Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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460 SINGING SINGING
voice can be studied separately, and their more
complex combined performances are then more
easily understood.
The Breath.—Theordinarybreathingof everyday
life brings oxygen into contact with the
blood in the lungs and carries carbonic acid away
from it. Elevation of the ribs expands the chest
and increases its circumference, and the contraction
of the diaphragm lowers its floor and
enlarges its capacity in a downward direction.
The two actions go on together and draw a sufficient
volume of fresh air (30 cubic inches) into
the lungs with a slow, easy movement. The
used air is more c[uickly emitted, principally by
the elastic recoil of the lungs and chest, and
after that there is a slight pause. This occurs
about fifteen times a minute.
Breathing for singing is very different. Its
whole object is to maintain a long and wellregulated
air-pressure for the production of
sound. A full breath must often be taken very
rapidly, and then kept in a state of controlled
compression for as much as 20 seconds. Thus
the number of respirations possible in a minute
may be reduced to a minimum. This necessitates
a much larger volume of breath than is
ordinarily needed, not only for the length of
time the sound may have to continue, but also
for the supply of oxygen to the blood. The
first point is, therefore, to secure the power of
taking in a large volume of air as quickly as
possible. The second point is to give it out
with carefully regulated force, for upon this the
controlled production of sound entirely depends.
Breathing in.—The largest amount of air can
be inhaled by the properly combined action
of raising the ribs (costal breathing) and
of contracting the diaphragm (diaphragmatic
breathing). The latter has also been called
'
' abdominal " breathing, from the fact that the
diaphragm is hidden and the evidence of its
contraction is the protrusion of the abdominal
wall caused by lowering the roof of that cavity.
Men make more use of the diaphragm than
women, whose upper ribs are more movable,
but singers of both sexes have to make good use
of both diaphragm and ribs.
There are reasons, especially in women, against
the extreme use of the diaphragm on account
of the pressure it exerts upon the abdominal
organs, besides the difiiculty of controlling the
breath when so taken. This has caused a great
deal of misunderstanding between doctors and
singing-masters, and has produced extreme
views on either side, neither of which can be
supported by phonology.
When the ribs are fully raised, and especially
the lower ones (6th-10th) which are the most
elastic and movable, and correspond to the
thickest part of the lungs, not only is the circumference
of the chest increased and its floor
widened, but the roof and upper part of the
abdomen is also enlarged. Under these circumstances
a considerable contraction of the diaphragm
will cause no more than a protrusion of
the upper part of the abdomen, that is,' above
the waist and between the margins of the ribs
in front, without causing any harmful pressure
upon the abdominal organs. The more the
lower ribs expand, the more the diaphragm
may descend with impunity, and a large in-take
of breath can be obtained without danger. It
has been called ' Central ' breathing, because the
principal expansion takes place in the centre at
the level of the space between the 6th and 7th ribs,
and is designed to promote a good proportion of
both actions, and to avoid the disproportionate
or exclusive use of either the too high costal and
clavicular breathing, or the too low purely
abdominal breathing, both of which are sometimes
advocated by extremists.
Breathing out.—In order to secure an even
and continuous air-pressure three forces have to
be considered :
1. The elastic recoil of the inflated lungs and
expanded chest ;
2. The contraction of abdominal muscles
that assist the relaxed diaphragm to return to
its place ; and
3. The contraction of muscles that pull down
the ribs.
The elastic recoil does most of the work in
ordinary breathing out, and is most useful in
producing sound, only it is a force that begins
with a maximum and rapidly diminishes.
To make the force continuous, it must be
augmented by one of the others. These may
act together or separately. If they act together
they must maintain their proper proportion
throughout. If they act separately the diaphragm
must be replaced by abdominal contraction
first, that is, before the ribs are allowed
to. descend, for, as has already been stated, the