Theodore Dimon on Breathing

  To say that Theodore Dimon is an influence on my understanding of the singing voice would be an understatement. Dr. Theodore (Ted) Dimon is the founder and director of The Dimon Institute and an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia Teachers College. Dimon’s pioneering work covers the study of the human mental and physical ‘operating [...]

How Should I Think About Breathing?

A celebrated soprano recently posted her tips for vocal technique with a considerable foray into breathing. Because of the particular industry trade of her name, this post was shared in many singer forums and pages. In this blog, she enumerated many things that the singer must DO when thinking about their breath and especially their support [...]

Breathing and Capacity for Skilled Action

The first prerequisite in educating the singer in proper vocalizing, then, is to restore the conditions of coordination in the torso and body that allow breathing to occur naturally and easily. In order to breathe properly, the singer does not have to involve himself in any direct attempts to improve his breathing, since the whole [...]

Where’s Your Pity for the Tuba Player?!!

Without undertaking to decide whether one system of breathing can be right, to the exclusion of all other systems, one general remark can be applied to the whole subject. It has never been scientifically proved that the correct use of the voice depends in any way on the mastery of an acquired system of breathing! True, [...]

W. Stephen Smith on Breathing

There are almost as many ideas about correct breathing for singing as there are voice teachers. Every vocal pedagogy book has a chapter about breathing, and the various approaches range from “Don’t think about breathing at all,” to the most complicated and intricate understanding of the musculature involved and how to manipulate the muscles for [...]