Are you breathing to succeed? And, is it actually helping?
I’ve always been a fan of what voice teacher Annemarie Speed calls a “tea towel phrase” - short statements that could fit on a tea towel, yet somehow capture an enormous idea in just a few words.
One of my own tea towel phrases I’ve found myself using constantly in the studio lately is:
“Don’t breathe to succeed.”
At first glance, it sounds contradictory. Surely breathing helps us succeed?
But working with singers every day, I’ve become increasingly fascinated by how often breath becomes psychologically linked to our sense of readiness, effort, commitment, and success.
The human instinct seems to be to:
breathe bigger to commit to a new skill
breathe bigger to apply muscular energy
breathe bigger to sing higher
breathe bigger to sing louder
breathe bigger to communicate emotion
breathe bigger when something feels important
Almost as though the body thinks:
“If I take a bigger breath… I’ll be more ready. I’ll be more successful.”
And this is where things become really interesting.
Try this.
Without thinking too much about it, make fists with 10/10 muscular energy.
Now reflect back for a moment:
Did your breath get involved?
Did you take a preparatory breath before committing to the effort?
Did you feel tempted to hold your breath while applying the muscular energy?
Most people do.
But here’s the fascinating part: It is entirely possible to make those strong fists without dramatically changing your breathing at all.
Try it again, but this time:
keep your breathing calm and regular
continue breathing while maintaining the muscular effort
notice that the body is capable of separating muscular energy from breath energy
This is actually one of the most important coordinations in efficient singing.
To apply this to singing, try this:
Silently imagine singing a note high in your range on “AH”.
You may feel muscles wanting to engage to execute that high note - perhaps a sense of lift in the soft palate or increased internal energy. That is good energy.
But go one step further: did you also breathe bigger or hold your breath?
Try again, but this time keep your breathing calm and regular while inviting that same muscular organisation for the high note.
Efficient singing often requires us to separate muscular activity from unnecessary breath escalation.
Be aware that the breath doesn’t only connect itself to muscular effort. It also connects itself to:
mental effort
cognitive load
emotional intensity
perceived importance
anticipation
preparation
self-reassurance
When learning a new coordination, many singers instinctively inhale more or hold their breath.
When approaching a high note, they inhale more.
When preparing to belt, they inhale more.
When emotionally committing to an intention such as:
pleading
declaring
begging
confessing
…the inhale often changes again.
The breath becomes part of the performer’s attempt to gear up for success. To be convincing.
Sometimes, the inhale even becomes performative: a visible display of effort, commitment, or preparation.
So why is this problematic?
Because efficient and effective phonation relies on a delicate balance between:
airflow
vocal fold closure
pressure
resistance
More air does not automatically improve vocal function. In fact, excess air can often destabilise the system:
increasing pressure
encouraging pushing
reducing efficiency
creating fatigue
interfering with vocal fold closure
Ironically, the breath taken to help the voice succeed may actually be the thing disrupting it.
This is why I often distinguish between:
Functional breath and Performative breath.
Functional breath responds to the actual demands of the task.
Performative breath responds to:
pressure
anticipation
fear
emotional intensity
the desire to succeed
And perhaps this is the real paradox: the moments requiring the most precision are often the moments singers abandon precision and switch into effort. Maybe the issue isn’t breath at all. Maybe it’s our human tendency to equate: effort with effectiveness.
Sometimes successful singing isn’t about doing more.
It’s about organising and coordinating better, trusting the system, and interfering less.