How should I breathe when I am singing?

Question:

How should I breathe when I am singing?

I think I sound like I am singing through my nose and I hate it. How can I fix it?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: A couple of ideas:

Hold your hand against your lower stomach/diaphram area. This way, you have a visual that tells you if you're breathing from down there. If you feel your shoulders rising, ask someone to hold them while you breath so you can learn how it feels to breath from below without raising your shoulders too much. Also, while your chest will move some, it should not be the most noticeable movement.

Something that helps me when I feel I'm creating a more nasal tone (that happens to me sometimes in my upper register) is plug my nose and sing. See how that sounds. If you have a tape recorder, record how you sound when you do some of these exercises (plugging your nose, holding your stomach, etc) so you can listen for a variation in your tone.

Good luck! :)