Tip of the Month
Breathing...in the middle of a line
Sometimes (usually when we really wish we didn't have to), singers need to breathe at a location in a line where there is no punctuation, which is the normal place to catch a breath. How should we do this so that we don't sound as if we are breaking the thought and that our breath is deliberate, perhaps for dramatic emphasis?
The answer is quite simple: instead of doing what choir directors always ask, i.e. come back in at the same volume that you left, a soloist should actually emphasize the word that he or she comes back in on. Plan the location carefully, so that it would make sense to the listener, perhaps just before an important word, or a prepositional phrase.
Examples: "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby." "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why can't I?" On each of these italicized words, even though there is no comma or period, catching a breath and coming back in more strongly will seem to be a dramatic choice, rather than a desperate gasp!