I visited New York in November where amongst other things I had a lesson with Breathing Coordination™ (BC) practitioner, Lynn Martin. It was by far one of the most interesting sessions I have had for a long time. Lynn explained the history and practice of teaching BC and then did some work on me. As the session progressed I found myself connected to my breathing in a way I had never experienced before. I used the words “connected, grounded, efficient, complete breath, powerful’ to describe how it felt to breath effectively. I also noticed that my voice sounded full and grounded. It gave me an added confidence to talk with this newfound voice. Naturally now I am away from Lynn and the technique I have lost the connection but I will be returning for more!
My friend Robin de Haas from Lausanne, Switzerland, is not only a fantastic singer but also voice teacher and a trained BC practitioner. I have asked him to write and tell us more about this fascinating technique, how he uses it and what it can do for you as a singer.
So I will hand you over to Robin…
Breathing Coordination™
I discovered Breathing Coordination™ (BC) as I reached the end of my singing master’s course at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne, Switzerland. My dissertation research topic was on the use of the body and the role of the breathing mechanism in different styles of singing.
I heard that the practitioners of Breathing Coordination claimed the anatomical structure of breathing could be influenced and then developed; that it could be utilised to help any activity requiring good breathing management. The research done by Carl Stough, who developed this technique, showed that the positive impact of BC spanned a variety of conditions and uses. It helped medical patients with terminal emphysema to return home, Metropolitan Opera singers to singing better, and also helped people such as actors, brass and wind players and public speakers to do their specific activities with more efficiency and ease.
Breathing Coordination™ ensures that the respiratory system functions at maximum efficiency with minimum effort. Carl Stough (1926 to 2000) developed this technique as a result of ten years of medical research into breathing management. Stough, originally a singing teacher, worked successfully with emphysema patients; emphysema is a debilitating and irreversible respiratory disease.
Stough asserted that physical and emotional problems were in part a result of oxygen insufficiency. He believed that if the diaphragm works to achieve a maximum exhale, then it is possible to maintain a low residual volume of carbon dioxide in the lungs. This in turn will have positive effects on the circulatory and nervous systems. As a result the body will run efficiently and cope better with any stress it undergoes. For instance, breathing issues caused by conditions such as panic attacks can be combated with BC.
I decided to travel to New York City and met Lynn Martin, a well known BC teacher and one of the most experienced people in this field. I began BC sessions with her and immediately experienced greater comfort in my breathing, a significantly longer exhalation, an increase in air volume and a sense of inner calm that I had not known before.
This work aims to teach the ‘breather’ to use all the muscles around the ribcage and access the full range of movement for breath management; the result is a balanced breathing mechanism. Initially the client will lie on his or her back and the practitioner will physically correct the imbalances or limitations during a breathing exercise. The muscles and ribs are gently encouraged to activate whilst the client breathes and counts to 10 over and over again. The student is then able to access the full potential of his or her breath.
In addition the whole body benefits from an efficient turnover of oxygen and carbon dioxide. This has a positive impact on many areas and conditions including the voice.
As a BC teacher, I have experienced many outstanding results using this approach. Due to the spreading reputation of my practice, the Ear Nose and Throat specialist at the CHUV (largest state hospital in my area) is now regularly sending me patients for post voice surgery rehabilitation.
Using BC I have also been able to help singers who were suffering from vocal issues such as vocal cord oedema, swelling and bruising, pre-nodules and vocal fatigue. By improving the breathing mechanism we can reduce the workload of the vocal cords and improve efficiency of the whole vocal mechanism.
It is my belief that due to lack of knowledge and confusion many singing teachers and vocal coaches approach the breathing mechanism incorrectly. They are either too directive, using instructions such as “breathe into your belly/diaphragm”, “hold your ribs open” or ” bear down as you sing,” all of which result in poor and imbalanced breath control. Or they stay away from the subject either due to avoiding over directing the singer or lack of knowledge about it as a whole. By evading the subject of correct breathing for singing, the teacher misses a vital component of the singer’s mastery, i.e. steadiness and regularity of airflow, which in turn allows for greater vocal control and sound production.
I have been fortunate to be able to share these amazing tools and knowledge with people around the world including in the USA and throughout Europe. It is an honour and a thrilling experience.
Please don’t hesitate to look for information on our website and to contact me through the contact form provided on the website www.breathingcoordination.ch/en
Robin de Haas, Voice teacher and Breathing Coordination practitioner
Here’s what singers (with and without vocal issues to start with) and singing teachers have to say about Breathing Coordination:
«I love this work. Its content is very complete. I feel that I have met my body and my breathing. I am now able to easily and naturally project my voice. I canʼt imagine singing without that technique in the future.» Sophie, pop singer (upcoming album)
«After years of obscure concepts and unclear information, this work is the most scientific and yet easy to work with approach that I have experienced.» Michele, Soprano
«After ten lessons only, I have more power in my singing voice then I ever had and what is stunning is that it feels absolutely effortless.» Danaé, jazz singer
«I met Robin De Haas a few months ago. At that time, I was going through a really tough time with my vocal cords. I had my usual oedema, plus an irritation of the capillaries, and some bleeding happening on my vocal cords as well. I was trying to push harder and harder on my voice for it to come back. I felt a big frustration, as I was losing more and more of it. I was scared I would end up losing my voice for good. My ENT had sent me for 18 months of treatment with a speech therapist to try to reduce the swelling and the oedema, and it didn’t work. After a few months of Breathing Coordination, I must say I feel a huge difference in my voice*. I have gained trust in my voice because I now live and feel that I can sing comfortably.» Tania, singer (Voxset, The Sing-off, French Television)
*A few weeks after writing this feedback, Tania got her vocal cords checked by her ENT. All the symptoms she had had for years were gone.
“I have had the honor of experiencing research with Lynn Martin and Robin de Haas on the work of Breathing Coordination, an approach that was initially developed by Carl Stough. This work is directly related to many of the Old World concepts of the Italian School, yet it delves more into the pure function of breath management more deeply. It is a wonderful work on helping singers to release the ‘push reflex’ and to find vocal freedom. This is especially helpful to those singers who over-compress and do not release enough breath in their singing.” David L. Jones, international vocal pedagogue.
If you are interested in finding out about this technique let me know, if there are enough people interested I will bring Robin over for a workshop this year. Let me know via the comments box below.
cheers
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