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The easiest breathing exercise is to simply inhale, hold your breath, and exhale for longer counts. First, increase your count to 5, then 6, and eventually work your way up to 10. Do 3 or 4 sets of inhales, holds, and exhales for each count. Make sure to maintain the proper breathing techniques by filling your belly and keeping your shoulders down for this and any other exercise. Inhaling for a shorter count and exhaling for longer is great exercise for your diaphragm. Start by doing a few sets of 6 count inhales and 8 count exhales. Proceed to counting to 5 as you inhale and to 10 as you exhale, then gradually work your way up to inhaling for a 2 count and exhaling for a 20 count. Work on filling your lungs with air in a shorter amount of time and controlling your exhale to blow out in a steady stream for a longer amount of time. For this exercise, imagine there’s a candle in front of your face. Your goal is to blow out so slowly and gently that your breath doesn’t make the candle flicker. Fill your lungs with air, then exhale through your imaginary straw until you empty your lungs. Repeat this exercise 10 times. Start adding vocalizations to your breathing exercises. Say “B,” “F,” “S,” and “Sh,“ as you exhale. Extend the sound throughout your entire exhale by saying, “Beee-,” or “Esss-.” Try mixing up your counts for this exercise. Inhale for a 4 count, exhale for 8, then inhale for 2 and exhale for 6. Randomize your counts to mimic how you’d have to switch up your breathing during a song. Hum at a note in your middle register as you exhale. You can also try pronouncing syllables, like “Ba,” or “La.” Extend the sound evenly as you exhale: use your breath to keep the tone and volume steady throughout your exhale. Once again, try switching up your inhale and exhale counts for this exercise.
Increase each of your counts as you practice proper breathing. Decrease your inhale counts and increase your exhale counts. Exhale very slowly as if you were blowing through a thin straw. Add letters and sounds as you exhale. Introduce tone by humming as you exhale.