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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

    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 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 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

By far, the event that caused the biggest increase in requests for indults from the morning Mass requirement was the Second World War. The unusual requirements of providing Mass during wartime led to some unique legislation accommodating the time of Mass. Already in 1940, Pope Pius XII issued a motu proprio addressing the situation of holding Mass in countries where a “Black-out” had been ordered.

— Father Shawn P. Tunink

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  • “Puzzling Comment” • By A Respected FSSP Priest
  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”

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