Phrasing

Hi Ms Camille

In the lesson about breath, Mr Jonathan told me that I should separate my phrases into 2 bars/ 4 bars/ 6 bars...

However, I remember you telling me in the lesson about singing with emotion that I should organise the notes into phrases "whenever it feels right." For example, I should take a breath when I see a punctuation mark (, or .)

So I would like to ask whether I should do phrases systematically (I should breathe after a certain number of bars) or just take a breath when I feel like it.

Thank you

Hi, Kang! For solo singing, I encourage you to breathe where there's a pause or a break in the thought or musical line. A good rule of thumb is: if the text, written out, would have any kind of punctuation (like a comma, period, etc), that's an opportunity to breathe (as long as you're not interrupting the musical line). Breathing every certain # of bars is totally fine (and sometimes choral music is broken up like that), but with solo singing you can be a bit more free!

I see 

Thank you!

You're welcome, Kang!