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II RESPIRATION Respiration RESPIRATION IS PERHAPS the most difficult of the elements of Speech with which we have to deal and ye t Nature has made it so simple and automatic in its function that it s perfection of use lies precisely in its simplicity .
The complexity of this simple act, however, has to be faced, for along the lines of the complex nature of the power of respiration are to be found those obstructions which interrupt the free flow of action necessary for the tone of voice required for perfectly balanced speech.
Page-15 Respiration is dependent upon the " Prana '", or life-force of the Indian system. Pranic energy is present in all forms of life. It is the Force supporting and modifying the substantial existence of its own forms. It is the life-stuff, the substantial will and energy that is the conscious dynamis of being. We need not enter into the Indian philosophical thought on the subject, nor need we concern ourselves with the exercises of pranayami breathing of the Indian Yogi, but we would do well to know and understand one very significant fact: the principle behind these exercises is that the breath-power is not divorced from the will or the mind. There is a certain poise, a balanced position between the will, idea, thought, feeling, emotion and the breath-supply. This poise or balanced position is different in different individuals and has to be found as a basis of all our working. It is something similar to that acquired rhythm of breathing an athlete seeks in his training. But in voice production much depends on the truth or sincerity of the idea that is to be expressed, so that breath-supply can depend upon your emotional . attitude towards the words you have to speak or the truth of the idea that is to be expressed.
It can also depend upon the type of person you are, whether you are speaking the truth as you know it or whether you are consciously lying.
Page-16 It matters little if you know that the respiration provides the power which causes the vocal cords to vibrate, that the entrance to the air passage is at the back or the throat, continuous with the larynx and below the larynx contains the wind-pipe or trachea which goes down into 'the chest where it divides into two main tubes called the bronchi ; these dividing again in their turn until they reach all the parts of the lungs. It would be more to our purpose if we concerned ourselves with the 'cage' of ribs and spinal column etc. which we call the thorax. The thorax is made up of the spinal column at the back, the sternum or breast-bone in the front and the ribs at the sides. Below the thorax is the diaphragm, which is the large dome-shaped muscle dividing the thorax from the lower part of the body. By raising the lower ribs with the in tercostal muscles the thorax is expanded laterally while at the same time the breast-bone moves forward. This happens when we breathe in. Vertical expansion is accomplished by lowering the diaphragm, and the wall of the abdomen will move inwards and outwards.
In most adults this vertical expansion is only partly accomplished; in other words they rarely breathe deeply enough to fully expand the abdomen. In this modern age, with its emphasis on a
Page-17 sedentary life, people have mostly forgotten how to breathe. And with all our learning and education we have not learnt the importance of breathing consciously, deeply and naturally like the animal or the baby, by a mental understanding of our defect. Few people — and those few are trained athletes or sportsmen, professional singers or actors and actresses who take their profession conscientiously, as a work of art—breathe without effort deep down in the abdomen like a baby, yet such breathing is essential for effective respiration enabling balanced speech.
This vertical expansion — by lowering the diaphragm so that the front wall of the abdomen is pushed forward and, as the diaphragm is raised again the front wall of the abdomen will be drawn inward—should be done in this way and not by raising the shoulders as most people attempt to do. To raise the shoulders will hinder the respiration for two very good reasons: first, because it immediately tenses the muscles in the neck supporting the vocal cords; second, because the narrowest part of the lungs is at the top, the widest below and to achieve natural harmony and poise would be impossible if we try to expand the upper narrow part of
the thorax, leaving the base and true reservoir of air flabby, half-expanded at the mercy of air bubbles or a desperate gasp.
Page-18 So much for inhalation, but for our purpose the more important part of respiration is exhalation, because vocal tone is produced by the breath issuing from the lungs and passing between the vocal cords. Exhalation, or breathing out, is governed by a natural recoil of the lungs which always tend to contract after inflation. This natural recoil is further aided by structural recoil of the thorax, the bones seeking to return to their normal position before expansion. In singing, this recoil is rather more than in speech, because the maximum pressure is needed for sustained notes and to ensure a steady vibration of the vocal cords, for which the thorax must be controlled by the intercostals muscles because if it is not, there is an abnormal strain put upon the throat as a whole, constricting the muscles surrounding the larynx. This control, which is absolutely necessary for singing is just as equally necessary in speech. During sleep, respiration is reduced to the minimum; during violent exercise, i.e. swimming, running or singing, it is increased to the maximum.
The amount of breath required when at ease is called tidal air; the extra amount of air which can be forcibly inhaled is called complemental air;
Page-19 and that which can be forcibly exhaled is called supplemental air. Complemental air is necessary for singing and for violent exercise, although the rhythm in these two cases will be very different. But for speech very little in excess of tidal air is needed. For singing, although respiration is controlled by the natural action of the diaphragm, we breath with an enlarged lung capacity; but for public speaking the golden rule should be, " little and often "; then if we stand erect with the shoulders down, relaxed, there will be more than sufficient breath-supply for any occasion. In fact, so little complemental air is needed for public speaking that a conscious effort at lateral control would generally do more harm than good. Supplemental air in speaking is only resorted to by a speaker who tries to finish a long sentence all in one breathe with no pause; usually because he is either vitally excited or because he is carried away by his subject. It is this type of speaker who experiences most discomfort and dryness of throat; but this defect we will deal with in a later chapter.
It should be clearly understood that an increase in breath supply does not produce more volume of vocal tone. This is one of the fallacies so often committed by the schools of elocution that confuse the teaching of elocution for singing with the elocution for speech training.
Page-20 The first secret of effective voice production is to acquire the balance and harmony between the breath supply and the vibrating vocal cords. According to the subject and the circumstances and their demand, each individual, each personality, must feel and judge this balance between the power issuing from the lungs and the response or resistance offered by the vocal cords.' This harmony and balance is automatically achieved at a point of true sincerity in coordination with the true creative joy of expression, and at such a moment very little breath is required for speech in excess of what is required when one is sitting at ease. Some people, however, have a weak voice and a good exercise to improve this is to strengthen the diaphragm, the band of muscle a few inches above the navel. Lie on the floor, breathe deeply with a heavy book on the diaphragm. Then shout several times :
1.It should be noted that this harmony and balance if truth maintained will not admit of any escape of unnecessary breath
which cause the drop in tonal quality and pure resonance. Page-21
„ After this exercise see how long you can react aloud without taking a breath. One should be able to comfortably manage twenty seconds reading in one breath.
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