Journal of Voice

Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 2-12

1988 Raven Press, Ltd., New York

Breathing for Singing

R. Leanderson and *J. Sundberg
Department of Phoniatrics, Karolinska Hospital, and *Department of Speech Communication and Music Acoustics,
KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), Stockholm, Sweden

Summary: This article reviews the functional anatomy of the breathing apparatus and the use of the breathing apparatus in singing. Interrelations between
the forces due to passive recoil and muscular activity and their dependence
on lung volume are described. Differences and parallels between speech and
singing are discussed, in particular, the variations of subglottal pressure with
both loudness and pitch. Key Words: Breathing--Singing--Phonation--Diaphragm--Lung volume--Subglottal pressure.

In order to vibrate, the vocal folds require an

overpressure of air in the lungs, or a subglottal
pressure. The magnitude of this pressure is significant for the loudness and also, to some degree, for
the pitch of phonation. These are two voice characteristics over which a singer needs ari excellent
control.
The same subglottal pressure can be generated in
different ways. For instance, the abdominal wall
may be bulging out or pulled in during phonation,
depending on the relative activation of the expiratory intercostals and the abdominal wall musculature (1). A bulging out of the abdominal wall would
also arise as a consequence of diaphragmatic activation.
Voice experts agree that the breathing technique
is most important to voice functions: A phonatory
problem can often be solved by modifying the
habits of respiration. Unfortunately, this does not
imply a consensus regarding the meaning of even

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. J. Sundberg at D e p a r t m e n t of Speech Communication and Music
A c o u s t i c s , K T H (RIT), Box 70014, S-10044 S t o c k h o l m ,
Sweden.
Presented at the The Voice Foundation's sixteenth symposium, " C a r e of the Professional Voice," Juilliard School of
Music, June 1987, and is a revision of the authors' presentation
at the First Annual Symposium of the Voice Research Society,
London, September 1986, previously published in Journal of
Singing Research (10:3-22, 1986).

central terms in vocal pedagogy, such as support

(2). Presumably, the consensus would increase if
the functioning of the breathing apparatus were
better understood. In this presentation we will first
describe the functional anatomy. As the breathing
physiology is dependent on lung volume and subglottal pressure, the dynamics of these variables
during singing will be discussed as well as the airflow, a variable of great relevance to the mode of
phonation. Finally, we will discuss the effects of the
breathing technique on the voice source.

FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY
The breathing apparatus is made up of the lungs
and the tissues that control the air pressure in
them. This pressure is controlled by active muscular forces as well as by passive recoil forces.
By muscular force, the rib cage may be expanded
or compressed. The external intercostal muscles lift
the ribs so as to increase the rib cage volume.
Thereby they provide an inspiratory muscle force.
The internal intercostals have an expiratory effect
in lowering thexibs, thereby decreasing the rib cage
volume. In addition, the floor within the rib cage is
constituted by the dome-shaped diaphragm muscle,
which acts sofnewhat like the piston in a bike
pump. When cDntracting, it flattens and so lowers
the floor in the rib cage. In this way, while pressing

BREATHING FOR SINGING

the abdominal content downward, it increases the

lung volume. This in turn expands the abdominal
wall. Thereby, it acts as an inspiratory muscle.
Merely by contracting the diaphragm, a substantial
portion of the vital capacity can be inhaled. As a
muscle can only contract and not actively increase
its own length, the vaulting shape of the diaphragm
can be restored only by a different force, such as a
contraction of the abdominal wall muscles, which
therefore are used for exhalation.
The lungs are elastic, spongy structures that continuously attempt to shrink. They are prevented
from doing so as they are surrounded by the subatmospheric pleural pressure. In this respect, the
lungs can be said to be similar to rubber balloons.
When they are filled with air, they attempt to expel
this air with a force that is determined b y the
amount of air contained in them. This means that
the lungs exert an entirely passive expiratory force
that increases with the amount of air inhaled. After
a maximum inhalation, this pressure may amount
to no less than - 2 0 c m H20, a pressure appropriate
for very loud speech (3). After a maximum exhalation, the expiratory recoil of the lungs approaches
zero. This lung recoil force, mediated by the pleural
pressure, exerts a pulling force on the diaphragm
into the rib cage.
When, the rib cage has been expanded or compressed by muscular force, it strives to return to its
neutral volume, thus generating a nonmuscular,
passive expiratory or inspiratory recoil force. This
pressure may amount to 10 c m H 2 0 , which is added
to the pulmonary recoil force. After a maximum
exhalation, a pressure of - 2 0 c m H 2 0 is generated
by the rib cage recoil.
Thus, passive respiratory forces are generated by
the lungs and the rib cage as illustrated in Fig. 1,
adapted after Proctor (3). It shows the pressures
generated by recoil forces acting on the breathing
system. The dotted curve represents the contribution from the lung elastic force, and the dashed that
of the chest elastic force. The solid curve shows the
pressure resulting from the sum of these two, measured as the subglottic pressure produced against a
closed glottis with total muscle relaxation.
With the body in an upright position, the abdominal content exerts a downward hydraulic pulling
force on the diaphragm, so that gravity has an inhalatory effect. This force is counteracted by the
abdominal wall. Interestingly, gravity acts on the
abdominal content in the opposite way in a supine

