Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav
Basket
Sign In

Scottish Opera Main Menu

  • Home
  • What’s on
    • What’s on overview
    • Opera on screen
    • Season 2022-23 brochure
  • About Us
    • About Us overview
    • About Scottish Opera
    • The Orchestra of Scottish Opera
    • Emerging Artists
    • The Board of Scottish Opera
    • Staff
    • Annual Reports
  • Support Us
    • How you can support Scottish Opera
    • Memberships
    • Corporates
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Supporter Events
  • Join in
    • How to get involved
    • CANDIDE COMMUNITY CHORUS
    • Community Choir
    • Scottish Opera Young Company
    • Memory Spinners
    • Opera for Schools
    • Fox-tot online
    • Breath Cycle
    • Sweet Sounds in Wild Places
  • Discover
    • All about Opera
    • FAQs
    • UNDER 26s
    • A to Z of Opera
    • History of Opera
    • Spotlight On...
  • Access
    • Access overview
    • Audio Description
    • RELAXED PERFORMANCES
    • Venue Information
  • News
  • Contact Us

Scottish Opera Utility Menu

    • Facebook page link
    • Instagram pictures link
    • Twitter feed link
    • Spotify playlist link
    • Youtube videos link
  • Vacancies
  • Press
  • For Hire
  • Sign up for news
Make a donation to Scottish Opera
×Close

Help us carry on singing...

Find out how you can get involved by becoming a Supporter of Scottish Opera, or continue to make a one-off contribution below.

Your support will help us to continue to create extraordinary opera in these extraordinary times. Thank you.

£
Thank you for your donation
Something went wrong, please contact the box office.
  • Breath Cycle on-page menu

    • Breath Cycle on-page menu

    • About Breath Cycle workshops
    • The Covid Composers Songbook
    • Register your interest now
    • Exercises On Demand
    • Vocal exercises
    • Vocal exercises - Audio
    • Video lessons
    • Video lessons - Gallery
    • Useful links
    • Breath Cycle signposts

Breath Cycle

Sing your way to better health

About Breath Cycle workshops

COVID-19 has affected us all in different ways. But if, like many, it has impacted your long-term physical health, we want to help.

Building on a ground breaking project we first developed in 2013, this new online project, developed with support from key NHS consultants, is designed to benefit those suffering from a range of conditions affecting lung health – in particular Long Covid.

According to the Covid Symptom Study App, the condition often described as Long Covid (or Acute Covid) affects up to 1 in 20 people who suffer symptoms for longer than 4 weeks. These persisting symptoms can include a cough, breathlessness and extreme fatigue, issues with memory & concentration (sometimes referred to as brain fog), sleeplessness, joint pain, depression and anxiety.

During a series of relaxed weekly singing sessions, our team of musicians will introduce you to fun, stimulating vocal exercises and breathing techniques, as well as teaching a range of songs chosen to help strengthen your core muscles, develop breath control and improve posture.

Singing is the perfect workout for your heart, lungs - and even your brain! According to the British Lung Foundation, regular singing can have similar benefits to physiotherapy by:

  • Teaching you to breathe more slowly and deeply
  • Improving your sense of control over your breathing - which in turn reduces anxiety and potential feelings of panic
  • Improving posture to help you breathe more efficiently.

Not only that, but joining a group like this can also introduce you to a network of likeminded people facing similar challenges – all in one enjoyable, sociable and rewarding experience!

The Covid Composers Songbook

Always fancied yourself as a songwriter but don’t know where to start? Want your Covid experience to leave a positive legacy? In addition to our singing sessions, you can sign up for our new online song writing workshops led by composer Gareth Williams and performance poet Martin O’Connor. Whatever your musical or lyrical style, they will introduce the tools and methods that you need to get it out of your head, and down on paper. Who knows, maybe you’ll write a masterpiece! 

The songs that come out of these workshops, alongside those created by Gareth and Martin themselves, will be arranged and recorded by Scottish Opera to create a free digital resource for individuals, choirs and singing groups worldwide – The Covid Composers Songbook – as a positive musical legacy of the past 18 months.

Listen to some examples of the songs to come out of the sessions so far below: 

"Sharon’s Song"
Written by Sharon Miller, with Gareth Williams and Martin O’Connor. Performed here by Gareth Williams.

"This song was born after an exercise where we looked at our immediate surroundings. We had been in our own homes for a long time, and so I wanted to capture the essence and details of everyone’s world. Sharon mentioned a sign that a friend gave her that she kept above her sink and would read it while doing the dishes. But of course, small domestic chores can become mountains to scale when you are feeling unwell. Sharon spoke very openly about her own situation, and we used the metaphor of the dishes to tap into universal themes." – Martin O'Connor

"Keep It Up"
Written by Crawford Flint and Wendy Muzlanova, with Gareth Williams and Martin O’Connor. Performed here by Gareth Williams.

"This song emerged from an activity based on time. We looked at small periods of time such as a day or a week, then looked at larger periods – a year, a decade, or even youth into adulthood. We loved this repetitive mantra that Crawford created, and we paired it up with Wendy’s lines about pain. This is a good example of using different pieces of material to make a unique piece." – Martin O'Connor

"I Remember"
Written by Sharon Miller, Wendy Muzlanova, Linda Smith and Amanda, with Gareth Williams and Martin O’Connor. Performed here by Gareth Williams.

