Objective: To identify the challenges both singing teachers and students face in breathing techniques across various genres and to evaluate the effectiveness of current methods and tools. Additionally, the paper explores participants' feedback on existing technologies for assistance in breathing instruction and desired features for future technology-enhanced breathing training.

Background: Breathing is a crucial aspect of singing, requiring a complex blend of cognitive awareness and precise muscular control (Helding, 2020; Rosenberg & LeBorgne, 2019; Hixon, 2006). Although breathing training is fundamental in singing instruction, teaching approaches vary widely, and traditional tactile techniques for guiding kinesthetic sensations are controversial due to consent and ethical concerns (Johnson, 2009; Durham, 2023). Objective tools such as technological aids to help teachers and students make body control explicit are in their infancy and not broadly integrated into traditional vocal pedagogy. A targeted focus group study to gain greater understanding surrounding teachers’ and students’ current experiences and perspectives on specific challenges and modern solutions in breathing instruction is therefore necessary.

Methods / Design: We conducted a qualitative study involving three semi-structured focus groups with eleven participants, including seven singing students and four teachers. The discussions centered around two key questions: 1) the challenges students face, or that teachers observe, in relation to respiratory in singing, and 2) potential solutions, including existing exercises, tools, technologies, or imagined new technologies that could help address these challenges.

Results: Thematic analysis of the three focus groups revealed three primary challenges: C1 – Muscle Coordination and Adjustment, C2 – Muscle Tension Awareness and Relief, and C3 – Register and Airflow Management. Additionally, promising pedagogical strategies include PI1 – Kinesthetic Exercises and Tools, PI2 – Physical Interaction for Body Awareness, PI3 – Oral Explain Body Mechanics, along with two technological interventions: TI1 – Visualization Techniques and TI2 – Tactile Feedback Devices.

Conclusions: Proposed solutions, such as inner body movement visualization and multi-sensory bio-signal tactile tools like wearable haptic devices, show potential to transform breathing training and may also benefit clinical voice therapy for conditions like dyspnea, COPD, and long COVID.