What is Appoggio Breathing?

Appoggio is a form of breath support and stems from the verb 'appoggiare' meaning 'to lean on' or 'to support'.

This breathing technique stems from Bel Canto technique and has known since the 18th Century. The goal with appoggio breathing is to allow your ribs and abdominal muscles to stay expanded for as long as they naturally can. It involves slowing down the ascent of the diaphragm, resulting in elogation of the breath cycle during singing (exhalation). A lot of the time singers will release too much air across their cords and at times collapse their rib cage, upper/lower abdominals and solar plexus as a result of that loss of air.

Appoggio breathing ensures you maintain proper support and breath management by:

1. Raising the sternum before inhalation

2. breathing into your belly and rib cage with a conscious effort to your external obliques and transverse abdominus

3. Avoid any form of recoil from chest or rib cage

4. During singing, maintain lower rib cage expansion and support from lower abdominals

Mastering appoggio breathing provides the vocalist with a longer, more reliable air supply, greater stability, improved agility, greater clarity, accuracy and speed and overal better breath management when applying dynamics.