INALARE LA VOCE: Breath Support, 'Open' Throat, and Resonance

[@VocalLiberation]

I liked the way you approached this one. The way you broke down inhalation in the throat vs. the ribs was clever. :-) When I had seen that Edward Jones masterclass in the past, I just ignored the part about inhaling the voice because it sounded like he was describing a subjective experience that I had no idea how to apply for ME (or anyone else for that matter). You've given singers a more concrete explanation to utilize. Thank you!

[@neverbeenfrustrated]

Marnell Sample look who's here :p

[@singwisevocals]

Thanks so much for the encouraging feedback, Marnell! It's nice having you visit again!

[@citadelo5ricks]

This reminds me of 2 things, Bill Clinton "I did not inhale" and Chris Tucker in Friday "Puff puff pass, don't eff up the rotation".

[@ahkau4612]

1qa2a

[@JamesAGuitar]

This series, and this video in particular, really was an "aha" moment for me. You're an incredible teacher and this is an amazing channel. Really appreciate you, Karyn.

[@stevieG.]

This is a very ggod explanation of what can be a confusing concept to the intermediate singer, Thank You and Greetings from England !

[@citadelo5ricks]

Wow, I just did this and whoa, it's what the Dr ordered. All my notes were flat, I know you said this is part of pushing too hard. It was not till I did this "inalare" technique that i got my breath balance correct and now my notes are right in tune! A true revelation.

[@tarcisiasiniscalchi6641]

You are so articulate and so beautiful. I could listen to you for hours. You explain things so well

[@petertourian3008]

Wow. Mind sufficiently blown. I have heard the phrase "inalare la voce" bantered about quite a bit, but I have never been able to pin down a credible definition. This makes complete sense, and resonates (ha!) with what I have felt when achieving the "ring" my voice teacher is after. It does feel like the air is circulating in the mouth and throat before leaving, and that gives it a different tonal quality and expression. I especially like that you discussed the postures and positions of the upper and lower body when seeking to achieve this technique. You mention that your teacher studied with Edward Johnson, and it appears that he (or she) has passed significant vocal wisdom on to you. THANK YOU for sharing!

[@singwisevocals]

Thank you for your lovely comment. I'm so glad that this video has helped it to make more sense!

[@thisvocaljourney]

It’s taken me years to understand this concept… don’t judge. Lolz. But one day it just hit me. This definitely took some time to re-wire bc I’ve been pushing for years. Definitely leveled up my singing.

[@vera_seppuku]

Without 'Inalare la voce' (Before): - E3 to A5 and A LOT OF VOCAL PAIN, NO VIBRATO AND SCREAMING. FOR FEW SECONDS, AND GETTING OUT OF AIR..... WITH 'inalare la voce' (Now) : E3 TO TO G6 and VOCAL RELIEF, BEAUTIFUL VIBRATO AND FULL RESONATING, PIANISSIMOS, PIANOS, MEZZO FORTES AND FORTES, FOR MANY SECONDS WITH EXTRA AIR LEFT ALLWAYS OR JUST USING VERY LITTLE AIR SPECIALLY ON VERY HIGH NOTES ..... GOD BLESS THIS TECHNIQUE OR CONCEPT AND THE PEOPLE WHO EXPLAIN IT. Amen.

[@greatsongz1211]

I appreciate you clearing up this widely interpreted concept

[@singwisevocals]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@satinlover14]

omg you explained this perfectly. this might actually save my singing voice.

[@singwisevocals]

:) I really do hope it helps.

[@ravindrabanchhod1579]

You are so amazing, you don't know how much this video helps!

[@singwisevocals]

I'm so happy to hear it's been helpful!

[@hansy1305]

Ah! this was the missing piece for me over all these years. Thank you so much for this Karyn!

[@Rosannasfriend]

I'm thrilled you're still on this topic!

[@singwisevocals]

I'm glad! I'll try to make sure that I get a couple more breath management videos out in the next couple weeks.

