Singing without tension - What is breathe controL?

Question:

Singing without tension - What is breathe controL?

I Know theres breathe control but I don't understand how u actually know how much air to release? So u control how much ur diaphragm goes up when u sing each note??? Cuz I always find myself even with sufficient air or smthing wen i sing a note my larnyx automatically slides up...i try to relax but then it still slides up...i dunno if its a habit or that i cant reach that note without tension..

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Your diaphragm is an involuntary muscle, you cannot control it. What you CAN do is take deep, wide breaths that completely expand the ribcage, even through your back, without raising your chest or shoulders, fully engaging your costals. If you do that, your diaphragm will automatically drop into place.

However, that is not going to help you with your problem. To me, it sounds like more of a problem of placement and technique than breathing correctly. Is your jaw relaxed? Are you resonating in the right place with your vowels placed correctly? Is your tongue sitting correctly, or is it "ridged" and sitting back in the mouth?

I find a lot of people will have issues with tension when there are problems with the tongue and jaw- if you are singing in a relaxed manner, your tongue should consistently be touching the root of your bottom front teeth and should move easily. I test this out by asking singers to leave the tip of their tongues in their mouths and try to stick the rest of it out as they sing- it looks stupid but if you're doing that, you know your tongue is relaxed, which in turn can help to relax your entire apparatus.

HOWEVER...for men, there does come a point when the larynx just needs to rise a bit- it shouldn't be dramatic, but a slight rise is not necessarily anything to be concerned about if you're singing notes at the extremity of your range.