o come back into place again, as the air is in turn expelled
from the lungs. By practising deep breathing in this way the actual
capacity of the lungs may be considerably increased, and breathing
exercises have therefore always formed part of the routine imposed
upon the vocal student. A deep breath involves, then, a pushing down
of the diaphragm and a pushing out of the lower ribs, and not merely
an expansion of the upper part of the chest. The singer must form the
habit of breathing in this way at all times. To test breathing, the
singer may place the hands about the waist on the sides of the thorax
(fingers toward the front, thumbs toward the back) and see whether
there is good side expansion of the ribs in inhaling, and whether in
taking breath the abdomen swells out, receding as the air is expelled.
We have always felt that a few minutes spent at each chorus rehearsal
in deep breathing and in vocalizing would more than justify the time
taken from practising music; but such exercises should not be
undertaken unless the conductor understands singing and knows exactly
what their purpose is.

It is important that the conductor should understand the difference
between the use of the singer's _full breath_ which we have been
describing, and his _half breath_. The full breath is taken at
punctuation marks of greater value, at long rests, before long
sustained tones, and, in solo singing, before long trills or cadenzas.
The half breath is usually taken at the lesser punctuation marks and
at short rests, when it is necessary to replenish the supply of air in
as short a time as possible, in order not to interrupt the _legato_
any more than is absolutely necessary.

[Sidenote: BREATH CONTROL]

The next point to be noted is that, having provided as large a supply
of air as possible every particle of it must now be made use of in
producing tone; in the first place, in order that no breath may be
wasted, and in the second place, in order that the purity of the tone
may not be marred by non-vocalized escaping breath. This implies
absolute breath control, and the skilful singer is able to render
incredibly long phrases in one breath, not so much because his lungs
have more capacity, but because every atom of breath actually
functions in producing vocal tone. And because of the fact that no
breath escapes without setting the cords in vibration, the tone is
clear, and not "breathy." The secret of expressive singing in
sustained