Monday, July 13, 2009

Just Where IS that Diaphragm?

There seems to be a lot of misconception about the diaphragm: it's location and it's role in singing. So let's begin with a little anatomy lesson...
News flash: the lungs do not cause the air to come into the body and thus make your chest or abdomen expand. It's the action of muscles, which cause the lungs to expand, that brings air into the body. Those muscles are called the diaphragm and the external intercostals. For this post, we'll just address the diaphragm. Learning about the intercostals later will give you something to look forward to!
The diaphragm is a muscle, the second largest in the body (second only to the gluteus maximus muscles. They're not called maximus for nothin')! It is shaped like a dome with two small humps.