Gern, Alice will undoubtedly come through with the comprehensive information, but in the meantime -- it's a matter of breathing properly. When you inhale, try to feel like you're filling yourself with air, all the way down through your abdomen (but stay comfortable, don't take in too much air). Then, as you're singing, if you get a little tickle in your throat (about to cough) or you feel like you're clenching with your throat, or if anything else seems to be going wrong, ignore what your throat feels like and concentrate on good "breath support," i.e., tighten you abdominal muscles. It's kind of a matter of mental focus. Try to visualize the tone you are producing as riding or balancing on top of the column of air coming from below. But -- it doesn't take much air to produce a big sound.

Sounds weird, maybe, but that's pretty much the way my voice teachers have explained it, and in a TV interview, Placido Domingo say essentially the same thing. If you're breathing correctly and if you're voice is as relaxed and open as possible, you should be okay.

Looking forward to reading what Alice says. . . .

Don Firth