"This is another group piece, that is made up of a verse from each writer. We were looking at memories, and used 'A Coral Room' by Kate Bush as our inspiration. In the song, she sings about the room being trapped in time, with objects and people that spark her memories. We used a starting line of 'I Remember' and took it form there..." — Martin O'Connor

Register your interest now

Weekly singing sessions:
Wednesdays, 12.30-1.30pm

Song writing sessions:
Thursdays, 10.30-11.30am

These free sessions take place online on Zoom, and are limited to 50 participants.

 

Supported by Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, W M Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels

The current sessions started on 26 January, and will be repeated in April 2022.

Please note that the block of sessions starting in January 2022 is now full. If you would like to register your interest for the April sessions, please email Lisa Givens, Senior Producer, on lisa.givens@scottishopera.org.uk.

Register interest

Exercises On Demand

The following audio and video exercises were originally created in 2013 to help patients with cystic fibrosis, but they can be used by anyone who has breathing difficulties – particularly those suffering from the effects of COVID-19 – or just to give your mental health a boost. Simply follow the instructions below.

You can find out more about the original project on the Breath Cycle website.

The exercises consist of:

  • Audio vocal exercises – to work your voice in a gentle way and improve musical ability, pitching and tuning

  • Video lessons – to take you through the basics of some classical singing and breathing techniques

You can do the exercises as often or as little as you like – but the more often you can do them, the more benefits you will experience. You don't need any equipment and you can do them wherever you are. The exercises can also be practised alongside any physiotherapy you may be doing.

Vocal exercises

These vocal exercises work your entire vocal range in a gentle way, as well as improving your musical ability, pitching and tuning. Simply listen and repeat. The exercises become more challenging as you move through them, so make sure you take your time on each one. 

All exercises written by Gareth Williams.

Exercise 1
This exercise works on holding a single note in one breath. Take a deep breath in and repeat the note you hear from the vocal coach, holding for four beats.

Play Exercise 1

Exercise 2
You will sing two different notes in this exercise sliding from one note to another. You should sing in one breath and feel the two notes are connected as you slide up or down.

Play exercise 2

Exercise 3
This exercise is great for working on energy and increasing the volume as you sing a repeated note on a 'la' sound. Make sure you keep the tongue relaxed during these exercises.

Play exercise 3

 

Exercise 4
You will be singing three different notes in each phrase. Each sequence is different, so listen and repeat carefully. Try to sing each phrase in one breath.

Play exercise 4

Exercise 5
This exercise is a bit trickier than previous exercises, so take your time when listening to each new sequence. It will improve your tuning and singing at the correct pitch. Try to keep each scale as smooth as possible and breathe when you feel you need to.

 Play exercise 5

Exercise 6
An introduction into learning a new song and singing in harmony. Always repeat the main vocal coach phrases you hear. Once you're used to this song, you could try singing the higher harmony.

Play exercise 6

Video lessons

These videos take you through the basics of some classical singing techniques. You will work on different aspects, from posture and breathing through to singing songs. 

Presented by Vocal Instructor Marie Claire Breen.

01. Introduction and posture

02. Breathing

03. Voice and breath

04. Vocal exercises

05. Singing songs

Useful links

Breath Cycle
The Breath Cycle project originally ran in 2013. Scottish Opera and Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service worked together to explore whether learning classical singing techniques, including breath control, can improve the wellbeing of cystic fibrosis patients. Due to the high risk of infection for those with cystic fibrosis, the project also explored how patients might interact safely with each other, using the internet as a means of meeting, learning and building new communities. For more information on the project, please visit the Breath Cycle website.

Your COVID Recovery (NHS)
If you are recovering from COVID-19 – or someone close to you is – you can find lots of useful information and resources on the NHS Your COVID Recovery website.

British Lung Foundation
A UK charity that researches lung conditions and provides guidance and support for those affected by lung conditions and breathing difficulties. Find out more on the British Lung Foundation website.

Read more about Community Choir
community-choir-2015-signpost.jpg

Community Choir

Our Community Choir meets weekly via Zoom, singing a mix of opera, classical, popular, folk and world music. Come and give it a go!

Read more about Opera On Screen
filming-of-the-telephone-signpost.jpg

Opera On Screen

Browse our growing collection of Scottish Opera films, including brand new commissions from contemporary music makers, re-workings of much-loved favourites and staged concert performances. 

Read more about About Scottish Opera
about-us-signpost.jpg

About Scottish Opera

Scottish Opera was founded by Alexander Gibson in 1962 and inaugurated with a production of Madama Butterfly at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow.

  • About Us

  • About Scottish Opera
  • The Orchestra of Scottish Opera
  • Emerging Artists
  • The Board of Scottish Opera
  • Staff
  • Venue Information
  • Annual Reports
  • Support Us

  • Memberships
  • Corporates
  • Trusts & Foundations
  • Supporter Events
  • Join In

  • Candide Community Chorus
  • Community Choir
  • Scottish Opera Young Company
  • Memory Spinners
  • Opera for Schools
  • Breath Cycle
  • Sweet Sounds in Wild Places
  • Discover Opera

  • Audio Description
  • FAQs
  • Under 26 Tickets
  • A to Z of Opera
  • History of Opera
  • Spotlight On...
  • Information

  • Privacy Statement
  • Sitemap
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Settings
  • Under 26 cheap tickets
  • The Scottish Government
Scottish Opera 39 Elmbank Crescent Glasgow, G2 4PT

Tel: 0141 248 4567

Company Registration Number SC037531.  A charity registered in Scotland Number SC019787.

© 2022 Scottish Opera.