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Breathing Exercises and Songs

A collection of breathing exercises and songs that you can participate in at home. These exercises and songs have all been selected with singing for lung health in mind. Perfect if you can't make it along to your Cheyne Gang group, or if you live too far away to come along to one of our sessions. 

Breathing Exercises

Breathing Exercises

Feel the Fill

Feel the Fill

This is an abdominal breathing exercise to help reduce stress and lower the heart rate and blood pressure.

The Dandelion Clock

This is another abdominal breathing exercise to help you connect to your core and ‘feel the fill’.

The Train

This is another abdominal breathing exercise to help you connect to your core and ‘feel the fill’.

The Counting Exercise

Here is a fun exercise to work on your breath control. We are going to release the breath at the end of each phrase.

SOVT Exercises

Here are some fun sounds to help you locate your breathing muscles. Place your hands on your belly and feel the release of the tummy as you take your next breath.

Puffy Cheeks

Let’s take our breathing into singing. Place your lips gently together, with a little air escaping from the front of your lips and puff out your cheeks like a hamster.

Train

Train - An exercise to extend the out breath inspired by the rhythm of trains

Be the Sea

A simple breathing exercise to practise breathing out to breathe in, encouraging your awareness of tummy muscles engaging as you breathe lower in the body.

Zingamamma

Use the breathing exercise to become aware of your breathing lower in

the body and feel the fill, then use one of the sounds 'z' to

enjoy the resonance of singing "Zingamama" as a voice warm up.

The Breathing Waltz

In this exercise we breathe out to breathe in. We're breathing out on short then longer rhythmical speech sounds, counting in 3s to create a feeling of a waltz (for all you ballroom fans!)

Train

Train - An exercise to extend the out breath inspired by the rhythm of trains

Breathing Exercise

In this exercise we practice breathing out first to create space for a breath in, making each breath equal lengths. We'll notice the tummy muscles engage as we breath lower in the body.

Songs

Songs

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
My Bonnie lies over the sea,
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
 
Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me

You Are My Sunshine

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You'll never know, dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

Daisy Daisy

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do
I'm half-crazy all for the love of you
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford the carriage
But you'd look sweet on the seat
Of a bicycle built for two

Mama Don't Allow - Tutorial

Traditional blues style song to work on short and then longer phrases.

Mama Don't Allow - Sing-Along

Mama don't allow no hand clapping 'round here

Mama don't allow no hand clapping 'round here

Well we don't care what mama don't allow

We’re gonna clap our hands now anyhow

Mama don't allow no hand clapping 'round here

Full Lyrics...

Mr Golden Sun

Mr Golden Sun - A fun song by Canadian songwriter Raffi encouraging the sun to put in a much appreciated appearance! Lyrics are:


 

Oh Mr Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Please shine down on me

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Hiding behind that tree

All the people here are asking you to

Please come out so they can bask in you

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Please shine down on me

This Short Song

A variation on our 1-2-1 warm up created by Julie to help you build up the length of phrase you can sing.

 

This

This short song

This short song will help

This short song will help me sing

This short song will help me sing along

This Short Song - Extended

This Short Song Keeps Getting Longer!!

 

Try the extended version - sing a full octave out and back to make a singing phrase of up to 15 words!!

 

This

This short song

This short song will help

This short song will help me sing

This short song will help me sing along

This short song will help me sing a longer phrase

This short song will help me sing a longer phrase and then

This short song will help me sing a longer phrase and then let go

Cuckoo (as I Went Walking) - Tutorial

This is a Medieval English song about hearing a cuckoo when out for a walk on a May morning. I've chosen it because the long phrase supports extension of the outbreath, so it works to sing the song on its own or keep it going for a bit of a challenge.

Cuckoo (as I Went Walking) - Sing-Along

This is an audio file of the song in a round - it has a fun circularity, again a bit of a challenge once all the parts build up, and a good opportunity to sing the full and more challenging longer phrase in the song.

Go Gently and Know

Recorded during a Cheyne Gang session in Innerleithen. 

Kathy has provided us with the lyrics so that we can join in at home.

Kathy teaches us the song, and then the group sing it as a round.

​

Go Gently and Know

by Rhona Murray

 

Go gently and know

I’m travelling with you

And when the road seems too long

Or troubled with care

I’ll give you my hand

To steady your journey

Go gently and know

I’ll always be there.

Innerleithen Group - 28/09/21 - Warm Up & Song

Kathy teaches the Innerleithen group a new warm-up exercise and song, and you can join in at home!

Vocal Warm-Ups

Vocal Warm-Ups

Vocal Warm-Up (Fiona)

A simple vocal warm up that can be used to practice our Cheyne Gang singing for breathing technique.

Voice Warm-Up

A great voice warm up for moving up and down gently through your pitch range on the 'ng' sound.

Relaxation

Relaxation

Face, Head and Neck Relaxation

A gentle face head and neck relaxation audio with physical demonstration.

Mindful Relaxation

Mindful Relaxation: for improved postural alignment, noticing and following breath , gentle stretches to reduce tension in the upper body, and experiencing stillness and calm in the present moment.

Rhythmic

Rhythmic, Physical Warm Up, and Brain Gym Exercises

Seedlings in the Sun

Seedlings open to the morning sun - A short physical warm-up encouraging tension and release inspired by Caro’s pepper seedlings!

Rhythmic Exercise with Fiona

A rhythmic physical and brain gym exercise, that you can sing along with too.

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