[Perform-Talk] Questionable singing advice opinion needed

Thu Jan 1 20:11:23 UTC 2026

This teacher primarily teaches virtually, but she told me that if i ever wanted at intensive in person lesson, she would do it, but I would have to pay extra to cover her gas to get me me which seems to be a standard procedure, so I am okay with that. The other studio I was looking at offers online, in person at their studio, and in home lessons. their in home lessons seem to only cover a certain area around the studio which I live outside of, so i may not qualify for in home, but I did ask anyway since the owner seems really open to accommodating all types of students; we'll see what he says.
Sent from Kelsey Nicolay’s iPhone 

> On Jan 1, 2026, at 2:49 PM, Chris Nusbaum via Perform-Talk <perform-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Kelsey:
> 
> The fact that your lessons are virtual may influence the way the teacher approaches this concept in the sense that he/she can't do the physical demonstration I described in my earlier message. For that reason, among others, I've always been a proponent of in-person lessons wherever possible. However, Covid has certainly shown us that virtual music lessons (both vocal and instrumental) can be done, and there are many teachers who do it well, including several current and former leaders of our organization. So I would be interested in hearing how other virtual teachers approach the concept of breath support and whether they also assign crunches as practice. In the meantime, you can certainly try it, and use the video Daryl linked to as a resource.
> Chris Nusbaum
> 
>> On Jan 1, 2026, at 12:30 PM, Kelsey Nicolay via Perform-Talk <perform-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello,
>> My lesson" actually a virtual lesson ′the teacher does teach in person, but it would cost way more since they would travel to me instead of me going to their home studio′, so not sure if this changes anything. Virtual lessons seem to be the new norm at least in my area due to convenience.
>> Sent from Kelsey Nicolay’s iPhone
>> 
>>>> On Jan 1, 2026, at 12:05 PM, Chela Robles via Perform-Talk <perform-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I’m with Chris on this one actually my trumpet instructor couldn’t teach me how to feel the difference between my diaphragm so it took a guitarist whose a vocalist and a pianist that I knew to help me understand what he did was he placed some books on top of my Diaphragm area and he had me taken deep breaths through my mouth and his like a snake in a Notes and it worked like a charm while lying down on the ground. And I did this until the books were level on my stomach, so nothing felt like a balloon at the end and then when I went to do the deep breathing again, I would take a deep breath for my mouth and do it all over again. I honestly would do it for like five minutes until I got it right and then I increased that to 10 minutes day after all these years I still find myself doing this exercise so that way I can become better at playing the trumpet and last longer with my phrasing. This two should work with your singing.
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Chela Robles — Certified Literary Braille Transcriber
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>>> On Jan 1, 2026, at 8:36 AM, Chris Nusbaum via Perform-Talk <perform-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi Kelsey:
>>> 
>>> Good question. I too haven't heard advice like this from a voice teacher, and I'm a bit surprised that a voice teacher would assign physical exercise of the kind you describe. That said, like any other subject, each teacher has a different approach to teaching certain concepts, particularly one as detailed as breath support.
>>> 
>>> As you likely know, the part of your body that is primarily used to support your breath while singing is your diaphragm, which is a muscle in the middle of your abdomen. For the best breath support, you're looking to breathe deeply from your diaphragm, with your shoulders down, without your chest raising. As far as I can tell, this doesn't have to do with the strength of the muscle; it has more to do with where the breath comes from. My first teacher had me lay on the floor in her studio, which forced me to breathe from my diaphragm, then put my hands on my diaphragm to feel how the muscle raises and lowers. As we went on, she laid on the floor with me and had me feel her diaphragm so I had an example to follow. Perhaps you could try this, either in or out of the session with your voice teacher. Remember too that no singer always gets it right every time—I still catch myself "chest breathing" when I'm in the higher end of my register, even after over 10 years of training.
>>> 
>>> Hope this helps. Please let us know how it's going.
>>> Chris Nusbaum
>>> 
>>>>> On Jan 1, 2026, at 10:51 AM, Kelsey Nicolay via Perform-Talk <perform-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hello,
>>>> i booked a lesson with a teacher a couple weeks ago who has been teaching in schools for a while but is relatively new to my area. She seemed nice, but I'm not quite sure I trust her advice and was curious what you all think. i struggle with breathing and have for a while, so she proceeded to tell me that the reason I am having trouble getting a deep inhale without raising the shoulders is because of wak abdominal muscles and advised me to do crunches every day for a week and I would notice a difference. I have never been told by any previous teacher to do crunches; she actually had me get down on the floor during the lesion and do some so I could feel proper engagement. i could be wrong, but it is my understanding that you don't use the abdominal muscles to inhale, only to supportthe realease of air when singing. I have another lesson with her on Monday, but I'm considering canceling it since I am not sure her advice is correct. For those of you who have more experience with this than I do, what are your thoughts? Have I been given incorrect advice and should not continue with the lessons or is this accurate technique? luckily the teacher allows booking one lesson at a time, so I can terminate at any time without losing anything. I chose this teacher because she specializes in contemporary genres which is what I'm interested in, but her advice on breathing has me a little concerned about the validity of her training.
>>>> Sent from Kelsey Nicolay’s iPhone
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