[@jennybarton6057]

Very sensible bit of teaching, thanks

[@Laura-cq1np]

Muy buena explicacion; ni un ejemplo, gracias. Las explicaciones también aparecen en los exámenes sobre respiración- costo , diafragmatica y su coneccion con el canto, en la preparación del MIR para medicina. Otra cosa es el profesor que se toma la molestia de hacer él mismo los ejercicios como ejemplo...

[@oshoosho5713]

Yeah, It is kind of an imagery which actually helps in the open throat posture which Ed Johnson explains in the lesson on breathing. The actual physical inhalation of air through the mouth AND the exhalation of air - while singing - out of the lungs BOTH cant happen at the same time. Thank you for the detailed explanation!

[@JuliaCarrer]

Very interesting. Do you have any exercises that help insure the soft palate lifts during inhalation? I'm never quite sure if it's lifting

[@clairelumley]

Thank you, that was a very helpful and easy to understand. I kept waiting for a demonstration though ;)

[@singwisevocals]

I know! As I explained to Maryann in this comment section, I had a cold and didn't really know if I could demonstrate the technique effectively because I don't sing classical music.

[@mrkakashi9888]

Agreed. A lot of discussion by many people but I am sure how many people can actually do it.

[@tggold]

I recognize the inhale through the mouth, tone out the nose image from Lindquest. I've found it really helps my female students in headvoice find energized breath without overblowing/allowing the headvoice to become breathy. My men tend to do better thinking from the physiological perspective - Ie: tricking the ribs into staying open by fully imagining the tone is being inhaled.

[@singwisevocals]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and perspective!

[@aymuseek6028]

This is a very detailed good singing technique

[@Dan-pq1tp]

Please more videos on inhaling the voice

[@FrankSteinhart]

Thanks, Karyn. If that is what I think, then I'm happy to have found this singing technique for months all by myself - totally fortuitously while experimenting around with the voice. It really felt like the voice flowing inwards (instead of being pushed out) and having more place for resonance. Day by day, it became my habit not only to sing, but also to speak using this ILV, therefore I happen to hear sometimes that I sound like a robot - maybe just because it's unusual for my acquaintances.:) And now I hear you talking about this technique (I haven't known before that it's called so). Well, it's pleasant to be confirmed.:) And I find it laudable to share with us your knowledge about aspects of classical singing; I think it can be helpful even for people who don't intend to became classical singers (like me). By the way, do you know David L. Jones? His articles about the Italian-Swedish method, damaging singing techniques etc. was my first lectures while tuning my singing (and speaking) voice.

[@singwisevocals]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I've had some e-mail interactions with David L. Jones, but I haven't actually met him (face-to-face).

[@oshoosho5713]

It is very imaginative that you are also applying this to speaking!!! Didnt think of that. I should start doing that so it becomes 2nd nature! But the sound echoes giving an eerie feeling...

[@violetta1953]

Thank you so much for these videos! So very helpful. Would you ever consider demonstrating some of these concepts (particularly for classical voices) yourself or with one of your students? That would be really helpful to "see" the explanation in action. Thank you so much again for sharing your wonderful breadth of knowledge and expertise with regard to the singing voice! Fantastic!!!

[@singwisevocals]

I would love to, but my own classical technique isn't up to par because I don't sing classical music. I thought about demonstrating a pushed-from-the-throat-muscles sounding tone (thinking of the voice as going 'out' of me) versus a sound that emerges when I'm thinking of the voice as coming 'into' me, instead, but I didn't know how effectively I would be able to demonstrate that with a cold! I think I may recruit one of my working professional opera students for some future videos that lean toward classical technique.

[@violetta1953]

Thank you for your quick reply and, again, for sharing your extensive knowledge with regard to healthy singing and explaining so many of the concepts I have never quite fully grasped until happening on your videos. If you might be able to recruit some of your opera students to demonstrate this concept (and the many others you provide in your videos) that would be even more helpful! You have such a warm persona and I continue to look forward to future videos that you post! :)

[@singwisevocals]

I think I will have to recruit them (if they're willing to be on camera!). I'll stick to demonstrating the contemporary techniques. Thanks for watching and commenting, and for the suggestions and encouraging feedback.