3
PHONATION
PRESSURES NEEDED
FOR SOFT AND LOUD

Jf

100
f-t-3

<

a_ 80
t-3
.-3

>

60
/

C3

//!i
,/i

D3

y-

__1

C3

>

kD

Z
._3

JG
0[L

CHESTWAL~/I
RECOIL ! I

20

/ // i!-20

20

SUBGLOTTAL PRESSURE (cm

H20}

FIG. 1. Pressuresgeneratedby the recoilforces of the breathing

apparatus at various lung volumes. The dotted and dashed
curves represent the pressures generatedby the lungsand the rib
cage, respectively.After Proctor (3).

position as it pushes it into the rib cage under such

conditions.
The total recoil force from the lungs and from the
rib cage adds up to forces that correspond to quite
large under- and overpressures of air. As shown in
Fig. 1, it amounts to + 30 cm H20 after a maximum
deep inhalation and reaches - 2 0 c m H 2 0 after a
maximum deep exhalation.
There is a particular lung volume at which the
sum of the passive inspiratory and expiratory
forces equals zero. This lung volume is called the
functional residual capacity (FRC). As soon as the
lungs are expanded or compressed beyond the
FRC, passive forces try to restore the lungs to the
FRC volume.
The breathing apparatus offers different strategies for inhalation and exhalation; it is possible to
breathe with the rib cage only, with the diaphragm
and the abdominal wall only, or with a combination
of these two.
The strategy used can be detected by direct observation. As the volume of the abdominal content
c a n n o t be altered appreciably, the diaphragm
presses the abdominal content downward, which in
turn moves the abdominal wall outward. Actually,
this offers an eminent means of observing diaphrag-

Journal o f Voice, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1988

R. L E A N D E R S O N

matic activity: If the abdominal wall expands

during inhalation, the diaphragm is activated.
Diaphragmatic inhalation also causes an expansion of the lowest part of the rib cage including the
dorsal region. The reason for this is that a lever-like
force is generated when the diaphragm contracts.
The dorsal effect of the diaphragmatic inhalation
may be the background of some teachers' frequent
use of expressions involving the back, such as
dorsal breathing (4), singing with the back, etc.
According to Vennard (5), there is another sign of
an activated diaphragm, namely, a bulging epigastrium. The epigastrium is the uppermost ventral
part of the abdominal wall. This bulging is caused
by the simultaneous contraction of the abdominal
wall musculature and the diaphragm.
The subglottal pressure is of great phonatory importance, as it is the main agent for controlling
vocal loudness. A doubling of the subglottal pressure raises the vocal sound level by 9 dB, on the
average, other things being equal. In general, the
phonatory subglottal pressures are relatively low,
from 3 cm HzO in very soft phonation and up to 20
cm H20 for loud sounds. In exceptional cases
singers use pressures as high as 70 cm HzO (6).
Still, the pressures used in phonation are low, as
compared with what is possible: A subglottal pressure of />150 cm H20 may occur during heavy
lifting and also in brass instrument playing (7).
Thus, subglottal pressure is decisive to phonation
and controlled by a rather complex system of passive recoil forces supplemented by active muscular
forces. As the recoil forces change with the air
volume contained in the lungs, or the lung volume,
the need for muscular forces to maintain a constant
air pressure during phonation continuously changes
with lung volume. To sustain soft or loud tones,
constant subglottal pressures are required, as illustrated by the solid vertical lines in Fig. 1; to generate such constant pressures, different degrees of
muscular force are needed, depending on the lung
volume.
For instance, if the pressure generated by the recoil forces is too high for the intended phonation,
p r e s s u r e can be r e d u c e d only by contracting
muscles of inhalation. The need for this activity
then gradually decreases as the lung volume decreases, until that lung volume is reached at which
the passive recoil forces generate the desired pressure. Beyond this point the muscles of exhalation
must take over more and more, to compensate for

