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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Quick Vocal Tip: Be Breathy, but Briefly

Keven Smith · August 24, 2020

You’ll never meet a serious choral singer who strives for a breathy sound. And there’s not a choir director on earth who will ever stop during rehearsal to say, “It’s too clear and resonant, guys! I want to hear more air escaping all around your tone!”

But I’ve found that in rehearsal warmups and personal practice, being breathy in very small amounts can be helpful.

We all know we can’t make a sound without using air. We also know that if we try to push the air as we sing, we might generate more volume but we’ll produce an undesirable breathiness—and wear out the voice. Of course, if you tell a choir member “Don’t push the sound,” they may consciously hold back their airstream, resulting in late entrances and timid singing.

Vocal pedagogues have written volumes about the muscular coordination required to sing “on the breath.” I’ll probably explore this topic in future articles. For now, let’s just say our challenge is to let the airstream feel free without actually pushing air through the sound. It all starts with developing a healthy attack, or onset, for our sound.

There’s a simple exercise that can help. It appears in different forms in various vocal technique manuals. I first learned of it in The Diagnosis & Correction of Vocal Faults by James C. McKinney—a book I highly recommend. It goes roughly like this:

  1. Drop the jaw, take a deep breath, and let it out with an audible “HHHHH.” You should feel a totally free release of air on the “HHHHH.”
  2. Choose a comfortable note in the middle of your range.
  3. Take another deep breath, let it out on “HHHHH” again, but after a few seconds, switch to singing “ah” on the note you chose.
  4. Repeat step 3 several times, but use less H each time. You’ll start to develop a sense of exactly when the vocal chords engage and how little air pressure it takes to get them to work. Remember this sensation. 
  5. Now, start the note again. Simply think the “HHHHH” but don’t make it audible. You’ll end up with an “ah” that has a clear starting point and carries a healthy, balanced sound. Sing several notes this way. Go up and down the scale. Try it at different dynamics and on all the vowels.

This is how a good onset should feel. Of course, things get in the way—things like performance anxiety, limited attention spans, and of course, those pesky consonants with which most words begin. But this should be our baseline for starting a note.

I’ve tried this exercise with my choir to great profit. Not only did it help our singers find a healthier onset, but it also prompted one very astute choir member to speculate that this could be the reason our choir often comes in a bit late after my downbeats. Perhaps some singers are starting the tone with a split second of extra breath, and if they can learn to deliver pure tone at the instant my hands complete their drop, we’ll be more together! It was an astounding insight and one that will guide our exploration in future rehearsals. It’s scary to come in right on time, but good choral singing is all about overcoming our fears. 

Singers who are (rightly) conditioned to avoid breathiness may recoil from doing this exercise because it seems like practicing a bad habit. But I’ve found that doing a bit of “HHHHH” every now and then can help us recalibrate our sense of how little pressure it really takes to engage the voice.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: vocal technique Last Updated: August 24, 2020

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About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “21 September 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 21 September 2025) discusses some theological items—supported by certain verses in ancient Catholic hymns—and ends by explaining why certain folks become delirious with jealousy when they observe feats by Monsignor Ronald Knox.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!
    It’s always amusing to see old diocesan newspapers—in huge capital letters—advertising the Cheapest Catholic Paper in the United States. The correspondent who sent this to me added: “I can think of certain composers, published by large companies in our own day, who could truthfully brag about the most tawdry compositions in the world!” I wonder what she could have meant by such a cryptic comment…
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Dom Murray Harmonies
    Along with so many others, I have deep respect for Dom Gregory Gregory Murray, who produced this clever harmonization (PDF) of “O SANCTISSIMA.” It’s always amazed me that Dom Gregory—a truly inspired composer—was so confused when it came to GREGORIAN CHANT. Throughout his life, he published contradictory statements, veering back-and-forth like a weather vane. Toward the end of his life, he declared: “I see clearly that the need for reform in liturgical music arose, not in the 18th and 19th centuries, but a thousand years earlier—in the 8th and 9th centuries, or even before that. The abuses began, not with Mozart and Haydn, but with those over-enthusiastic medieval musicians who developed the elaborate and flamboyant Gregorian Chant.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Karl Keating • “Canonization Questions”
    We were sent an internet statement (screenshot) that’s garnered significant attention, in which KARL KEATING (founder of Catholic Answers) speaks about whether canonizations are infallible. Mr. Keating seems unaware that canonizations are—in the final analysis—a theological opinion. They are not infallible, as explained in this 2014 article by a priest (with a doctorate in theology) who worked for multiple popes. Mr. Keating says: “I’m unaware of such claims arising from any quarter until several recent popes disliked by these Traditionalists were canonized, including John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. Usually Paul VI receives the most opprobrium.” Mr. Keating is incorrect; e.g. Father John Vianney, several centuries ago, taught clearly that canonizations are not infallible. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen would be another example, although clearly much more recent than Saint John Vianney.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Vatican II Changed Wedding Propers?
    It’s often claimed that the wedding propers were changed after Vatican II. As a matter of fact, that is a false claim. The EDITIO VATICANA propers (Introit: Deus Israel) remained the same after Vatican II. However, a new set of propers (Introit: Ecce Deus) was provided for optional use. The same holds true for the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great on 3 September: the 1943 propers (Introit: Si díligis me) were provided for optional use, but the traditional PROPRIA MISSAE (Introit: Sacerdótes Dei) were retained; they weren’t gotten rid of. The Ordo Cantus Missae (1970) makes this crystal clear, as does the Missal itself. There was an effort made in the post-conciliar years to eliminate so-called “Neo-Gregorian” chants, but (contrary to popular belief) most were retained: cf. the feast of Christ the King, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and so forth.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“The choir shall henceforth sing or say no anthems of our Lady or other Saints, but only of our Lord, and then not in Latin; but choosing out the best and most sounding to Christian religion they shall turn the same into English, setting thereunto a plain and distinct note for every syllable one: they shall sing them and none other.”

— 1548 Edict of King Edward VI (a heretic) for Lincoln Cathedral

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