The name of the technique for 'not breathing noisily while singing'?

Question

A family member told me he doesn't like to hear most pop singers because one can hear them taking deep breaths after longer tirades and that is a sign they can't sing properly. He mentioned Andrea Bocelli as a good example: no matter how long he sings 'in one go', no matter how much his voice climbs up or down, no matter how long he sustains a certain sound, you will never hear him run out of breath and take a noisy inspiration.

His expression was that lyric singers 'don't breathe while singing' (although obviously, he meant they don't breathe noticeably or noisily) and pop singers do. I know, there's a lot of generalisation here, but these were his words. Although I must admit that I also find it a bit annoying to be listening to a great voice and then there's a near gasp for air before the voice blows all out again.

So, is this family member correct in his statement that 'proper singing' means one shouldn't take those noisy deep breaths while singing?

Secondly, what is the name of the technique lyric singers use to perform 'without breathing'?

Answer 1

I tend to agree with your family, but I'm not aware of a term different from breathing technique, as exhibited by trained singers.

Note, that the effect in question is not restricted to singers but also affects wind instrumentalists (which may resort to circular breathing in some cases; they also learn, that breathing though the mouth is faster and more silent than through the nose which unfortunnatley is incompatible with circular breathing, so context needs to be considered).

In my opinion trained singers also typically are able to produce a higher volume, which allows microphone to be positioned more remotely, which supports clean recording. This also applys to most wind instruments.

Answer 2

As guidot has already mentioned, the only real name for this would be poor breathing technique. But I want to clarify why it's poor.

When you breathe, you have air rushing through your oral cavity and windpipe. If something gets in the way of the air, either through tension in the body or through blatant obstruction, the air will hit it as it rushes by, causing a sound. Thus, in theory, the most efficient breath is mostly silent, because any noise indicates some obstruction of the oral cavity and/or windpipe.

Try taking in a huge breath with your teeth closed. It's incredibly loud on account of (among other things) the teeth getting in the way of the rushing air.

Now say "poe" (as in, Edgar Allen). Now, say "poe" while inhaling. You should notice that this breath is much more silent (it also fills you up much faster!). This type of breath is what most instrumentalists and vocalists strive for.

Answer 3

Agreed, it doesn't sound too good, too professional, but gets heard a lot. In an opera setting from many years ago, no mics, inhalation wouldn't have been heard much, if at all. With mics now being used for just about every situation, once they're a couple of feet away from the singer's mouth, inhalation will be pretty well inaudible.

The 'problem' comes with close micing, when everything gets picked up. It doesn't have to be a problem, breathing in through the nose is one option, as is moving to the side of the mic. And pop shields are great at losing the plosives, but not at stopping what we're talking about. I just think a lot of singers aren't particularly aware of it, or assume it's part of the deal. I prefer to listen to what's coming out of a singer's mouth rather than what's going in, though.