Journal of Voice, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1988

A N D J. S U N D B E R G

the increasing inhalatory force caused by the continuous compression of the rib cage.
The necessity of recruiting inhalatory muscles at
high lung volumes agrees with some teachers' recommendation to maintain the idea of inhalation
during singing, or to transfer the sensation of pressure from the larynx to the inner surface of the rib
cage.
An o v e r p r e s s u r e in the lungs is transmitted
d o w n w a r d through the diaphragm. H e n c e ; a
sudden increase in subglottal pressure, e.g., produced by the intercostals to perform a sforzando (a
sudden increase of loudness), will exert a sudden
increase in pressure on the abdominal wall. If the
abdomen is not supposed to expand as soon as
subglottal pressure is raised, then the muscular
contraction of the abdominal wall must increase in
synchrony with that of the intercostal muscles.
Thus, the demands on the respiratory system
during singing must be very high. They arise as a
consequence of both the need for a continuous ada p t a t i o n of the m u s c u l a r forces to the everchanging lung volume necessarily accompanying
phonation and the need for producing rapid and yet
precise changes in subglottal pressure.
In normal speech, the compensatory inspiratory
work required to balance the passive expiratory
forces of the rib cage and the lungs is handled primarily by the inspiratory intercostal muscles; previous investigations have shown that the diaphragm, the main inspiratory muscle, is passive
during phonation, as observed in the classic figure
from Draper and co-workers (8). However, as we
will see, this does not always apply to singing.
The use of the diaphragm during phonation has
been studied previously (9) and recently by the
present authors (10). The respiratory behavior was
studied in four singers who performed phonatory
tasks involving not only steady but also rapidly
changing subglottal pressures, such as when singing
an octave interval, coloratura, trilto, sforzando,
etc.
All singers did not use the same strategy; two
different patterns were found. In one, the diaphragm was continuously contracting throughout
the phrase, and, strangely enough, this contraction
increased when the subglottal pressure was augmented. In another, the diaphragm was entirely inactive throughout the phrase and was activated
during inspiration only. However, in both these
strategies the diaphragm was recruited for the pur-

B R E A T H I N G FOR S I N G I N G

pose of rapidly reducing subglottal pressure at high

lung volumes.
The simultaneous contraction of the diaphragm
and its antagonists, the abdominal wall muscles,
may appear inadequate. However, certain advantages may be entailed. Some phonatory breathing
maneuvers during singing are quite rapid. As regards tasks requiring such rapid and yet precise
movements of structures, such as the abdominal
content, it seems to be a generally applied strategy
to activate both the muscles accelerating the structure and those arresting the movement of the structure (11).

normal breathing for metabolic purposes, inhalation is an active process, whereas expiration is passive. This means that in quiet breathing, the lung
volume is varied within a very small range, just
above the FRC.
Speech is mostly initiated at - 5 0 % of the vital
capacity, or slightly above FRC. In other words, we
seem to take some advantage of the passive exhalatory forces in establishing the subglottal pressure
required for normal speech. However, if one reads
loudly, a higher subglottal pressure is used and
often the air consumption is liigher. Then, the
phonatory range of vital capacity is expanded.
In singing, phrases extending over 10 s occur,
while in normal speech we tend to take a breath
about every 5 s, as mentioned. Thus, the opportunities to take a breath are much more rare in singing.
Hence, it is essential to avoid overconsumption of
air, and long song phrases are sometimes begun at
very high lung volumes, close to 100% of the vital
capacity. Also, the range below FRC is taken into
use and the vital capacity in singers is - 2 0 %
greater than in nonsingers (12,13).
The relevance of the lung volume to singing is
strikingly illustrated in Fig. 3. It shows the pressures on both sides of the diaphragm (in the gastric
ventricle and in the esophagus) as well as the diaphragmatic activity and an electromyogram from
the abdominal wall in a singer performing a trillo,
an ornament used in Renaissance music. It consists
of a tone of constant pitch that is interleaved with
short silent intervals. During such silent intervals,

LUNG VOLUME
The lungs contain a certain amount of air when
they have been maximally filled, the total lung
volume (see Fig. 2). In an adult man it amounts to
- 7 L. After a maximum exhalation, a small amount
of air will always remain, the residual volume, - 2
L in an adult male. The difference between the total
lung volume and the residual volume corresponds
to the amount of air we can use for breathing and
phonation. It is called the vital capacity and
amounts to - 5 L in an adult male.
When no breathing activity is going on, it is the
equilibrium of the passive recoil forces of exhalation and inhalation in the breathing system that determines the quantity of air in the lungs, or the
FRC. In normal breathing, one exhales and inhales
-0.5 L 12 times per minute, that is, every 5 s. In

t
lnspiratory i
capacity /
Resting tidal
volt~nle

~,

Inspiratory

reserve volume
] ' ~
Tidal volume

]
]

__
Functional
residual
capacity

vel of activity)

~/

il

l-

Expiratory reserve volume

FIG. 2. Illustration of the subdivisions of lung

volume in terms of a graph showing lung
volume versus time. After Pappenheimer et al.
(22) and quoted after Hixon (23).

