Wind; Throat
General Breathing Advice
- When breathing in, the muscles responsible for breathing out should relax
and vice versa.
- Breathing in to breathing out (playing) should be one fluid motion. Never
hold your breath.
- One's vital capacity lowers without the individual realizing it. If you are
using limited amounts of air -- say you are used to taking half a breath, the
air that you draw from that fuel supply may be adequate to play the
instrument at the age of 20, but not at the age of 50. This is a reminder to
continuously reconsider your playing system, because something might
work today but not tomorrow.
- Be aware though that in the brass family the trumpet uses the least
amount of air quantity (under the greatest amount of pressure).
Breathing In
- Breathing in should be done through the mouth corners using an "oh"
shaped mouth, because you get in more air faster than with breathing in
through the nose. Exception: Circular Breathing.
- Don't inhale before the mouthpiece has been placed upon the lips. The
sequence always is: place-inhale-play.
- Most importantly: Always take air in from the bottom of your belly to the
top while maintaining relaxed abdominal muscles.
- The closer one gets toward empty, the harder it is to get air out of the
lungs. This is why I advocate: 1) taking in a relaxed full breath (breathing in
to approximately 70% of your capacity) all the time while you are in a
creative musical situation that requires flexibility, and 2) not using up all the
air until the last drop if it is not necessary. Instead, take in a fresh breath
before running out of air whenever the music allows it, simply because
in the long run this strategy is less stressful for the whole system. See also:
Breathing Out, below.
- When you play written music, always breathe in significantly more air than
needed for the upcoming musical phrase in order to allow the exhalation
muscles to stay in their comfort zone as long as possible.
See also:
Breathing Out, below.
- Be aware though that overbreathing is a danger, too. Our goal should
always be to have a balanced breathing strategy that is highly flexible.
Practicing Oral Cavity Tones will give you an idea of how small the amount
of air actually is that is needed to produce a particular frequency.
Breathing Out
- We need a consistent airstream to fuel our instrument with energy. That's
why trumpet playing requires active exhalation, generated by means of
abdominal muscle support. Active exhalation incorporates three stages of
muscle support in relation to the remaining amount of air in our lungs.
1) In the early stages of breathing out: Blow wind and simultaneously press
the abdominal muscles inward.
2) Midway: Blow wind and simultaneously press the abdominal muscles
inward and upward.
3) Toward the end: Add the muscles of the ribs/upper-abdomen to the
midway strategy.
- Active exhalation is incorporated whenever and whatever we play. The
mental image is that of a one-way street -- the intensity of the abdominal
support increases as long as we breathe out. To that end: The fact that
active exhalation requires more effort the closer we get toward empty is a
result of having less air available in the lungs and has nothing (!) to do with
what we play on the instrument.
- However, I strongly advocate the image of simply blowing wind through
your lips. The impulse of blowing wind triggers the abdominal support and
not the other way around. (Don't underestimate; this is very important: Air
as pressure uses the same musculature as air as wind. With wind there is
always air pressure. With air pressure, there is not always wind. An
example for illustration: defecation. A lot of air pressure is used, but no air
is moving beyond the larynx because the epiglottis, the throat gatekeeper,
closes the glottis to deliver the required downward pressure. The scientific
term for the closing of the glottis is Valsalva Maneuver.)
- There has to be a perfect synchronization between the initial abdominal
impulse and the articulation of the initial attack of a musical phrase.
- When playing a musical phrase with detached notes using one single
breath, don't loosen the abdominal tension in between but keep the tension
until the end of the phrase.
Air: Pressure, Quantity, Velocity
- The term air pressure refers to the amount of blowing resistance that the
performer encounters during the playing of the instrument. Low notes need
less air pressure than high notes.
- The term air quantity denotes the actual amount of air consumed. Low
notes need more air quantity than high notes, loud notes more than soft ones.
- The term air velocity represents the speed of the air, symbolizing
dynamics. Soft notes need less air velocity than loud notes.
- A few illustrations: When getting louder on the same note, both air
velocity and air quantity increase. When getting softer on the same note,
both air velocity and air quantity decrease. When changing registers while
maintaining the same volume level -- say you play C2 and then C3, air
velocity stays the same on both notes; air quantity requirements are higher
on the lower
note but air pressure is higher on the higher note.
Throat
- It is essential to keep the throat open while exhaling. We have to make
sure that incorporating the abdominal muscles doesn't activate the
epiglottis (Valsalva Maneuver). We have to direct the airstream straight
to our lips, otherwise our efforts are wasted. Practice breath attacks
regularly and avoid any unwanted grunting noises.
- Be aware though that functioning like a valve (dependent on the
pressure/quantity/velocity of air needed), the throat opening is not static.
