Welcome to The Voice Science Podcast, where we explore the science behind singing and teaching. I’m Josh, the founder of voicescience.org. I’ve been educating singers and teachers for over 13 years. Here, you’ll learn how the voice works and discover practical tips to train it more efficiently.
Today, we’re tackling the question: 'What is breath support?' By the end of this episode, you’ll know the truth about breath support and walk away with three simple exercises to help you master it. Let’s dive in!
Definition of Breath Support
Look around the internet and you’ll find a near infinite number of opinions on what breath support is and how it works. This is because breath support research is still evolving. I define breath support as “the voluntary physical activity of regulating exhalation to manage subglottal air pressure”.
Put a bit more simply: Breath support is how we manage the airflow and pressure needed to sing efficiently. It’s a physical action that we choose to control.
That leads me to our first myth about breath support, we need to push more air to sing louder or higher.
Myths
A bit of voice science nerdery: according to a 2020 study by Traser et al., singing happens when subglottal air pressure, the air pressure below the vocal folds, is between approximately 5-35 cmH2O maximal inhalation produces approximately 30 cmH2O of recoil force. Meaning that without applying any additional exhalatory force at peak lung capacity you are already in the maximal range of subglottal pressure for singing. While technically yes more air pressure is required to sing louder and or higher the majority of the time you have all the air pressure that is required. For just a bit more context another study in 1993 by Fiz et al., on the maximum respiratory pressure in trumpet players, they found that average healthy individuals can produce up to 204 cmH2O in respiratory pressure and trumpet players can produce up to an astonishing 288 cmH2O, 8.2 times as much respiratory pressure as the maximum required to sing.
The second myth about breath support is that you need to expand the abdomen as much as possible to get as deep of a breath as you can, every time.
Relaxing the abdominal muscle allows the diaphragm to descend further increasing the volume of the inhalation, fact. The practical application for this is a bit more nuanced. In classical singing where you have consistent long lines, no amplification, and large performance spaces there is a need to increase the volume of air. In Contemporary Commercial styles like pop, rock, musical theatre, etc. phrases are typically pretty short, lasting only a few beats at a time between breaths; huge breaths bring challenges that are just not necessary.
To look at the science we turn to physics with Hooke’s Law, named for the British physicist Robert Hooke. Without going too far down the rabbit hole, the more air you blow into a balloon the more force the balloon is putting on the air inside, the balloon is your lungs, bones, muscles and organs. Reducing the expansion to the minimum amount required makes the act of singing easier.
One other thing to consider is that low diaphragmatic breaths also causes your larynx to lower, super helpful for classical technique and styles, typically not very helpful in contemporary commercial singing.
Myth three is one I hear all of the time and you probably have as well:
Sing from the diaphragm.
There is hardly ever a new student in my studio who has not heard, tried, and been confused by trying to sing from the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the primary muscle of inspiration, it is a large domed muscle that forms the barrier between the thoracic cavity and the abdominal cavity. When the diaphragm contracts it descends and can cause a number of other structures to be displaced. The chest, ribs, abdominal viscera, and more can be displaced depending on the activation of other muscles. This movement creates a vacuum that draws air into the lungs. When the diaphragm relaxes, it and the displaced bones, muscles, and organs attempt to move back into position creating pressure on the lungs causing air to be forced out of the body.
The detail I want to draw your attention to is that exhalation occurs when the diaphragm is relaxed. The diaphragm is not an active participant in removing air from the lungs. And even if it was, the diaphragm is itself an involuntary muscle. That is that we have no direct control over it, yes you can think “I am going to breathe now” and it happens but you cannot actively isolate the diaphragm and exert direct control over it.
This myth came from how classical technique tells us that we should be inhaling, deep breaths with an expansion through the abdomen. There are many benefits and downsides to a diaphragmatic or belly breath while singing and we will cover these in another episode.
Training Breath Support
So if it’s not the diaphragm, I don’t need massive breaths, and I am not forcing air while singing, what am I doing? 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.
Three exercises that I have had success with in my studio.
The first is by making fists and squeezing them into your ribs. The act of doing this will engage the external intercostal muscles, the pectoral muscles, and the lats. I find this exercise helps students discover these muscles as it tends to provide a strong sensory feedback and can be completed while singing songs or exercises.
The second exercise is about feeling the expansion in the thorax. While taking a large breath raise your arms up to make a circle in front of you. Try to hold the expansion while you exhale, lower your arms and repeat 3-5 times.
Finally the third exercise can be really helpful if having difficulty with breath support on ascending leaps. Doing a squat or a plié on the high notes stabilizes the body, engaging the majority of abdominal and thoracic muscles.
Over time the goal is to be able to engage the external intercostal muscles, the pectoral muscles, and the lats on demand and to varying degrees of effort.
Recap and Takeaways
Let’s quickly recap what we’ve covered today. Breath support is the conscious act of regulating exhalation to manage subglottal air pressure. Contrary to popular belief, you rarely need to push extra air for louder or higher notes—your body naturally provides plenty of pressure.
Taking an overly deep breath can introduce unnecessary tension, especially in shorter phrases common to musical theatre or pop styles. And the ever-popular phrase “sing from the diaphragm” is misleading: the diaphragm works involuntarily during inhalation, so we focus instead on the muscles we can control to stabilize our exhalation.
Finally, remember the three exercises:
Fists in Ribs – to engage external intercostals, pectorals, and lats.
Arms Up Expansion – to feel the expansion.
Squats/Pliés – to stabilize and feel support on those challenging notes.
In the end, breath support is about efficiency—balancing air pressure with just the right muscular engagement to sing freely and consistently.
Outro
Thanks for tuning in to The Voice Science Podcast! I hope this episode on breath support gave you some valuable insights. If you found it helpful, share it with a fellow singer or teacher. Don’t forget to join me next time when we’ll dive into the science behind belting—a style full of misconceptions, but one you can absolutely master with the right tools.
In the meantime, be sure to visit voicescience.org for more tips, research, and resources to help you train your voice efficiently. Thanks again for listening, and keep singing!
Fiz, J.A., Aguilar, J., Carreras, A., Teixido, A., Haro, M., Rodenstein, D.O., Morera, J., 1993. Maximum Respiratory Pressures in Trumpet Players. Chest 104, 1203–1204. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.104.4.1203