Residual
vohunc
0
Lung capacities

Lung volumes

Journal of Voice, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1988

R. L E A N D E R S O N

Trit[o
cm
H20
Poes2oF

subtle cooperation between muscle activity and the

lung volume-dependent recoil forces.

RL
i i

)',

r'~ ,4 : .... ,,, r', ,q'~ ~r, ,",/~A/V~//vV'~'~JN'JVi"~

L_~ ~k:,': \/~V'!V'~'' -/'JVVv
,,., " ~
i

Pgci 4 E
20

Subject

. . . .

SUBGLOTTAL PRESSURES

~ J V ' , / V ~ ,

Ai~i

A N D J. S U N D B E R G

::!

[ _ _ J

TIME

ls

>

FIG. 3. Esophageal pressure (Po~,), gastric pressure (Pg~), transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pa0, and integrated ,electromyographic
signal from the abdominal oblique muscle (EMG,ba) recorded
during a singer's performance of a trillo, involving vocal fold
abduction for each unvoiced segment.

which typically occur also in staccato singing, a

singer abducts the vocal folds. It should be realized
that the singer has to lower subglottal pressure to
zero during such silent intervals in order to avoid
air wastage. This is illustrated in the figure by the
undulating esophageal pressure. The positive tilt of
the curve reflects the adaptation of the pressure to
the lung recoil.
The technique for attaining this regularly undulating pressure is shifted during the phrase. First,
when the expiratory recoil will offer too high a
pressure, the diaphragm is activated for reducing
subglottal pressure, possibly assisted by the inspiratory intercostals. Later, when the recoil pressure
is lower than the required phonatory pressure, the
diaphragm reduces its activity and the abdominal
wall is recruited for creating the pressure undulations. Thus, the breathing apparatus is performing a

In order to raise loudness of phonation, we need

to increase the subglottal pressure. This is illustrated in Fig. 4, showing the pressure events accompanying rapid changes in loudness. The curve
representing the sound level of the tone is rather
faithfully following the curve mirroring subglottal
pressure.
However, singers typically change subglottal
pressure not only to change loudness but also when
changing pitch. This is illustrated in Fig. 5, showing
measurements from a tenor who sang the tones of a
chromatic ascending scale at various loudnesses. It
can be seen that the singer raises his subglottal
pressure with rising loudness, as expected. However, it is also evident that he increases pressure
with phonation frequency. This is a typical behavibor in all voices. The changes are particularly
great in loud phonation and in the upper part of the
phonation frequency range.
Thus, in singing, subglottal pressure must be
tuned with regard also to pitch. This is illustrated in
Fig. 6, showing pressure data from a subject singing
a sequence of an alternating rising and falling octave interval. The subject raised his subglottal pressure for the high note and then lowered it for the
low note. Note that these pressure changes are
quite sizable. They even surpass the pressure
changes needed for dynamic shifts.
However, subglottal pressure is basically used
for regulating loudness and laryngeal muscles are
O4

B0
u.J

t"e"
tZI

LeveL
cm

WC

:: ~::

~ ~

~ :: :: ::

c~"' 20

,.~.-d

13-

Poes 2Oo~F ~ ~ ~ f ~ V ~
:

____
~~o__I
t.~
r'~

10
0

Ss
FIG. 4. Sound level, esophageal pressure (Poes), and fundamental frequency (Fo) recorded when a singer performed a sequence of sudden changes in sound level.
Journal of Voice, Vol. 2, No. '1, 1988

..... o.....o..'

/ ,7~' -' -~~ 5. __8_..~,_--=...o..-.o....o ...o.-.'o.....

#'/.c....'c"'"-o.."o'"
d'..'"
.i
I

PHONATION FREQUENCY(Hz)
FIG. 5. Subglottal pressures from a professional tenor singing a
chromatic scale in varying degrees of loudness. From Cleveland
and Sundberg (24).

B R E A T H I N G FOR S I N G I N G

[eve[

: ~
cm
WC

Poes

0-

oFi

II W

F0

12-

i ~ I ~ , ~

~ ~ ~
I

5s
FIG. 6. Sound level, esophageal pressure (Po~,), and phonation
frequency (Fo) in a singer performing a sequence of a rising and
falling octave interval.

used for regulating pitch. Yet, other factors being

equal, an increase in subglottal pressure raises
pitch, as a secondary effect. If this pressure is
raised by 1 cm HzO, the phonation frequency is increased by no more than ~ 3 - 4 Hz in normal phonation. If, on the other hand, subglottal pressure is
raised by a considerable amount, the resulting increase in fundamental frequency will also be substantial. This implies that singers will sing out of
tune if they fail to produce appropriate subglottal
pressures, particularly in loud singing. Consequently, an imperfect control of subglottal pressure
results in singing out of tune. This appears to be a
strong argument for the relevance of breathing
technique in singing.
Figure 7 shows recordings of an ascending major
triad to the duodecim followed by a descending
SPL

~oo

(dB)

BO L

(cmWC) 20

Vo
(Hz)

_ F ~~e
j j j j l JIj J j j j j J j ~
J J.Jn4 P
~ J,J~J ~ f ' ~

I ',!

