A CLOSER LOOK:
Support

The word support (Stütze in German) contains only half the meaning of the Italian word appoggio of which it is a translation. Appoggio means both supporting and leaning. In the context of singing, it conveys the idea that the breath leans on the diaphragm.

"Support" is widely held to be absolutely essential to an effective technique of singing, but there is an extraordinary amount of disagreement about what it actually is. In general, it is conceived of as the deliberate bracing of various muscles: intercostal, abdominal, etc.

In the approach developed by Lajos Szamosi, on the other hand, "support" is understood to be the unhindered vitality of the primary breathing muscle -- the diaphragm itself. If the diaphragm is free to move, it is capable of an infinite variety of musical inflections, from the most delicate subtlety to the greatest intensity and power. The concept of "support" as the holding or tensing of other muscles in the body actually impedes this very thing by creating wrong tension. If singers give up "supporting", they can begin to experience an entirely different quality of breathing and of singing. True support, true appoggio, is a much deeper, more alive and more effective interaction between the diaphragm and the vocal cords.