A Thorough Breathing Routine

A Thorough Breathing Routine

This routine may very well be the MOST important part of your Daily Practice. You don't even need a horn to do it.

Once we've coached our bodies to blow a relaxed, steady FLOW of air through the instrument, albeit at different rates of speed, ALL other aspects of making music become easier and more consistent. Do not take these exercises lightly and do not fail to do them every day. You'll notice a difference in your playing almost immediately.

I must thank my student Eric Dotson for developing this particular regiment. It is an elaboration of a Breathing Routine I have all my students do......and I must say it's a very good one. Thanks, Eric.

First, you'll need to set a metronome to 60. Leave it on through the entire exercise. Stand up. Imagine a cable suspending you by the top of your head. This should put your body in a tall, wide, relaxed position. Once you've learned these exercises, apply them to your music. Breathe in rhythm, always, and never lock the throat. In, then out....no pauses or disruptions to the cycle.

If dizziness sets in at any point (and it probably will), sit down and rest until you feel normal again

PART ONE: Opening Up

For 4 counts, inhale smoothly as you gradually raise your arms above your head, touching your palms together. Then, WITHOUT LOCKING THE THROAT (you may wish to use a 'breathing tube'- 35mm film canister with bottom cut out, inserted partially into the mouth to prevent throat locking):

Hold breath for 4 counts as you gradually lower your arms. Note the big, open feeling in your chest. Remember this 'puffed up' chest feeling and mimic it when you play. I like to imagine a resonating cavity behind my breastplate about the size of a basketball.

Exhale evenly for 4 beats. Rest for 4 beats.

Then, inhale for 6 beats as you raise the arms.

Hold Breath for 6 beats as you gently lower the arms, exhale for 6 beats, rest for 6 beats.

Inhale for 8 beats, hold for 8, exhale for 8, rest.

PART TWO: Paper Airplane

Use your incredibly vivid imagination and make a paper airplane.

For 4 beats, 'wind up' to throw the airplane, and for 4 beats, let it fly with a beautifully steady tailwind. Watch it soar out of sight.

IMPORTANT: You must evenly pace your inhale and exhale over the course of 4 beats. Don't be full before 4 beats, nor empty before 4 beats. At the 'top' of the cycle, do NOT stop the air and do NOT lock the throat. Gently let the airflow reverse direction. Air's always moving, in or out. Always. Also, do NOT cram more into your lungs than is comfortable. Do NOT try to get that last 5% to fit. This will be air under great pressure and will come out as such. This doesn't lend itself to making a good, easy, full sound. I call this 'over-breathing' and it's what causes many players to suffer in the high range and at louder dynamics. They have the mistaken idea that they need more air PRESSURE up high, so they take HUGE inhales and blow really hard. They don't understand that as far as volume of air is concerned, you need almost NONE up high. You need a small quantity of air flowing very quickly and very freely. They may very well feel like they're blowing as hard as they can, when in actuality almost no air is flowing past the lips. If they'd pull the mouthpiece away, they'd immediately see that this is indeed the case. And when it's time to play loud, they cram air in and wonder why it doesn't flow freely on the exhale.

AIR going IN under pressure will COME OUT under pressure! Conversely, air flowing freely IN will flow freely OUT. Remember that.

By not over-breathing in these exercises, you stand a good chance of correcting this all-too-common problem. Use the natural lung capacity you were blessed with and use it steadily and efficiently. NEVER lock the throat and don't try to cram '20 pounds of stuff into a 4 pound bag'.

Do 4 repetitions of these '4-count paper airplanes'. Feel the cycle of air as a gentle, natural, relaxing sensation.

Then, do 4 repetitions of a '6-count' paper airplane. (6 beats in, 6 beats out)

Then, do 4 repetitions of an '8-count' paper airplane. (8 beats in, 8 beats out)

PART THREE: Bow-n-Arrow

Again, use your wildly creative imagination and assume a posture as if you were going to shoot a bow-n-arrow. A really big bow, in fact. Pick a very specific target somewhere out in space, at least 10 feet from where you stand.

Draw the string back evenly over 4 beats, feeling the incredible tension on the string. Time the inhale just perfectly so at the end of 4 beats, you LET THE ARROW FLY for 2 beats. Watch it hit the target.

Do 4 repetitions.

PART FOUR: Dart

You're in a fine English Pub and you're ready to throw a dart. Intensely study the bullseye.

Inhale for 2 beats as you prepare to throw, then

1 beat exhale as you watch the dart hit the center of the board. Congratulations! Good darts, as they say:-)

REMINDER: you're NOT locking the throat, right? You're simply letting the cycle be faster than the paper airplane. Good.

Do 4 repetitions.

PART FIVE: Rifle

Fill up comfortably for 1 beat, then FIRE for 1 beat.

4 repetitions.

PART SIX: The Cycle

Put the Airplane, Bow-n-Arrow, Dart, and Rifle in a cycle like so:

4-beat Airplane (4 in, 4 out), Bow-n-Arrow (4 in, 2 out), rest two beats, Dart (2 in, 1 out), rest one beat, 2 Rifles (1 in, 1 out, do it twice)

Repeat 4 times (or more if you'd like.)

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