#1 Whenever I do sit-ups I sing better and push deep in my core like Ms. Sabine says, but I was told recently to NEVER push and let the stomach plop out and slowly go in on its own. I've noticed larger singers like Aretha maybe don't have abs and she's still powerful, so...what's the deal?

#2 Jaime says to press the lips together while doing the lip rolls, I was told to just let them flap. I did discover that Jaime's way made my lip rolls less breathy. I don't press extremely hard...cause I know that causes tension. So when Jaime said "pres" did he mean firmly?

BTW if any of you have Singing Success you'll notice the difference between Jaime's and Brett's lip rolls. Jaime's are very clean and crisp. Brett's a lil more loose.

1. Just because someone looks flabby doesn't mean they're not incredibly strong. I've seen body builders who look EXTREMELY overweight while they're "bulking" (i.e. trying to build muscle mass, so they eat a ton and it packs on extra fat too, hiding a lot of their muscles). But the minute they trim down you can see they're in fantastic shape.

To answer the actual question, you don't really need as much pressure as the book push thing makes you give unless you're really wailing away on the top notes. I've heard operatic tenors describe the same pushing sensation for their top notes as rock teachers suggest (i.e. like Jaime's power push or Sabine's idea of pushing the book in).

Personally when I'm hitting my high notes I feel more like I'm really firmly connected to the ground and there's a sort of 'pressurized' feeling in my stomach like a rocket lifting away from a launch pad. So I guess it is a push :). But I never push excessively since that turns it more into a grunt, and you want to avoid the 'grunt' sensation.

2. Sounds like you're doing it fine. In my opinion, there really isn't a wrong way to do lip bubbles ;). So long as it's maintaining its function of helping free the voice up, I don't think it matters if it's loose or tightly pressed. Do which ever works the best for you.

If you're trying to do it exactly like Jaime suggest, though, then you do need just that tiny, gentle 'press' like you described.

Personally I do it both ways, depending on what I feel like doing :).

For high notes I don't feel like i'm changing my breathing pressure at all. I DO however put my hand on my head and that helps me get those higher ones easier.

#1 You have to push downward a little for the power push. The point is to keep your ribs expanded and to prevent your diaphram from decreasing too fast. You should use your back and front abdominals to hhelp you support the voice. Push-ups and squats are good exercises to strenghten your abdominals all around. Make sure to control your breathing during exercising; breath out only during the physical effort part of the exercise.

#2 Don't press your lips too hard or they won't be able to vibrate! I don't think it has anything to do with the breathiness...