In 2019, Kim Hyuk Gun (김혁건), the vocalist of THE CROSS (더크로스), divided breathing into three kinds in his doctoral dissertation. The criterion is which muscles you use to breathe. When a singing student is told to "breathe from your belly," what that phrase actually points to lies in this division.
This is the third part of the series. Taking over from "vocal technique starts with breathing technique" in Part 2, it sets out how the three kinds of breath differ.
01.Three Kinds of Breath, Divided by Muscle
The dissertation sees the way of naturally adjusting and training the muscles involved in breathing as breathing technique, the foundation of vocal technique, and divides breathing into three by the muscles used.
| Type | Main area used | Body on inhaling | In singing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest breathing | Muscles between the ribs | Chest and shoulders rise | The larynx rises, so the vocal folds and neck tend to tense; lung expansion is limited |
| Rib breathing | Muscles between the ribs (toward the sides and back) | Ribs spread toward the sides and back | Important for supporting the breath |
| Abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathing | Diaphragm and abdominal muscles | Diaphragm lowers, upper belly comes forward | Easier control of loudness; less tension in the chest and larynx, so the sound is steadier |
The three are not a matter of choosing one and dropping the others. The dissertation writes that abdominal breathing works well when combined with rib and chest breathing. Section 05 explains why.
02.Chest Breathing: Not a Bad Breath — the Shoulders Are the Problem
Chest breathing, often called breathing from the chest, is the breathing most people use day to day. It uses mainly the muscles between the ribs rather than the diaphragm, contracting and widening the chest to draw air in and send it out.
Chest breathing is known as a breath that is not useful for singing, but the dissertation draws a clear line. Chest breathing is not a bad way of breathing in itself; the problem lies in the chest moving and the shoulders and collarbones rising on the inhale. Laid out as cause and effect, the chain the dissertation describes looks like this.
| What happens on the inhale | What follows |
|---|---|
| The shoulders rise and the larynx rises with them | The vocal folds and neck muscles tense during phonation |
| Lung expansion is limited | Lung capacity is restricted, so the sound cannot come out fully |
| The belly barely swells and the diaphragm does not lower enough | Breathing pressure drops, making the exhale hard to control |
| Unnecessary outer muscles get involved | The area around the larynx, where the vocal folds sit, tenses and the sound's staying power drops |
| The larynx rises and sticks high | Resonance drops, so the sound carries less well |
Because chest breathing uses the rib muscles more than the diaphragm, the chest and shoulders rise on the inhale rather than the belly, and fall on the exhale. If your shoulders heave every time you breathe in while singing, the first row of the table is happening.
03.Rib Breathing: Widening Through the Sides and Back
Rib breathing is breathing in which you move the muscles between the ribs and feel the ribs widen. The ribs widen mainly toward the sides, partly forward, and very slightly upward.
What the dissertation stresses in rib breathing is the back. You can feel the muscles between the ribs widening toward the back, and this plays an important role in supporting the breath. That is why the dissertation writes that using rib breathing together with chest and abdominal breathing can be effective in singing.
04.Abdominal Breathing: The Breath That Lowers the Diaphragm
Abdominal breathing, also called diaphragmatic breathing, is breathing done by stretching and contracting the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles.
| Inhale | Exhale | |
|---|---|---|
| Diaphragm | Contracts and moves down | Relaxes and is lifted up |
| Ribs | Rise slightly, widening the chest cavity | Come down |
| Belly | The upper belly swells; the lower belly does not | Settles |
| Result | Lung capacity increases | The breath goes out |
The dissertation describes abdominal breathing as a process in which air comes in and goes out through the contracting and relaxing of the upper abdominal muscles working together with the up-and-down movement of the diaphragm between the chest and the abdomen. Pushing the belly forward is the result; the cause is the diaphragm moving down.
05.Pushing Out the Belly Is Not Abdominal Breathing
The dissertation adds two points about abdominal breathing.
First, correct abdominal breathing is not simply puffing the belly out and letting it fall. As the diaphragm goes down, the organs are pressed, and the belly, sides and even the back swell and then settle. Abdominal breathing differs from ordinary breathing in that it regulates how much air is taken in and how fast.
Second, abdominal breathing works well when combined with rib and chest breathing. Chest breathing can use the chest area, but abdominal breathing alone has a limit: the chest cavity widens only up and down. Adding rib breathing keeps the sense of widening front to back and toward the sides, which makes it even more effective for supporting the breath.
| What abdominal breathing gives singing | The dissertation's explanation |
|---|---|
| Control of loudness | The length of the vocal tract (the path the sound travels) is secured, making loudness easier to control |
| A steady note | The ample air taken in keeps the note steady |
| Less tension | Tension in the chest and larynx drops, so the sound is steadier |
Finally, the dissertation adds that breathing is strongly affected by the diaphragm and abdominal muscles and calls for suitable training and practice of those muscles, but that in the end it demands balanced use, training and adjustment of all the muscles of the body — because the posture of the whole body affects breathing. Posture continues in Part 19 · Posture and Correct Breathing.
06.Today's Practice
Turned into points to check while you practice, what the dissertation and the lesson highlight looks like this.
- Shoulders and collarbones — Check that your shoulders and collarbones do not rise when you breathe in. If they rise, the larynx rises with them and the vocal folds and neck muscles tense (section 02; dissertation p.67).
- The upper belly — Check whether the upper belly swells on the inhale. The dissertation notes that in the inhale of abdominal breathing the upper belly swells and the lower belly does not (section 04; dissertation p.68).
- Belly, sides and back — Check that on the inhale not only the belly comes out but the sides and back swell as well (section 05; dissertation p.69). Lesson Season 2 Ep. 6 (Abdominal Breathing) also explains pushing out the belly as lowering the diaphragm (video description).
The lesson to watch with this part is Season 2, Episode 6, "Abdominal Breathing." Its description lists three points: chest breathing is a short breath, pushing out the belly is lowering the diaphragm, and holding on to the breath.
07.Where to Go Next
How breath becomes sound is in Part 2 · Understanding Phonation and the Role of Breath, and the structure of the lungs, the diaphragm and the muscles of breathing continues in Part 4 · Lungs, Diaphragm and Breathing Muscles. The hard rock and heavy metal high notes sung with this breath can be heard in THE CROSS Band's Rock Covers. Lesson videos are in Korean.
The belly is the result and the diaphragm is the cause — breath widened through the sides and back is what holds a song up.