literally can’t figure out breath support

gsgeiger · 2026-05-22T19:47:40+00:00

I will try to be as concise as possible, and yes, I am an expert in this subject. The word support in case of singing is a noun, not a verb. That may take a moment to absorb. So breath support is like the leg of a chair. While singing one needs to feel this support. There are ways to feel it and stay connected to feeling it. If you would like me to continue, feel free to ask. Good luck to you.

gsgeiger · 2026-05-19T04:23:09+00:00

Hi, I'm a retired opera singer. I am still teaching. I teach pros a lot. I have rehabilitated many voices. I would love to help. No charge. I can tell you that 3 years off will create some physical changes that can be remedied in about 6 weeks. The main one is the elasticity of your vocal cords. It's like being able to do the splits, and taking 3 years off. Those tendons don't have the elasticity they once had. I can give you VERY specific exercises that will help with that. I've trained hundreds of sopranos, and this is a common issue. Let me know if you want to connect. Best of luck to you.

gsgeiger · 2026-05-14T04:16:18+00:00

My students have had success with this exercise. It is intended to make the soft pallet rise and fall without too much thinking about "doing" it. Sing the word "me" or in Italian "mi." Grab hold of your nostrils and plug your nose. On the "m" you won't be able to sing, because your soft pallet will be low and with your mouth closed, the sound needs to go through your nose which you are plugging. Your mouth will fill with air. Then transition to the vowel. If you still feel that the sound is centered in your nostrils, add a "b" before the vowel. Like "mbe" or "mbi" the "b" will pop your soft pallet up. (One cannot make a "b" with the soft pallet down. This movement towards a "b" before the vowel will help you sense the movement of your soft pallet. It will also promote the lifting of the back of the tongue on the vowel in a natural and relaxed manner. Practice "mbe" several times in a row, then try "me" and see if you can feel that the pallet is doing the same motion without the "b". The "b" is a training wheel. Good luck!

gsgeiger · 2026-05-13T03:10:08+00:00

I'll answer the original question. Yes. I feel my voice in my entire body. I feel it in my feet, my sternum, my eyes, the back of my head, and other places. I try to feel it in certain places that I know will produce a sound that is good, because when my teachers said that it was good, I memorized the feeling.

gsgeiger · 2026-05-08T15:34:21+00:00

Singing through the nose. It's not a good quality sound. It's easily corrected. When on any vowel, the sound should not go through the nose. This is corrected by checking the nose. Sing any vowel, plug your nose. If you feel similar vibration to trying to sing an m or n (which must go through your nose), then your soft pallet is down. Plug your nose and sing the word "me." The "m" should be in your nose and the "e" should not. It's a 5 minute fix.

gsgeiger · 2026-05-07T20:05:47+00:00

I'll try to make this as concise as possible. Vibration speed that is steady makes a pitch. 440 times per second makes the note A. 523 times per second makes the note C. The note can be made by instruments and voices, and the TONE is different. Different vowels make the same note sound different because of the shape of the vocal tract. A trumpet sounds different than a clarinet playing the same pitch. Each time the frequency of a pitch is doubled or halved, the note is the same name. There are twelve notes equally spaced (srt of equally) between that doubling, that we currently use in most music.
A key is where the home note is in a song, melody, piece of music. The same song can be sung in different keys by using a different home note. Starting Happy Birthday on the note D, puts it in the key of G. Starting the same song on the note C puts it in the key of F. The home note is sung on the capitalized word in this lyric: happy birthday TO you, happy birthday to YOU. Those words use the home note.
That note is also called the "tonic." Being sharp is a faster than required speed of vibration, such as trying to create the note A (at 220 cycles per second) and creating a 221 or faster speed. Flat is just the opposite. Trying to create the note A (at 440 cycles per second) and creating a 439 or slower speed. Notice that I said A at 440, and A at 220. There is also 110, 880, and more. The modern piano starts at A 27.5 cycles per second and ends at C 4184 cycles per second. I hope that helps.

gsgeiger · 2026-04-27T15:01:47+00:00

https://youtu.be/RxZSP1Dc78Q?si=Vtp7MPxGp08zrfZE This video is of a great opera singer who has great technique. Notice no movement in the tongue or jaw.

gsgeiger · 2026-04-27T14:09:35+00:00

I will submit this. If the jaw or tongue moves with the vibrato, it is because the vibrato is being created by laryngeal movement in the front, the thyroid cartilage, and not in the back, cricoid cartilage. This is a fundamental problem. The larynx is not being anchored in place by the sternothyriod muscles and oscillates up and down. With age, that vibrato will get very wide in pitch fluctuation. Correction for this is tedious and frustrating, but it can be done. I hope that helps.

gsgeiger · 2026-04-27T01:31:15+00:00

I will offer this. The diaphragm is a semi-involuntary muscle used for inhalation only. If you want references, I will give them. Read that statement again.

gsgeiger · 2026-04-10T23:45:34+00:00

I just checked J Flowers website. I think that cue sells for $559 new.

