Interview with The World Great Tenor -
Luciano Pavarotti (Part 1)

Noted: This article was machine translated.

With our twice interviews with Luciano Pavarotti, we have added our explanations with his precious opinions and comments and come out with this article. We hope this article will not only severe the purpose of the study of Pavarotti’s singing method, but also for the further in depth study of Italian Bel Canto.

The Secret of Breathing for Singing

“Who knows the secret of breathing for singing, who knows the art of singing”. Although this old vocal phrase is not comprehensive, but it explains the importance of breathing in singing. In fact, the method of Pavarotti’s singing is based on the principle of this ancient foundation. He mentioned that if one cannot master the breathing, one is not impossible to sing well and even worst, damage the voice cords.

We know he had been so famous in international operatic stage after he ended his vocal learning from Pola. But during that time he was still not able to have the perfect breathing technique. He resolved and totally mastered the technique was through the help of a famous Soprano singer. According to the husband of the Soprano, Luciano Pavarotti always placed his hand on his wife’s abdomen and mentioned that he want to really understand the action of her action. Pavarotti said that the only way to master the skill of diaphragm breathing is through the learning from stage’s experiences.

Pavarotti told us a lot of his experience about diaphragm breathing. We summarized it as follow:

The supporting point for breathing is mainly located at the diaphragm. The diaphragm muscle is like a belt surrounding on the body during inhalation and it is very powerful. During inhalation the lower abdomen is protruded and the chest is fully expanded and slightly lifted. Under the throat where the pit of the stomach has an obvious point of supporting. During exhalation, the diaphragm is further expanded outwardly and a counter reaction force is created inside the chest which make a ‘sound pillar’ to be formed. This ‘sound pillar’ is gently moving upward and eventually gained the resonant through chest cavity.

It goes up through the throat, vocal cords and to the facial resonant box (a resonant cavity which Pavarotti experienced). On the process of exhalation, the lower abdomen is naturally and slowly holding up. Immediately after the explanation, Pavarotti quickly sketched a drawing to elaborate what he had just explained. Of course, that was the rough drawing but after that he had given us time to raise questions.

Pavarotti made a vivid metaphor when he explained his feeling of breath’s flowing. He said, the voice has to be felt like moving forward and upward from the facial resonant box (the resonant position). It is like the aircraft taken off from the runway and each voice note is moving forward with each others. The whole process is restarted again when the musical phrase is ended. Then he sang a few arias and made the demonstrations. He repeatedly stressed that the feeling of the flow of the sound wave are generated from the diaphragm. If the action of the muscles is incorrect, there will be no such feeling at all.

Pavarotti repeatedly reminded us that once the breathing and diaphragm are not working properly, the throat will be in great tension and that the vocal cords will not be working properly. The throat has to be relaxed or the sound quality would be produced badly. We need to clarify that what Pavarotti mentioned about relaxing the throat which cannot be understood as letting the throat slacking. When especially singing the high notes, the throat will reflexively tightening. While in order to maintain the normal opening, the throat’s muscle will has an intention of expanding outwardly and that will form a tube like feeling. This will allow the sound wave to flow upward through its middle path. What he mentioned about relaxing the throat is solely refer to disallowing other unnecessary forces to be participated.

Therefore, in order to have the throat to be relaxed, the muscle must be functioned properly. When we commended his breathing is rich and which is flowing freely, he replied with humorous, “No one can say that their breath is full and rich, it requires continuous workout. But I will not complain my breath for not sufficient”. When we guessed that his diaphragm breathing’s skill is obtained through special training methods, he replied, “I’m like other singers; I learned it from the singing exercises”. Then he sang the exercises with soft voice.

The exercises were sung musically. He emphasized that the extending notes have to be sung fully. All the sound has to be produced steadily and pleasantly. Pavarotti’s breathing ability is trained through the process of singing. But we think he would not object to people by using other methods for practicing. Because the voice cords cannot be overused, when the voice is tired, through the silent breath exercises is a good way to accelerate and enhance the breathing function. But it has to be more cautious when practice the silent exercise because it ought to more problems when it is not done properly. One of the most terrible problems is causing the stiff muscles.

From the perspective of physical science, human respiratory is fulfilled through the function of the lung. The peripheral and the lower portion of the lung muscles cannot be inhaling. But the lung is a kind of sponge like object; its ability of expanding for inhalation is relying on the help with its connected muscles. These include the chest muscles, in particular the expansion of the lower ribs muscles, diaphragm, and the abdomen which is lowering down to space up the room for the lung. Normally these muscles are called the inhaling muscles. There is another group of exhaling muscles as well, but in term of singing the most important muscle is the inhaling muscle.

When singing, the breath cannot be escaped too quickly because often time the musically phrase will last for ten over seconds. In order to maintain the air flowing up from the lung, the inhaling muscles have to remain in expansion and which will form the breath supporting or diaphragm supporting. It is recognized as diaphragm breathing for centuries. Pavarotti was exactly using the diaphragm breathing method but his feeling of the position of diaphragm support was lower than what had been stated in most singing documents. Although this is his personal feeling but it is reasonable, and singers should practicing this further so as to obtain the most appropriate feeling for supporting position.

Many singers knew about the method of diaphragm breathing, but very few can put it into practice. Some was focus on the expanding of the chest cavity but lost the support from the diaphragm or the position was raise too high. In opposite, some put the attention on the diaphragm but lost the expansion from the chest cavity. Some had the lower ribs expanded but neglected the waist also part of the supporting force.

Pavarotti had clearly stated that the diaphragm is like a ribbon and is surrounded on the body. When the diaphragm is expanded, inhaling and exhaling muscles are counter acting each other’s and formed the moving up ‘sound pillar’. A considerable amount of singers just blindingly forcing the diaphragm and causing the breath to become stiffen. There is a principle that has to be remembered and followed: all muscles activities had to be established on a flexible basis. Pavarotti was reminded from his Soprano teacher, “Before you get your breath muscles trained, do not imitate my singing”. Pavarotti had a credible comment about breathing, he stated that voices are different among people; some are sonorous, beautiful, husky and wizened but in addition to vocal cords, however, the human body’s structure is the same. Therefore, through proper training, singers can at last master the diaphragm breathing.