What has singing got to do with Swimming lessons?
Once again Posture, Breathing and Rhythm!
Posture
When a person learns how to sing one of the things they must master is the posture otherwise they cannot use their diaphragm correctly. As any professional knows, the voice ‘sits’ on the diaphragm giving the singer the control of the voice.
A person who knows anything about singing will NEVER use the throat to push the notes out, this is achieved by using the diaphragm. Hence the need for good singing posture.
The singing posture is slightly different from swimming posture because knees are very slightly relaxed, whereas in the glide position knees need to be locked to get a very straight leg, but nevertheless whilst learning how to sing, one must also concentrate on more than the voice.
How they portray the song by moving their hands and the expression on the face is also needed. With more than one thing to remember, getting it right and being able to concentrate on three or more things at a time is the same as learning how to swim.
In fact I could also use the analogy: learning how to drive.
Breathing and Rhythm
Understanding how to breathe properly whilst singing is also a very big must. Although, when the singer is nervous breathing correctly sometimes goes to pot, this is not what I am talking about.
Understanding the rhythm of the song, how much breath to take in, whether large or small is crucial to giving a good rendering of a song.
I have heard many a singer take in a huge breath whilst delivering a beautiful song, causing me to wince, the result: the whole effect is destroyed. Learning how to breathe quietly and understanding how much breath is needed is an art.
When taking swimming lessons understanding the breathing technique is so important otherwise a person can easily hyperventilate.
What I mean by this is, when swimming and not using a lot of energy, people tend to take in gulps of air and so when they go into the recovery expelling the air, there is never enough time to get rid of it all, therefore the person breathes in more air on top of what they have left in the lungs.
If the swimmer keeps on doing this every time they come up or rotate to the side to breathe they will become seriously out of breath. So a good rhythm is needed.
Learning how to breathe when taking swimming lessons should always be the last thing to concentrate on because the only thing that is different between singing and dancing, your face is in the water when swimming.
Swimming efficiently is all about rhythm (I’m not talking about competitive swimming, short distances.) The long distance swimmer needs rhythm as does the dancer and the singer they all need to understand the breathing, posture and rhythm of their craft.
The results of swimming. dancing and singing? A wonderful feeling of well being that lifts the soul and gets the endorphins released into the body that causes the high of well being. Endorphins can also fight pain,
p.s. once you have got your swimming stroke smooth and you want to get the rhythm right, you can buy a small ticking counter that fits into the swimming cap, this will help your swimming stroke and control of the water.