[@mamifuke7715]

Thank you very much for this video. I love the teacher very much!! I try to sing with Inhalale Voce, but a few hours after just singing one song, my throat feels tiredness or dullness. What am I doing wrong? Very much appreciated your appropriate advice ❤

[@bhavyajain9830]

Thankyou i never really understand this but you explained it so easily thankyou ❤

[@singwisevocals]

You're welcome. The literal interpretation of Lamperti's suggestion to "sing as if still inhaling the breath" is certainly confusing because it defies the body's natural physiology. But if we simply interpret it as a visualization, then it makes a lot more sense and is much easier to apply.

[@bhavyajain9830]

singwisevocals i wanna ask a question that Is it necessary to raise our soft palate for every song?

[@melissalopez2255]

Very interesting technique, and so hard to explain from any vocal teacher. I would like to see it in graphics and vocal exercises as well, if you might. Thanks in advance.

[@singwisevocals]

Thanks for your comment. When you write 'see it in graphics,' what do you have in mind? Motion graphics? Diaphragms/Illustrations? As for exercises, inalare la voce is a visualization/imagery as well as a coordination that can be applied to all singing, so there aren't specific exercises that will train it. I find that it's a matter of maintaining this imagery in one's head and really aiming to feel that 'open' inhale sensation as one sings. I'd be happy to consider other suggestions for how I might add to my teaching on this topic.

[@johnblasiak607]

Watch Michael Trimble videos

[@kathleenhudson3812]

Thank you for sharing, valuable information.

[@singwisevocals]

You're most welcome!

[@paulthompson9432]

I've now watched a few videos on this, and none have actually shown someone doing. I apologize if I missed something. But It sounds like more of a conversation piece than an actual exercise.

[@singwisevocals]

It is! It's a concept/imagery that we can attempt to apply to anything that we sing. Again, I think that the idea of 'inhaling the voice' really means that we're 'opening' the throat as when we inhale and then maintaining that same feeling and 'open' shaping when we sing. It's more a matter of imaging the voice 'coming into' us than being 'pushed out' of us. I don't think you're missing anything in all the videos, including my own.

[@josegochez94]

A second video would be cool, I enjoy watching your videos :)

[@singwisevocals]

Thanks! Any ideas on what I might include in a second video?

[@josegochez94]

singwisevocals oh my gosh, surprise us😇

[@singwisevocals]

Alright, I will!

[@yoilypolatseck1330]

Very well explained. But without proper demonstration, it’s a lot information that seems difficult to put in motion. Is there a specific exercise to simplify this, to kind of feel it?

[@VIDEOHEREBOB]

So excellent.

[@singwisevocals]

Thanks, Bob.

[@bradamthor3797]

I really like your channel! I was wondering if you could give some excercises that would help me better understand this concept because I'm having some difficulty understanding it. Thanks!

[@advocate1563]

Great advice here. Feels oxymoronic to start with and many young opera singers freak when first presented with the orchestra (how will anyone hear me)? But resonance is the why. Kristen Flagstad was on record as saying she sang on the ring (ng) and her back (appoggio). Rule #1 in the Italian school is no throat action. Thank you, great advice here.

[@klovnenabby]

you are fantastic!

[@melissalopez2255]

Thank you for your answer. What I really mean with Graphics is Animation, diagrams, exercises , students practicing on real life,etc. But, you just disipated my doubts with one simple word: Imagery. Because anatomycally it's imposible to make it. So, while I'm singing, I have to feel like I'm smelling a flower or drinking a good wine. That's the concept, right? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[@singwisevocals]

Yes, although I do find that the 'smelling a rose' imagery tends to promote an elevation of the soft palate and opening of the throat, but not necessarily the second part of this concept in which the other aspects of inspiratory posture are maintained. Inalare la voce is applied to the entire vocal phrase, not just the inhale itself.

[@melissalopez2255]

I'ts amazing how this concept really improved my singing voice! But, I'm still asking you for more examples in order to make it right. Could it be possible? Thanks again

[@singwisevocals]

Yes. I'll try to figure something out. I've been sick with a bad cough (and not much of a singing voice) for over three weeks, so I haven't been recording videos. Once I'm more fully recovered, I'll try to work on getting more content out and see if I can answer your question more directly.

