Patterns of breath support in projection of the singing voice

Recordings of the rib cage and abdominal motions and acoustic output were obtained from five professional opera singers during performance of an aria recorded with two levels of voice projection. The condition of greater projection resulted in a significant increase in the acoustic power in the frequency band 2–4 kHz, relative to the power in the 0–2 kHz band, and a decrease in the mean expiratory flow, implying a move to more efficient vocalization with the greater projection. Also, the condition of greater projection resulted in a larger rib cage, particularly in the lateral dimension, but only a small decrease in the abdominal lateral dimension, suggesting that the greater abdominal support required for a larger projection is obtained by increased activation of abdominal muscles acting medially.