So you want to be a good singer and have heard people talking about good breathing techniques and terms like breathing with your diaphragm. But what is the proper breathing technique or how can the diaphragm breathe? These questions will be answered in this short article.

You see, if you want to develop a wide singing vocal range or to improve your stamina to hold your notes, it is then imperative for you to develop good breathing techniques.

A good breathing technique is essential for breath control, vocal stamina and to even increase your vocal range. If your breath is restricted only to your chest area, you will never be able to get the effortless floating voice, excellent tonal quality or hit the really high notes.

Unknown to most people, most of us are prone to faulty breathing habits which we developed unconciously since we were children and these bad breathing habits follow us into our singing.

For example, if you find your chest and shoulders heaving when you inhale you, then you are not breathing correctly. Many people do not practice deep abdominal breathing for fear of looking fat. However, you cannot sing powerfully or hit the high notes unless you use deep abdominal breathing.

Another wrong assumption amongst novice singers is that noisy breathing equates to deep breathing. How can that be? Because if you breathe noisily, it is an indication of a constricted throat and pray, how can you sing well if your throat is tightened by your breath?

The correct way of breathing is to breathe in deeply but yet silently. So try breathing in sips rather than in gulps which will put more pressure on your throat and lungs. Your belly should move out effortlessly with each inhalation.

The following are just a few breathing exercises to develop your singing breath.

Begin by lying flat on your back. Take a deep breath and feel the wave of movement start at your chest and diaphragm area which is about around your stomach area. Feel your chest and diaphragm expanding but make sure you do not move your shoulders. Relax your belly muscles and let the wave of breath reach your belly and feel your tummy expands as you fill your lungs full of air.

Exhale and feel your belly deflating and then practice another deep breath and once again feel your chest and stomach expand with no movement of the shoulders. The expansion of your tummy should be outwards and not upwards. Close your eyes and feel your chest, diaphragm and tummy expand outwards. Then feel the muscles at the sides of rib cage expand at the same time. This is the correct way of breathing technique of a good singer.

In this next exercise you will need a lighted candle placed about 7 to 8 inches away from your face. Then breathe in deeply as you have learned in the previous exercise, expanding your chest and abdomen with no movement of the shoulders. Then exhale by letting out the air in the direction of the flame, bending it in the process but not flickering it or extinguishing it.

You will need to breathe out in a steady stream in a controlled way and not in gasps. Your objective is to bend the flame and not to flicker or extinguish it. By doing this, you are practising how to hold a note steadily when you sing.

So if you want to be a good singer, one of the most essential thing you must to is to master your breathing technique.