The Effects of a Breath Exhalation Regulation Routine in Collegiate Singers

It has been shown that student singers are at an elevated risk for developing vocal fatigue or other voice-related pathologies due to their extensive voice use and lack of advanced vocal training (Bretl et al., 2023; Cohen et al., 2007; Phyland et al., 1999). It is incumbent upon vocal educators to find methods of mitigating the risk of vocal fatigue. Seeking out and employing training regimens that maximize vocal development while reducing vocal load is a daunting task, especially when the benefits of vocal exercises are largely based on anecdotal evidence (Sugars 2009).

In this investigation, I sought to measure the relationship between the regular use of a specific breath exhalation regulation routine and maximum phonation time (MPT). Pretest and posttest MPT durations were taken of 30 collegiate-level singers who were divided into two equal groups (control, n=15; experimental, n=15). The experimental group was taught a breath regulation exercise and rehearsed the routine once a day for seven days. A one-way ANCOVA was used to compare group post-test MPT scores using pre-test MPT scores as a covariate. Participants’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the breathing exercise were also collected and discussed.

Participants in the experimental group demonstrated significantly improved maximum phonation time as compared to the control group. These results were delineated by /z/, /u/, and /a/ durations to the 0.01 second, and suggested that regular implementation of a structured breath exhalation regulation routine could directly relate to a singer’s ability to sustain sound. The results of this study suggest that the use of an un-voiced breathing exercise has the potential to improve vocal function without spending vocal capital, reducing the amount of vocal loading during voice training.