Why Teach Breathing?

Last updated: 2025-01-29

Why Teach Breathing?

A reasonable question arises for newcomers to vocology: Why does breathing need to be taught at all? It’s the first thing an infant does at birth, never forgotten, and rarely thought about. Yet breathing for speech and singing differs fundamentally from life-support breathing.

The Automatic Nature of Breathing

Life-Support Function

Breathing primarily serves metabolic needs:

  • Oxygen delivery to tissues
  • Carbon dioxide removal from blood
  • Automatic control via brainstem respiratory centers
  • Homeostatic regulation maintaining blood chemistry

This automatic system works remarkably well:

  • No conscious attention required
  • Adjusts to metabolic demands
  • Continues during sleep
  • Rarely fails in healthy individuals

The Paradox

If breathing is so automatic and efficient, why intervene? The answer lies in the fundamentally different demands of phonation.

Phonation vs. Life-Support: Key Differences

Rhythmic vs. Linguistic/Musical Timing

Life-support breathing:

  • Predictable rhythm (12-16 breaths/minute at rest)
  • Roughly symmetric inspiration/expiration (1:1 to 1:2 ratio)
  • Adjusts smoothly to metabolic demands
  • Internal pacemakers can engage

Phonatory breathing:

  • Unpredictable intervals (linguistically/musically determined)
  • Highly asymmetric (1:5 to 1:10 ratio)
  • Must accommodate phrase lengths
  • Internal pacemakers frequently interrupted or reset

Strenuous Activities vs. Speech/Singing

Most physical activities allow rhythmic breathing optimization:

Rowing, swimming, running:

  • Rhythmic movements
  • Predictable breath timing
  • Coordinated with physical cycles
  • Optimal cardiopulmonary efficiency

Speech and singing:

  • Irregular phrase lengths
  • Unpredictable breath placement
  • Linguistic/musical structure dictates timing
  • Efficiency may conflict with communicative needs

The Asymmetry Problem

The most significant challenge for phonatory breathing is cycle asymmetry:

Typical Phonatory Cycle

Inspiration:

  • Duration: 0.5-1.0 seconds (rapid)
  • Volume: 25-50% of vital capacity
  • Muscle action: Diaphragm, external intercostals (maximal effort)

Expiration:

  • Duration: 5-15 seconds (prolonged)
  • Control: Must maintain steady pressure
  • Muscle action: Three phases with shifting force sources

Quantitative Example

For a 5-second phrase using 1 liter (25% vital capacity):

Expiratory flow:

U_exp = 1 L / 5 s = 0.2 L/s

Inspiratory flow (1 second inspiration):

U_insp = 1 L / 1 s = 1.0 L/s

Ratio: 5:1 flow rate difference

This creates enormous challenge for a system designed for symmetric cycling.

Motor System Reorganization

The Challenge

The respiratory motor system faces reorganization requirements:

  1. Rapid inspiration without upper airway constriction
  2. Prolonged expiration with steady pressure control
  3. Three-phase management as lung volume decreases
  4. Laryngeal integration for airflow regulation
  5. Phrase-to-phrase variability in length and loudness

Why Training Helps

Conscious training can:

Facilitate rapid inspiration:

  • Relaxation of abdominal muscles
  • Complete diaphragm descent
  • Psychological comfort with abdominal expansion
  • Efficient use of both nasal and oral pathways

Improve expiratory control:

  • Gradual muscle recruitment across phases
  • Smooth transitions between force sources
  • Integration of diaphragm and abdominal muscles
  • Anticipation of phrase requirements

Optimize coordination:

  • Respiratory-laryngeal timing
  • Pressure adjustments for pitch changes
  • Dynamic control for crescendo/decrescendo
  • Efficient catch-breath technique

Specific Training Needs

Inspiratory Phase

Abdominal relaxation:

  • Many people chronically engage abdominals as “corset”
  • Psychological resistance to abdominal expansion
  • “Letting go” may be difficult
  • Releasing allows maximum diaphragm descent

Speed development:

  • Rapid inspiration requires practice
  • No airway constrictions (open mouth and/or nose)
  • Efficient activation of inspiratory muscles
  • Strategic breath placement in phrase structure

Expiratory Phase

Elastic recoil management:

  • Early expiration: must “hold back” excessive recoil
  • Diaphragm may remain contracted into expiratory phase
  • Mental image: “breathing in while breathing out”
  • Sensation: “drinking in the tone”

Progressive muscle recruitment:

  • Smooth transition across three phases
  • Avoidance of sudden pressure changes
  • Coordination of internal intercostals and abdominals
  • Maintaining consistent output despite changing forces

Integration

Laryngeal coordination:

  • Glottal resistance adjusts to pressure changes
  • Reflexive connections support integration
  • Training must address unified system
  • Neither respiratory nor laryngeal in isolation

When NOT to Teach Breathing

Training isn’t always necessary or beneficial:

Well-Functioning Patterns

If current breathing:

  • Supports desired vocal outcomes
  • Causes no discomfort or fatigue
  • Proves sustainable over time
  • Meets performance demands

Then: Intervention may be unnecessary

Risk of Disruption

Excessive attention to breathing can:

  • Disrupt natural coordination
  • Create tension through over-control
  • Interfere with automatic processes
  • Distract from other important aspects

Principle: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”

Individual Differences

Some people naturally develop efficient patterns:

  • Through trial and error
  • Via imitation of models
  • As adaptation to body type
  • Through non-vocal activities (sports, wind instruments)

The Balance

Effective breath training finds balance:

Awareness Without Obsession

Develop:

  • Conscious awareness of options
  • Recognition of habitual patterns
  • Understanding of mechanical principles

Avoid:

  • Rigid formulas
  • Excessive conscious control during performance
  • Anxiety about “correct” breathing
  • Neglect of other vocal aspects

Individual Tailoring

Consider:

  • Body type and structure
  • Prior training and habits
  • Psychological factors
  • Performance context and goals

Avoid:

  • One-size-fits-all approaches
  • Ignoring individual differences
  • Imposing arbitrary standards

Summary

Breathing requires teaching for speech and singing because phonatory demands fundamentally differ from automatic life-support breathing. The primary challenge is cycle asymmetry: rapid inspiration followed by prolonged, controlled expiration. This asymmetry, combined with irregular phrase timing determined by linguistic or musical structure, requires motor system reorganization. Training facilitates rapid inspiratory techniques, multi-phase expiratory control, and respiratory-laryngeal integration. However, intervention should be individually tailored and focused on functional outcomes rather than rigid formulas.

Key Takeaways

  • ✅ Phonatory breathing differs fundamentally from automatic life-support breathing
  • ✅ Cycle asymmetry (1:5 to 1:10 inspiration/expiration ratio) is the primary challenge
  • ✅ Training facilitates rapid inspiration, controlled expiration, and respiratory-laryngeal integration
  • ✅ Not all breathing requires intervention; well-functioning patterns should be left alone

Further Reading

  1. Hixon, T. J. (1973). Respiratory function in speech. In F. Minifie, T. Hixon, & F. Williams (Eds.), Normal aspects of speech, hearing, and language (pp. 73-125). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  2. Boone, D. R. (1988). Respiratory training in voice therapy. Journal of Voice, 2(1), 20-25.
  3. Leanderson, R., Sundberg, J., & von Euler, C. (1987). Effects of diaphragm activity in phonation. In Transcripts of the Thirteenth Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice. New York: Voice Foundation.
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