! ~ "~1

:~' ',

400F 0 J'~A~JU~.JjJ;.hJ~JJ45~##J~aJ.
,
h

3oo -

200F
1501IOOL

%,

.!

~
~:
,~,

"
"
,',~4#h~

"K
~',Z
t'W~
I I 1 . 1

Ss

FIG. 7. Recordings of sound level (SPL), subglottal pressure

(Pot), and phonation frequency (Fo) in a singer singing, on the
syllable/pa/, a triad ascending to the duodecim followed by a
descending dominant seventh triad.

I sec

FIG. 8. Esophageal pressure (Poes) and phonation frequency (Fo)

in a singer performing the coloratura passage shown.

dominant seventh triad sung on the syllable /pa/.

This pitch contour can be clearly discerned in the
subglottal pressure pattern. This means that the
singer produced a carefully planned subglottal
pressure for each individual note in this simple tone
sequence. However, the peak pressure occurs for
the first note in the dominant chord, which is the
musical goal of the phrase, even though it is not the
highest note in the sequence.
Thus, subglottal pressure varies considerably in
singing. In Fig. 8 we can study the undulating pressure in coloratura singing. Phonation frequency is
carefully adjusted so that it makes turns around
each target frequency. The subglottal pressure is
continuously pulsating in synchrony with phonation frequency, with the pressure undulations
slightly lagging behind the frequency undulations.
Different singers apparently use different techniques to achieve this result, as is shown in Fig. 9.
The singer on the left uses his abdominal wall
muscles for generating the pressure pulsation,
while the singer on the right uses his diaphrag m for
the same purpose. The frequency of the pulses is in
the vicinity of 7/s. Coloratura seems to offer a
striking example of the synchronization that a
singer has developed between breathing and pitch
muscles.
AIR FLOW
Other things being equal, air flow must depend
on subglottal pressure. A minimum air flow is often
considered a quality criterion for good singing: the
Journal of Voice, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1988

R. L E A N D E R S O N A N D J. S U N D B E R G

Subject RL

Colorcttura

H20

'oes':E

"

Subject JS

,o[

"

o'%'

20

j.,i

!i

"

..~,.!}~,~:, ~ ........

~-..

FIG. 9. Esophageal pressure (PoCs), gastric

pressure (Pga), transdiaphragmatic pressure
(Pdi), and an integrated electromyographic
signal from the abdominal oblique muscle
(EMGaba) in two singers performing the coloratura passage shown. The negative transdiaphragmatic pressures in the left graph are
artifacts.

1$

less air consumption, the more skilled the singer.

Some teachers even hold a candle just in front of
the student's lips and encourage him or her to sing
without bending the light. This criterion is applicable only in the sense that a constant glottal
leakage is a sign of poor voice technique. However,
a simple but certainly unhealthy way of reducing air
consumption is to press the vocal folds together
and then to raise subglottal pressure high enough to
force apart the firmly adducted vocal folds.
"Glottal resistance" during phonation is a frequently used though hardly appropriate term (15).
It is defined as the ratio between subglottal pressure and transglottal air flow during phonation. Apparently, this ratio depends on the adductive force
in the larynx, and it seems that the term "adductive
force" is more adequate.
The adductive force may be altered by changes in
phonation frequency, because some muscles, such
as the vocalis, engaged in raising the frequency of
phonation, also affect the degree of adduction of
the vocal folds. In some singers, a high-pitched
note is often sung with a more " t e n s e d " or
"pressed" voice than a low note. This would reflect a change in the adduction activity. Therefore,
no simple relationship can be expected between air
flow and phonation frequency.

Nonsensespeech

The adductive force can be varied within wide

limits. If the glottis never closes completely, air will
escape through the glottis over its entire vibration
cycle, even during its quasi-closed phase. Such
" l e a k y " phonation is an instance of insufficient adductive force and it results in a breathy voice
quality and comparatively high air consumption.
However, when we carry heavy burdens, we generally maintain a very high subglottal pressure while
we firmly close the glottis, thus even preventing
phonation.
PRESSURE, FLOW, AND PHONATION
Subglottal pressure is a major control parameter
for the voice source. Figure 10 compares neutral
nonsense speech, expressive emotive speech, and
octave singing exhibiting an increasingly vivid pattern, particularly in the abdominal musculature.
For the octave singing, the abdominal pressure and
the diaphragmatic activity are very high while the
esophageal pressure remains moderate in this subject. The figure illustrates the pressure dynamic
differences between various types of phonatory
tasks. It also points to the necessity of caution
when generalizing from measurements made on
nonsense speech.

