What could the reason be for an extreme case of breath on the voice and what should be done?

Date: April 14, 2010

Hi A friend of mine who is a vocalist has an extreme breath on her voice. I'm trying to help her but first I need to find out what could be causing the breath on one's voice and the I welcome any suggestions on what could be done to ease/improve my friends case? A big problem caused by this breath on the voice is that her voice cannot last long and has to exert itself to get the desired sound out of the voice box and therefore tyring her voice out and actually causing pain. Please help me help my friend.

Thank you!

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Kentaro (Ken-P) Sato on April 14, 2010 7:12pm

What do you mean by "an extreme breath"? Does it mean that air is leaking a lot when she sings?

The noise or air leakage is caused by vocal folds not completely closed. There is a way that I use to correct that if the singer simply doesn't know how, BUT I suspect that her case might be something more serious. I don't know that what her speaking voice sounds like, but if her speaking voice also has obvious noise or air leakage, or if she experiences the tiredness of voice when she is speaking normally, it might be because of vocal paralysis or polyps.

When one develops those, s/he tends to overuse the surrounding muscles to try to close the vocal folds forcefully and that causes pain or tiredness of his/her throat. Vocal folds doesn't have nerves to feel pain, so any pain she experiences is most likely from overworking muscles.

Please advise her not to use her voice, when she experiences pain. Any correct usage of healthy vocal folds is free from pain.

John Howell on April 14, 2010 8:44pm

Hi, Raziela. We cannot possibly diagnose your friend's problem by email! It is important for her to see a competent Laryngologist who can examine her vocal folds and listen to her voice to make an informed diagnosis. And she should definitely do that as soon as possible. There are vocal problems that are the result of using the voice incorrectly, but which can be treated through voice therapy. There are others that may require medication or in VERY RARE CASES surgery, but no surgery should ever be agreed to without getting a second opinion, preferably from a doctor who specializes in working with singers. The average ENT doctor is concerned with the speaking voice, and does not understand the demands put on a singer's voice.

All the best,

John

Edward Palmer on April 17, 2010 11:08am

R.K.,

Please heed the above; good advice, I think! Always be gentle, don't exaggerate the following. Have your student softly say, "Uh-oh" as having just spilled something on the table, or just remembering something forgotten. Try saying some little sentence in a low voice like,"I'm glad to be home."

When we block the excape of air after an inhalation the action is called "coup de glot." The vocal folds/lips are brought to closure and when released gently/slilghtly, phonation in some primitive form takes place. You can buuild on that by sustaining the action somewhat.

Another techinique you might use: Have her extend her hands in front about two and a half feet apart. Imagine a line between the hands. Now at the left just say a breathy 'ah'., at the right, immitate Jerry Lewis as he used to call, "Laaaadyeeee." Then start at the left breathy side and move to the right, gradually changing, until 'Lady" is developed. Use the vowel ay. Then try ah. Each time moving from left to right you might beagin to hear and feel a pretty good example of phonation. At the mid point you may hear a nice balanced phonation. Develop that!

I have a little chapter/article entitled, "The Wizardry of Aahs." If you would likea to have it let me know.

Keep trying, always gently.

Let us know how you do,

Edward Palmer

Carl J Ferrara on June 9, 2010 6:00am

My first plan of attack for breathy voices is to work on breath support. I start with inhaling and just releasing all the air at once. Then encourage the student to push outward with their abdominal muscles as they release the air. It should resist the abs' natural desire to push the air out of their lungs. It should take longer to release the air. Try a few times doing this for longer and longer periods of time, until they get the idea. then have them try singing while doing that. It usually improves drastically.

Before I go looking for a vocal problem, I assume it's simply a matter of technique. Breathiness can merely be that they are allowing too much air to escape while they sing. Controlling the breath, minimizes the amount of air, therefore the amount that escapes, therefore eliminates the breathiness, and strengthens the tone.

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