Breathing for singing - shoulder movement

1. What should your shoulders do when you breathe for singing?
2. Are your shoulders supposed to move when you breathe?
3. When you are correctly breathing to sing your shoulders should rise and fall?
4. What body part is not supposed to move as you are breathing for singing?

What should your shoulders do when you breathe for singing?

There should be no extra movement in the body other than the expansion from the diaphragm. For some people, the shoulders go up, creating a shallow breath. Only about half of one's lung capacity is filled when the shoulders rise, because it counteracts the diaphragm's ability to expand.

Are your shoulders supposed to move when you breathe?

Watch your breathing!

This means that we use the muscles in our neck and shoulders to move the top half of our torso up and down to get breaths. Breathing in this manner can increase the muscle tension many of us already experience in our neck and shoulders.

When you are correctly breathing to sing your shoulders should rise and fall?

You will probably notice that your shoulders and chest rise when you inhale and fall when you exhale. This is a shallow breath and is not good for producing a good vocal tone. To take a deep singing breath, relax your abdomen as you fill with air and expand around the waist.

What body part is not supposed to move as you are breathing for singing?

Your chest and shoulders should not rise as you breathe. Although there may be some subtle movement as a result of the lungs filling up and expanding, there should be minimal chest displacement and the rib cage should not collapse between breaths.