[@gedas7058]

One question though- what kind of breathing should be used for POP/contemporary?

[@kennyholliday7492]

Thx excellent ❤

[@RahulSingh-kn5hu]

Please give us demonstrate or exercise how to practice it ?

[@choochd]

What you say directly, makes perfect sense. However, listening to the Edward Jones clip sounded like a completely different concept altogether and was confusing at best. What he's describing seems physiologically unfeasible. If we inhale and phonate at the same time, yes, we can generate sound...like when you are alarmed and gasp inward. You can definitely produce "notes" this way but the air does not escape through the nose and you run our of breath PLUS it dries the heck out of your entire soft palette right down to the larynx! Can you clarify any of this? Thanks :)

[@singwisevocals]

You're absolutely correct. That's why I believe that it was originally intended to be an imagery, not an actual physiological feat. Yes, we can phonate ingressively (on the inhale), which never sounds good and is drying, but when we're doing this, air is entering the lungs, not leaving it. We can't have air both coming inward and not entering the lungs, and we can't have air both leaving the lungs and entering them at the same time. (If the lungs are already full and the diaphragm already descended, then inhaling any more is not possible because there's no 'vacuum' to fill, so how can we continue to draw air in - air that is to meet the outward airflow from the lungs?) As an imagery, I've found inalare la voce to be very effective, but as a physiological coordination, impossible. Thanks for your comment.

[@oshoosho5713]

I understood Ed Johnson's video after watching it a few times not all at once but over a period of several months. I forgot his teachings over the past few years and when I revisited a few weeks ago this time though it made quite an impact. He says 1) think of it as if you are inhaling your voice not breath (even though - he says - 2) it is the breath you are inhaling). I just stuck to the 1st part and ignored the 2nd part (in paranthesis) because yeah it is confusing. May be the 2nd part is happening when you just stick to the imagery I have no way of knowing. But I am thinking the imagery helps propel the voice effortlessly into the sinus cavities for optimum resonance. [If he'd instead said to push the voice into the upper cavities that would have been a disaster, isn't it, one would try to push his voice upwards...just saying :-)]

[@zenlotus4peace]

Thank you 🎶

[@singwisevocals]

You're welcome.

[@Amy-xh5jo]

This is life changing!

[@singwisevocals]

I'm so glad!

[@victoriajohnnyrodriguez1369]

I think i understand, not sure! Is any breath comming out , while producing sound, or is it stable. ? And are you picturing in your mind the voice comming from the stomache? I know i need to learn this , but i want to make sure i got it right. Thanks!

[@inhocsigno9151]

Great explanation! Funny, I went thru Edwards Johnsons entire class before finding your site, but the technique description was impossible to understand, like perpetual motion machine.

[@singwisevocals]

Haha. I had someone else make a similar comment about Johnson's masterclass.

[@mencot89]

anyone in the comments can help me with a question : does all of this means inhaling and trapping your breath in your body and sing through it or just a posture to explain open throat singing? sorry this might be very confusing

[@singwisevocals]

The way that I see it, it's more about the "posture of inhalation" - maintaining the openness inside the throat that's achieved at the time of deep inhalation and also encouraging the ribs to remain expanded and the sternum raised, just like after the inhale. This is what the "old school" classical teachers called "singing on the gesture of inhalation."

[@gperkins1080]

Hi. Me again lol. I went back to this video after watching your video with Michelle several times. If I could bother you with another question, I noticed something new happening when I try this technique. Is it unusual to feel like I am getting more space in the back of my mouth as I go up in pitch. For instance if I start singing scales on an ah vowel, I am only trying to think about "inhaling the voice" so to speak. But what I notice is I feel a slight increase in the space in the back of my mouth and throat as I ascend in pitch. Does that sound good or bad. Thank you

[@singwisevocals]

It is normal to feel a sense of 'spaciousness' in the throat (upper part of the pharynx, in particular) as you move higher in pitch. As long as everything feels 'open' and released, as though you're inhaling deeply (but not deliberately trying to create a ton of space), then you're probably on the right track.

