With this breathing timer, imagine a bellows in action as you develop your breath support using soft sounds and graphics to guide you along.
With a click of the mouse, you can get it going, or if you’re on a computer, adjust quick with the keys on your keyboard. Simply pick a preset or create a new one to follow the pace of your chosen rehearsal.
How to Use the Breathing Timer
In the main bellows animation, we see how air is moving in and out. The ribbon above it indicate which phase is active. Tapping a phase in the ribbon play the visual and audio cue for that phase. On the right side of the screen, the phrase ladder keep track of where you are in the rounds. Tapping a rung in the ladder begin the timer at that round.
Load a preset rhythm using the Singer shape dropdown, which include options like Phrase builder, Legato line, Backstage settle and Gentle onset. The presets will automatically configure the cue style, tempo and beat counts. If you’d prefer to input the beats yourself, select Custom breath map. Use the sliders for Inhale, Hold, Exhale and Recovery to alter how long each phase lasts. Adjust the tempo slider under Breath to synchronize with your workout pace. The lower it is set, the slower it will breathe and provide extra time to inhale (longer seconds per beat). Adjust the Cycle rounds slider to repeat the pattern number of times desired.
Activate the Phrase growth box to have the exhale lengthen incrementally by one beat over each cycle (building stamina slow). Choose the growth step slider to increase by half a beat or one beat per round.
Select one of the following Cue voices from the dropdown menu: Soft pitch chime. Each phase use a different tone. Breathy guide (Each phase is softly voiced). Warm wood pulse… Each phase has a mellow tone. Visual ribbon, Mutes the audio completely. Use the Cue level slider to control the volume of the audio cues. Leave it low enough that it doesn’t distract you from focusing on your task.
Stop Q. Press P to pause or continue the cycle. Follow these steps to preview phases 1-4. Restart from the beginning at B. Press L to toggle Phrase Growth on or off. Use the arrow keys to move up or down ladder rungs. Use the arrow keys to move between phases.
To try the progressive exhale, use the Phrase builder preset. As each breath lasts longer, watch the ladder fill up. Before performing, try the Backstage preset with its slow tempo and short phrases design to relax tension in the body. Relax the shoulders and keep the inhale easy. If you feel uncomfortabley or dizzy, stop.
Alternatively, you might want to practice long phrase and not sing at all. Simply watch the bellows compress as you imagine the lyric. Pay attention to even breath support throughout the phrase as the visual cues will guide your air flow.
The keyboard shortcuts allows for quick setting changes while practicing. To view without distraction, click Fullscreen. To see how it works, click How to play for a more complete description of controls.
Try playing at various tempos until you feel comfortable. Use the cue style that suits you best, sound or no sound. Breathe easy and take your time. You should of tried different than the defaults.