Subject RL
Emotivespeech

Octdvesinging

I
Is

FIG. 10. Esophageal (PoJ, gastric (Pga),and transdiaphragmatic (Pdl) pressures and an electromyographic recording from the abdominal
wall musculature (EMGabd) in a singer performing various phonatory tasks.

Journal of Voice, Vol. 2,'No. I, 1988

BREATHING FOR SINGING

:I::

"~

E r9s ~

~"

Phonation
S

Take 2

Trained

Take 1

Untrained

Good
S

Poor
S

Bellows exhausted
S

P
P
75

7O

A
A

0 -'

FIG. 11. Subglottal pressure (P), air flow (A), and sound level (S) recordings of various subjects performing different phonatory tasks.
After Rubin et al. (16).

Figure 11 illustrates some other instances of the

interrelationships b e t w e e n pressure, flow, and
sound. It shows some graphs (16) representing the
sound level, the subglottal pressure, and the air

TYPE OF PHONATION
"PRESSED"
P = 14 cm H20
SPL = 70 dB
EPA=~.3 mm2

1.1_1

NORMAL
P = 9 cm H20
SPL= 76 dB
EPA= 8.1 mmz

cY
.d

_J
LL

<

4
0j

k ^
v ~v./~

/
_~/.__~

[
$

\/

SPL = 78 dB
" ' ~ z - - ~ EPA= 150 mmz

<
O
J

L~
bq
Z
<
C~

sI
0

EATHY"
"B

P=Scm H20
SPL= 68 dB
-- EPA= 210 mmz

"WHISPER"
p= z~cm Hz0
SPL=60 dB
EPA=190 mm2

FIG. 12. Recordings of transglottal air flow, so-called flow giottograms, characteristic of different types of phonation. The data to
the right represent subglottal pressure (P),. sound pressure level at
0.5 m (SPL), and estimated projected peak glottal area (EPA).

flow as recorded under varied types of phonation.

Some interesting observations can be made. For instance, a tone can be sung at a given sound level
using a higher or a lower subglottal pressure combined with a lower or a higher air flow, respectively; this implies differences in glottal adductive
force. It can be seen that an untrained voice may
have to apply a higher subglottal pressure than a
singer to produce a tone at a given sound level.
Particularly interesting are the curves pertaining
to the situation when the air supply in the lungs is
almost exhausted, as might occur toward the end of
a long phrase. While air flow and sound level are
kept constant, subglottal pressure is raised. This
means that glottal adduction was increased, when
the air reservoir was nearly depleted.
Such a change in the glottal adductive force has a
great impact on the voice source waveform, particularly on the amplitude of the pulse and the length
of the closed phase. This can be seen in Fig. 12. If
the adduction is weak, subglottal pressure is normally low, the vocal folds fail to close the glottis
during the quasi-closed phase, and phonation becomes breathy. If, on the other hand, the adduction
is strong, the folds have contact for a longer time
and efficiently close the glottis. The subglottal
pressure is high and the larynx also tends to be
high. Under these conditions, air consumption is
low but the phonation becomes pressed. Normal
phonation is located in between these extremes.
Sundberg and Gauffin (17) proposed the term "flow
phonation" for the case that the adduction force is
reduced beyond what is needed for neutral phonation while the vocal folds still manage to close the
glottis. Many teachers would refer to this type of
phonation using the term "covering." Luchsinger
and Arnold (18) report that covered singing is associated with a higher air flow and also affiliated with
a lowered larynx and an expansion of the pharynx
cavity. The high amplitude of the flow phonation
glottogram implies that the fundamental becomes
Journal ofVoice, Vol. 2, N o . l , 1988

10

R. LEANDERSON AND J. SUNDBERG

CLOSED PHASE, /o
NONSINI3ERS

SINGERS

@ HIGH PITCH ]

60

60

/ /

//
//o

~ 50

/
/

o
M

-~ 30
C3

//

30

(~)
,

30

o OCTAVE

/
/

2C
20

//&
/

~0

20

60

50

20

30

DIAPHRAGM ACTIVE

TRIAD

[~,

SUSITAIN EID

I --

50

40

FIG. 13. Correlograms for data of the relative

duration of the closed phase (above) and the
peak amplitude (below) of the glottal air pulses
in subjects contrasting phonation with active
and passive diaphragm. Symbols refer to subjects.

