Breath Is the Foundation: How It Shapes Music in May 2025 and Beyond

Breath is the first sound we ever make. It carries every spoken word, every sung melody, and every lyric that lingers in the air. Whether you are vocalizing a phrase, shaping a melody, playing piano to support your song, or producing a track in a digital audio workstation (DAW), breath brings music to life.

Yet breath is often overlooked or misunderstood—especially by those just beginning their musical journey. Some singers struggle with breath control due to anxiety or sensory sensitivities. Some songwriters feel frustrated when their lyrics sound rushed or unnatural. Even students exploring piano or production may miss how breath should guide phrasing, pacing, and musical emotion.

At Once Upon a Voice, we approach music through a trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming lens. That means honoring how breath feels in your body, not forcing it to fit a rigid standard. Whether you are singing, writing, playing, or shaping a song behind the scenes, we want your breath to feel like a partner—not a problem.

In May 2025, we devoted our practice plan, asynchronous course, and live instruction to the theme of breath—and the many ways it shapes music from the inside out. Whether you are participating in real time or discovering this content later, these materials remain available year-round to support your creative journey.

Voice – Breath as the Foundation of Sound

If you have ever felt short of breath while singing—or unsure of how much breath is “enough”—you are not alone. Breath affects everything about vocal sound: how long you can sustain a note, how easily your voice flows, and how expressive or strained you feel while performing.

In the Voice section of this month’s instruction, we explore how breath works with your voice—not just mechanically, but musically. You will learn how airflow connects to vocal onset, phrasing, and release, and how to observe patterns shaped by your nervous system or sensory experience.

You will also be introduced to daily singing technique exercises designed to build muscle memory gently over time. These exercises are flexible—offering variations for light breathers, breathy voices, or students who prefer shorter phrasing due to physical or sensory needs.

Whether you are a seasoned singer or just finding your voice, you will learn to stop fighting your breath—and start using it to support your sound.

Songwriting – Letting Lyrics Breathe

Whether your lyrics are meant to be sung, rapped, spoken, or something in between, breath plays a vital role in how they flow. If your words feel rushed, crowded, or difficult to deliver, the issue may not be the writing—it may be how the phrasing aligns with natural breath patterns.

In the Songwriting section, you will explore how breath shapes both the structure and emotional pacing of your lyrics. You will learn to map out where you—or another performer—might naturally pause, inhale, or emphasize a word, long before melody or production enters the picture.

You will also experiment with techniques that match your phrasing to speech rhythms, whether you are writing a sung chorus, a conversational verse, or a tightly packed rap. These tools help your lyrics feel more grounded and intentional, even when the delivery is fast, fluid, or unpredictable.

In live instruction, students are invited to bring their own lyrics for guided feedback on spacing, pacing, and breath-aware storytelling.

Effective songwriting does not rely on breath for singing alone—it uses breath to speak, to emphasize, and to connect.

Piano – Supporting the Breath of the Song

At Once Upon a Voice, we do not teach piano as a standalone discipline. Instead, we help singers and songwriters use the piano to support their storytelling. In May, we extended this approach by focusing on how piano can work in partnership with breath.

In the Piano section, you will explore:

• How to build intros and transitions that create space to breathe

• How to pace chord changes to support natural phrasing

• How to use rests, space, and gentle rhythmic patterns to reflect the emotional arc of a breath

You will also experiment with simple left- and right-hand patterns that invite you to breathe with the music—not just count it. These skills are especially valuable for students who are learning to accompany themselves or who want to structure their compositions more clearly before recording or collaborating.

Producing – Shaping Breath into the Sound

In production, breath is not just a sound—it is a shaping force. A well-placed breath can bring vulnerability, power, or urgency to a recording. In a digital environment where layers can quickly become overwhelming, learning when to breathe is what allows a mix to move listeners instead of exhausting them.

In the Producing section, you will explore how to:

• Build breath-friendly phrasing into tempo, arrangement, and vocal timing

• Use subtle effects to guide how breath enters and exits a phrase

• Make thoughtful choices about when to keep, edit, or enhance breath in a track

We will also guide you through creating breath-informed reference tracks and early demos in BandLab, our collaborative DAW, helping you retain emotional nuance even at the earliest stages of production.

For many students, this is the first time breath becomes something they can record, refine, and shape—not just something they use while singing.

Ready to Begin? Start Anytime.

Our breath-centered instruction debuted in May 2025, but it is available year-round. Whether you are starting today, next month, or years from now, the breath-based tools we created are here whenever you are ready to explore them.

Depending on your age and enrollment tier, you may gain access to:

• A practice plan with breathing-focused exercises across Voice, Songwriting, Piano, and Producing

• A self-paced course divided into the same four sections

• Live lessons, weekly workshops, and monthly masterclasses open to singers and songwriters ages 6–19

• Asynchronous coaching sessions for adults, available to anyone 20 years or older—just book when you are ready for feedback on a cover song or original work

• The Singer-Songwriter Storybook Series, included in the free tier for adults and all paid tiers, offering a guided introduction to our Voice, Songwriting, Piano, and Producing framework for new and returning artists

Families exploring services for students ages 0–19 are welcome to book a trial lesson or workshop before committing to enrollment. We want you to feel confident that our studio is the right fit.

All instruction is grounded in trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming pedagogy. We welcome students of all communication styles, learning profiles, and musical paths. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.

You do not need to rush to catch up. Just take a breath, and begin from where you are.

Let us make every breath count.