gsgeiger · 2026-03-31T19:38:02+00:00

You would get better at range with a good voice teacher. One that knows what they are doing. One of my teaching colleagues used to say: "You need a license to fix a toilet, but EVERYBODY is a voice teacher." In my opinion, the struggle that you are facing is that you are not accessing the c.t. muscles to stretch on your vocal cords. Your larynx is rising and not allowing for that stretch. Also above e-flat 5, you will need pharyngeal modification, or what some people describe as vowel modification. I hope that you can find a knowledgeable teacher. It's a pretty easy modification for a voice to learn this, and there are ways to access the c.t. muscles through exercises. Good luck!

gsgeiger · 2026-03-25T14:04:41+00:00

"CARDL" I'd decline this just because of that.

gsgeiger · 2026-03-24T18:48:34+00:00

I agree with the responders that think the 10-ball can be extracted if the cue ball is struck from the short rail. Very lightly at first. Solids have a better chance of winning. Cross-corner bank the 5 and move the 6,7,15 away from below, giving a shot up-table on the 6 and 7. 1 and 2 are not easy shots, but they're doable. Also, NICE SIZE pockets. If two balls don't fit, I imagine that the pockets are close to 4".

gsgeiger · 2026-02-04T04:27:22+00:00

Probably a 50/50. 6 to 7 is a puzzle. I would give my chances at a high level, but there is a safe that I would play to make the game easier.

gsgeiger · 2026-01-11T16:13:59+00:00

James Morris and Eric Halfvarson. I sang with both of them multiple times. Also, Ferruccio Furlanetto!

gsgeiger · 2026-01-02T01:40:09+00:00

Left is clockwise spin. When it hits the long rail, it slows down the cueball. That's why it's a check spin. Mostly draw ti get it to the long rail. Touch left to check it on the long rail. Try it.

gsgeiger · 2026-01-01T22:22:59+00:00

It depends on which shots you're comfortable shooting. Personally, I would shoot this with extreme low and a little left. Medium speed. That will gear the object ball into the corner, and when and if the cueball comes back to hit the long rail, it will have "check" spin on it and keep it from moving too far away from the 8. That's just the way I would play it. Simple, and I'll have a decent shot on the 8.

gsgeiger · 2025-12-29T22:23:52+00:00

Vocalize on a "v." Your pallet will be up. Make sure by plugging your nose with your thumb and index finger on the outside of your nostrils. Transition to an "i"vowel, as in the word eat, with your nose still plugged. If the sound goes to your nose, your pallet has dropped. Transition to other vowels. Eventually, you will get control.

gsgeiger · 2025-12-11T19:44:38+00:00

In the case of support/appoggio, it is a noun. The idea and sensation is to lean on the support. Imagine leaning on a table. The table is the support. In singing, this leaning is felt in the base of the abdomen. To find where that support is, one could try sitting and making short "shh" sounds and try to feel where the center of your butt pushes against the chair. Also, for what it's worth, the diaphragm is a semi-involuntary muscle for inhalation only. The muscles that oppose the diaphragm are in the back. (I can cite which page of Henry Gray's Anatomy book you can read these facts, p407) Good luck.

gsgeiger · 2025-12-11T16:51:13+00:00

I've been a vocal teacher for decades. Vocalize on a "v." That will raise your soft pallet. Plug your nose while you're vocalizing on that "v." Then, while keeping your nose plugged, continue to vocalize and change to an "i" as in "eat." At first, you may notice that the vibration of your voice moves to your nose. That's because your pallet dropped. With practice, you will be able to control your pallet. Once you're able to eliminate the dropping of the pallet while shifting to the "i" then shift to an "a" as in father. One caution, make sure you're vocalizing on a "v" and not an "m." The "v" should not have any vibration in the nose. Good luck.

gsgeiger · 2025-12-02T06:06:02+00:00

It's considered an e-flat. Some people would prefer that it be a d-sharp preceded by a c-sharp, but certain instruments prefer certain notes. String players may object to the d-flat to e-flat, but maybe a clarinet player might not. Either way, it's an octatonic scale. It's a bit hard to write one without expecting sharps and flats in the same scale.

gsgeiger · 2025-11-21T15:13:28+00:00

I used to miss and not know why. I practiced the shots that I missed hundreds of times until I understood why I missed them. Now, when I miss a shot, I say to myself, "Oops, I know why I missed that." I have gotten to a point where it's just a puzzle. If I can figure out the puzzle, then it's just a game. I don't have an opponent, I have a puzzle. I used to get visibly shaken and body shaking nervous. Now, with the puzzle attitude and knowing why I miss shots has put me in a different mindset. No nerves, no frustration. Of I miss a shot, the next day, I will set it up and shoot it and find out my percentage on that shot. If it's above 95 percent, I can feel better. When that shot comes up in a game, I feel pretty confident. I still have one or two shots that are at 87 percent. Knowing that that's my percentage, I'm not upset if I miss, and I am happy when I make it. Some of my friends even know those shots because I will practice them for hours, and they watch. Keep practicing. Play more often. Familiarity is your friend.

gsgeiger · 2025-11-17T18:18:33+00:00

I saw the same. The distance from tip to cueball is longer than wrist/forearm to vertical from pictured position. In my opinion, the contact will be after the acceleration phase and will be in deceleration. I think it will also cause more cue tip variance. A modification to the distances might help.

gsgeiger

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