60

DIAPHRAGM AETIVE

OLOTTOORAM AMPLITUDE
[/seq nrbitrciry scores
?0

--,

,I

///

40

/
/
/

6O

/
/
/

S0
/

40
N

z/

/
N
~N N

//

3O

/
/

.l

20

//L

~ 30

//
c~
/
/

20

lo I

~SUSTALNEO
TRIAD SUBJECT RL

OCTAVE

//
/

10

/
__1

10

/
i

20

30

t~O

50

DIAPHRAGM ACTIVE

60

70

[
i

10

20
30
DIAPHRAGM ACTIVE

much more dominating in the voice source spectrum than in neutral and, particularly, in pressed
phonation. Moreover, air consumption is greater
and the same sound level can be attained with
lower subglottal pressure.
We may then presume that reduction of air flow,
combined with increase in subglottal pressure, observed in Fig. 11 when the singer was running out
of air corresponded to a change of phonation toward the pressed extreme. It is probably most important to avoid such phonatory changes in singing.
In speech, on the other hand, such changes would
be fully acceptable.
These relationships between subglottal pressure,
type of phonation, and degree of glottal adduction
seem to offer an interpretation of several phenomena in the teaching of singing. For arriving
happily at a low note after a high one, it is necessary to reduce subglottal pressure appropriately. If
the reduction is not great enough, subglottal presJournal of Voice, Vol. 21 No. 1, 1988

'

40

sure will be too high for the low note, and in extreme cases the folds may even fail to vibrate under
such conditions.
Another example is provided by the difference
between loud singing and loud speech. If glottal adduction is exaggerated at high-pitched phonation,
pressure has to be exaggerated too. In speech this
would be perfectly acceptable; we would simply
call it "shouting." In singing, on the other hand,
shouting at high pitches is acceptable only for expressive purposes. This implies that singers are not
allowed to automatically increase their glottal adduction as much as speakers at high pitches and intensities.
Another important aspect of subglottal pressure
is its previously mentioned effect on phonation frequency: If the pressure is increased, pitch is raised.
Thus, one way to help the cricothyroid muscles to
produce high-pitched notes is to raise subglottal
pressure. However, this also leads to excessive

BREA THING FOR S I N G I N G

loudness, unless glottal adduction is increased, but

in that case phonation becomes more pressed. This
might be what teachers mean by "pushing." If so,
avoiding pushing would imply reduced phonatory
press. Interestingly, Large and Iwata (13) found
that straight tones consume less air than vibrato
tones, which seemingly implies that vibrato tones
are produced with less adductive force than straight
tones.
BREATHING AND PHONATION
As mentioned, phonation may be initiated with
both a retracted and an expanded abdominal wall
[the "belly-in" and the "belly-out" methods (1)],
and these techniques reflect differences in the use
of the respiratory muscles. With the belly-in
method, the abdominal wall is contracted so that
the diaphragm is vaulted into the rib cage. With the
belly-out method, the diaphragm is flatter. We have
also seen that, during singing, some singers contract the abdominal wall against a forcefully activated diaphragm, while others do not show any diaphragm activity at all, except when subglottal pressure must be quickly lowered in the beginning of a
phrase. The question then arises as to whether
these different strategies lead to different types of
control of subglottal pressure and phonation.
Diaphragmatic activity has been shown to be of
relevance to the voice source (19). In an experiment, singers and nonsingers performed the same
phonatory tasks with a deliberately passive and active diaphragm, respectively. This voluntary control was facilitated by displaying the diaphragmatic
activity on an oscilloscope screen in front of the
subjects. As shown in Fig. 13, an activated diaphragm was associated with a longer closed phase
and a higher amplitude of the glottal air pulses. This
was true for most, but not for all, subjects. The effect on the pulse amplitude suggests that phonation
was changed away from pressed and toward flow
phonation.
During normal breathing for metabolic purposes,
the glottis automatically opens for inhalation while
the turn to exhalation is accompanied by a faint adductory gesture. In other words, an activation of
the mechanism for abduction and adduction is associated with the mechanism for respiration in
quiet breathing. There is no evidence for the same
connections b e t w e e n laryngeal adjustment and
breathing during phonation. However, it is still pos-

