fact for any music nerds: appoggiaturas are melodic ornaments where the first pitch “leans” into the second.)

The goal of breath support, or I prefer the words “breath management,” is to resist the collapse of the torso region. Breath management is so important that I’ve created a number of mind pictures to aid my students.

• I encourage them to feel the “flare” resulting from the inhalation and hold on to it, as if living in a state of suspension, like Spiderman hovering above a villain in a dark alleyway.
• I ask them to imagine the sides of their torso behaving like the pleated bellows of an accordion, when the accordionist pulls it open and draws in air.
• I suggest they imagine wearing a very tight fitting vest, one so tight that upon inhalation they can “feel” the side seams begin to rip.
• I urge them to think of the muscles of the torso acting like an exoskeleton on a Gothic cathedral, known as a flying buttress. 

All of these are intended to inspire a level of active engagement that promotes a controlled, free state of release.

Because it is vital for success in singing, it’s hard for me to stop talking about breath management. I regret to say that for the bulk of my career–both as a singer and as a trainer–I lacked a solid understanding, and it is our mission here at VoSci, to do all we can to help you avoid living in a similar state of mystery.

Let’s move on now and discover the other dimensions of support. I will confess that I only became aware of this a little over a decade-and-a-half ago. I was hired to fill an unexpected vacancy at a college using a particular vocal method with musical theatre undergraduates–a method I knew nothing about. This is where I first learned of anchoring. 

The concept of anchoring came to the industry of voice training by way of the Estill Voice Training System. The Estill method is the brainchild of Josephine Estill, who was a dark horse within the male-dominated world of 20th-century voice science research. Her insatiable curiosity about how singing works produced research findings that made a significant contribution to the field, and eventually earned her long-overdue respect.

According to the Estill method, anchoring is synonymous with support. The overriding premise behind anchoring is this: when large muscles are anchored or braced, a stable environment is created which allows smaller muscles, particularly those intrinsic and extrinsic to the true vocal folds, to function with optimal efficiency. Anchoring promotes stability.

There are two locations where anchoring occurs, according to the method: the head and neck region, and the torso. In my experience, I take the liberty of including the rest of the body below the waist with the torso. There’s a lot of solidifying strength to be found in the glutes and quadriceps, as well as the gripping muscles in your feet!

Prompts that trigger head anchoring that activate the velum or soft palate include:

• flaring the nostrils or lifting the upper lip;
• biting an apple or showing your vampire teeth;
• sucking air up through a blocked straw or cinching up the roof of the mouth, as if pulling purse strings.

The classic neck anchor involves activating the sternocleidomastoid muscles on the side of the neck, as if you are doing a sit up or pressing your forehead against a surface.

As for anchoring in the torso, and points southward, here we see some overlap with the muscles used in breath management, namely the pectoralis major (chest), latissimus dorsi (lateral back and sides), quadratus lumborum (lower back). You may be wondering if these torso region anchors will interfere with good breath management. In fact, if torso anchors are done properly, they will complement any muscle engagement directed towards breath management. It’s a win-win situation!

Useful torso region (including the arms and hands) anchoring prompts include: 

• squeeze the air out of two inflatables placed in your armpits while drawing your upper arms to your sides;
• assume the recitation handclasp and apply some counter resistance;
• holding an open music score, squeeze the lower outside corner of the page between your thumb and pointer finger;
• if a prop is useable in performance, think of imperceptible ways to use it to anchor;
• if a hand-held mic and stand are necessary during performance, use them as anchoring props;
• in rehearsals, use resistance bands in various ways, then drop the bands and recreate the anchoring event.

Moving to the nether regions:

• imagine you are barefoot at the beach gripping the sand beneath your toes;
• “hold” a watermelon or bowling ball between your knees;
• place a dollar coin between your cheeks (yes, I mean your derrière) and hold it there!

You can engage in a full-body anchor by stretching the crown of your head towards the ceiling while pulling down on the clavicles, as if your body is a bungee cord.

These prompts will serve you when you need to anchor. Most of these suggested prompts are classified as isometric, meaning they are muscle contractions void of any movement. These are invaluable particularly when performing in a context where visible movement is not allowed. On the other hand, if you are in a situation where movement is not forbidden, feel free to engage more isotonically.

So far we’ve discovered what anchoring is and some of the benefits. We’ve also discussed the different regions where anchoring can occur as well as some useful prompts to trigger them. Let’s close out this podcast by identifying choice situations where anchoring is not to be avoided.

Starting with the premise that anchoring is fundamentally stabilizing, it is a useful tool for all voice qualities. Singers assume that some forms of singing, particularly those with higher intensity levels, i.e., opera, rock and some musical theatre, require something extra and they are not wrong. That something is anchoring.

The reason this is true is because not only do these genres require vocal and dramatic intensity, but they may also involve a registration violation. A what? Don’t be scared by the term. Its sound is worse than its meaning. Estill method would define a registration violation as is when a singer chooses “to remain in a given voice quality outside of the pitch or dynamic range it naturally favors.”

A good example of this is belting as it requires singing in a mode, namely one of thyroarytenoid dominance, at a frequency level more naturally favoring cricothyroid dominance. Any singer choosing to tackle a registration violation, in any style of singing, risks the voice defaulting to what it favors, when anchoring is nonexistent. Any singer attempting an opera aria, rock power ballad, or 11th-hour Broadway showstopper, needs anchoring to stand and deliver. Otherwise, singing the song without anchoring is going to feel like maneuvering a massive ocean liner–but, the ship has no ballast. Why do ships that size need ballast? It provides stability.

That being said, anchoring is equally valuable where singers often don’t expect to need it: when singing piano and legato. Yes, some level of anchoring will make these common requirements easier to accomplish. Soft singing is more stable with anchoring. Connected singing is significantly energized in the presence of anchoring. Also, consider the emotional conveyance in gentle, fluid singing. It expresses vulnerability and intimacy. Without an undergirding energy, provided via anchoring, the result can be read as insincere and impersonal.

Let’s summarize what we’ve learned:

Anchoring is amazing at creating a stable environment for the vocal mechanism.

Although anchoring is essential for higher intensity singing, it can be a welcome addition in virtually every voice quality.

Our conversation about anchoring is a reminder about a singing truth: your voice needs a body engaged.

Your body is more than a plinth upon which your head, and by extension, your voice, sits. It has to be at work, at some level, during singing.

Muscle engagement in singing goes far beyond the basics of breath management.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s episode written by Timothy Wilds and presented by Drew Williams-Orozco. If you are looking to develop your skills and build confidence in your singing be sure to check out VoSci Academy and all of the resources available at voicescience.org.

Thanks for listening to today’s episode. Until next time, keep singing, and singing smart!