[@gperkins1080]

singwisevocals Great! That sounds like what's going on. Thanks again!

[@singwisevocals]

No problem!

[@jennybarton6057]

I just can’t work out how this is possible in terms of how pressure and pipes work. I accept the posture part but not the two streams of air.

[@ahkau4612]

Interesting....

[@ronnitrai5173]

How to apply this with songs lyrics chnge.. different vowels..

[@irenegaltung9304]

thanks!! :) :)

[@ScaramouchedaVinci]

Why is it always explained forever and no singing examples given? So that you can see whether someone can do it at all. I have often found that many who explain all kinds of things, are often not very good at singing.

[@mrpatience3729]

do i need to breath deeply when singing.. i notice i am always choke when i am singing..

[@singwisevocals]

It depends on how long your vocal phrase is, as well as the dynamics (loudness). We don't always need a full breath, especially when singing in commercial styles, but we do need an efficient inhale - one that is taken with an open throat and is down a bit lower in the chest cavity (rather than high up in the shoulders and upper back). Are you getting that choking feeling during inhalation, throughout the vocal phrase, or as you near the end of the phrase?

[@mrpatience3729]

i think after inhalation i am choke thats why i think there is poor balance of air distribution when i sing. i am a tenor by the way. my only problem is how to breath with out choking..

[@singwisevocals]

Are you stopping the airflow (by closing the glottis then pausing briefly before making sound) after you inhale? That will cause the vocal folds to start to press more because the subglottal pressures are building up. It will also possibly cause the larynx to rise. Check out my videos on Restructuring the Voice in Silence and The Psychology of Vocal Strain, in which I talk about concepts such as mental rehearsal. I have a feeling that this is something that you might benefit from trying. Sometimes we just need to recalibrate the vocal tract and train it to do something different. Please let me know how you do with this and send me updates. :)

[@stone8193]

It's physiologically impossible to inhale as you exhale

[@singwisevocals]

Yes!

[@stone8193]

singwisevocals I don't really understand why it's often taught like this though. It seems so unnecessarily abstract. All the singer really has to do at the basic level is 1.) inhale low in without engaging the chest or shoulders 2.) resist the pulling in of the abdominals as we exhale by engaging the muscles of the inhale so that the belly doesn't pull in as we exhale 3.) keep this breath tension and change the tension as we go from note to note 4.) don't engage the throat at all, make sure and work towards it being as relaxed or even more relaxed as when we are in a non-singing calm state of being

[@ulrikewermann1268]

inHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHalare!

[@stuartrussell4041]

Sorry but Edward Johnson's method doesn't work. Thr first part is clear. Inhaling the voice is a great concept and increases resonance threefold. But the residual air comes out of the mouth not the nose. Try pinching your nose while singing - there is no block age of either sound or air.

[@cheery-hex]

so let's ask a doctor if it's possible to exhale and inhale at the same time. I bet the answer is NO

[@grasshopperatlaw]

Hi - here is official Italian proof of what you are saying about bel canto-- kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJ3bdZ6GZtqbp80 Here is a video of Luca Bonomi President, Societa Dante Alighieri, Siena, Italy telling how bel canto was made by Leonardo da Vinci and how inhalation of the voice is the true secret behind bel canto and that it is the inhalation technique that creates the brilliant resonating legato sound that earned the name bel canto -- or beautiful singing. Bel canto is the vocal technique, not just the popularize term recently associated with by internet usage. It is indeed as you have stated the inhalation of the voice in a continuous stream of air sucked into the mouth to create sound that make and defines bel canto.

[@aarondimoff5180]

Edward Johnson sounds like he's never sung a professional caliber note in his life. Pseudo-science mumbo jumbo that doesn't work, either in concept, or in practice. Professional singers do not literally inhale while singing, nor do they have air "escape out the nose while singing". The best singers had a closed soft palate. Your explanation of Inalare la Voce is far closer to correct, though I'd add that it requires a perfectly balanced onset, otherwise your inhalation is ruined by the moment of phonation.