11

sible that the method of phonatory breathing may

be associated with a particular posturing of the
larynx, and, certainly, some types of laryngeal posturing are adequate for relaxed phonation while
others are not.
As demonstrated above, one very important diff e r e n c e b e t w e e n speech and singing is that in
normal speech lung volumes' just above FRC are
normally used. This means that passive expiratory
recoil forces are utilized to generate the required
subglottal pressure. In this sense, then, the expiratory recoil forces of the breathing apparatus habitually play a prominent role in establishing the
needed subglottal pressure. In singing, on the other
hand, a greater portion of the vital capacity is used
for phonation, so that breathing muscle forces are
more important (3). Therefore, it is logical that
breathing technique is considered particularly important in singing pedagogy.
In voice training, many suggestive ways seem to
be exploited in order to influence laryngeal posturing. The sensation of yawning offers a striking
example. Yawning is normally affiliated with a widening of the pharynx, a contraction of the diaphragm, a lowering of the larynx, and glottal abduction. These adjustments seem favorable in
singing as they may lead to flow phonation combined with the generation of a singer's formant (20).
Wyke (21) points out that the voluntary phonation control system includes prephonatory adjustments for switching from abduction to adduction
activity and for raising subglottal pressure. Probably this prephonatory voluntary activity also involves the positioning and the tuning of the vocal
fold mass, length, and inner tension. These parameters determine pitch, loudness, and quality of the
intended tone. From experience and practice, we
have acquired a solid knowledge about our voice
function. We " k n o w , " by muscular memory, by
"hearing the tone in advance," or by a preformed
mental conception of the tone, how to adjust our
larynx and breathing apparatus to produce the
voice sounds we want.

Acknowledgment: This is a presentation of research

that the authors have done in collaboration with Curt von
Euler, Department of Neurophysiology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Our research on the use of the

breathing apparatus in singing was supported by Torsten

and Ragnar S6derbergs Stiflelse.

Journal of Voice, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1988

12

R. L E A N D E R S O N A N D J. S U N D B E R G

REFERENCES
1. Hixon T, Hoffman C. Chest wall shape in singing. In:
Lawrence V, ed. Transcripts of the 7th Symp, Care of the
Professional Voice. New York: The Voice Foundation,
1978:9-10.
2. Reid C. A dictionary of vocal terminology. New York:
Music House, 1983.
3. Proctor D. Breathing, speech and song. New York:
Springer-Verlag, 1980.
4. Butensch6n S, Borchgrevink H. Voice and song. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1982.
5. Vennard W. Singing, the mechanism and the technique.
New York: Carl Fischer, 1967.
6. Schutte H. The efficiency of voice production. Groningen:
Kemper, 1980.
7. Navratil M, Rejsek K. Lung function in wind instrument
players and glass blowers. Ann NYA~cad Sci 1968;155:27683.
8. Draper M, Ladefoged P, Whitteridge D. Respiratory
muscles in speech. J Speech Hear Res 1959;2:16-27.
9. Bouhuys A, Proctor D, Mead J. Kinetic aspects of singing. J
Appl Physiol 1966;21:483-96,
10. Leanderson R, Sundberg J. yon Euler C. The role of diaphragmatic activity during singing. A study of transdiaphragmatic pressures. J Appl Physiol 1987;62:259-70.
ll. Rothenberg M. The breathstream dynamics of simple-released-plosive production. Bibl Phonetica 1968;6:1-117.
12. Large J. Observations of the vital capacity of singers. Natl
Assoc Teach Sing Bull 1971;28:34-6, 52.
13. Large J, Iwata S. Aerodynamic study of vibrato and voluntary straight tone pairs in singing. Folia Phoniatr 1971;23:
50-65.

Journal of Voice, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1988

14. Gould W. The effect of voice training on lung volumes in

singers and the possible relationship to the damping factor of
Pressman. J Res Sing 1977;1:3-15.
15. Rothenberg M. Chairman's summary. J Phonetics 1986;14:
443-4.
16. Rubin H, LeCover M, Vennard W. Vocal intensity, subglottal pressure, and airflow relationships in singers. Folia
Phoniatr 1967;19:393-413.
17. Sundberg J, Gauffin J. Waveform and spectrum of the glottal
voice source. In: Lindblom B, 0hman S, eds. Frontiers of
speech communication research, festschrift for Gunnar
Fant. London: Academic Press, 1979:301-20.
18. Luchsinger R, Arnold G. Handbuch der Stimm und Sprachheilkunde. Wien: Springer-Verlag, 1970.
19. Sundberg J, Leanderson R, von Euler C. Voice source effects of diaphragmatic activity in singing. J Phonetics
1986;14:351-7.
20. Sundberg J. Acoustic interpretation of the singer's formant.
J Acoust Soc Am 1974;55:838-44.
21. Wyke B. Laryngeal neuromuscular control systems in
singing. Folia Phoniatr 26;1974:295-306.
22. Pappenheimer J, Comroe J Jr, Cournand A, et al. Standardization of definitions and symbols in respiratory physiology.
Fed Proc 1950;9:602-15.
23. Hixon R. Respiratory function in speech. In: Minifie F,
Hixon T, Williams F, eds. Normal aspects of speech,
hearing, and language. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall, 1973:73-125.
24. Cleveland T, Sundberg J. Acoustic analysis of three male
voices of different quality. In: Askenfelt A, Felicetti S,
Jansson E, Sundberg J, eds. Proc of Stockholm Music
Acoustic Conference 1983. R Swedish Acad of Music, 1983:
143 -56.