Running out of breath

justinb1122

So I’m a worship leader who’s also going through the KTVA course and really trying to implement the techniques and things presented therewith. Before I started the course, I had already developed a great range (roughly G2-Bb5) and was able to connect it in one powerful note. My current technique would get me through a week of worship sounding pretty good, but I’d ALWAYS be vocally fatigued afterwards, losing 2-3 notes on my low range and having a breathy onset to my falsetto. Week after week, I’m in this limbo where I desperately want to implement the new techniques I’m learning, but since I haven’t mastered them yet, it’s hard to put them into song, and so I have to revert back to my old ways to get through the week. Recently, I stepped out and decided that I may have to have a few crappy weeks to eventually get where I wanna be. The main element I was missing, I believe, was glottal compression. When I’m practicing by myself, things feel and sound awesome when doing this and it eliminates much of the fatigue I was experiencing. However, when I step on stage, I tend to run out of breath very quickly and find myself panting after each phrase after about half a song when implementing glottal compression. Btw, I don’t mean grit or distortion, but simply holding back the air at the glottis to let resonance carry me. I’m not sure why this happens, but I hope someone can shed some light on this for me!

Wigs

Do you practice the songs on your own without any issues or just your exercises? Sounds like its the fact you are on stage that stops you from properly controlling your breath and the excitement is getting to you, if that isn't it then you might not be actually properly controlling your breath at all if you are left panting. If you are early in the course then glottal compression might need to take a back seat until you are properly applying the fundamentals, aim for ping first, go through volume 1 and 2 then start to apply compression. Trying to compress without proper open throat could also mean you are squeezing your throat thinking that is correct and then having to pass more air though to achieve sound so you get out of breath. Post some scales in the student area, we can have a listen then.