Posted by Sean Chisham on February 03, 1999 at 12:11:31:
In Reply to: Breathing. Gasp! Pant! Puff! posted by Howard Read on February 02, 1999 at 19:33:15:
I received some great advice about this from my wife. She is a horn player and has a relativelly small vital capacity, but seems to be able to make longer phrases than I can. I understand that her flow rates are lower in general due to the instrument, but she seems to do very well. What she told me to da was be religious about making breath marks in the music and stick to them. Place the breathing where it best allows the phrasing to breath and is least disruptive.
Some other comments I have seen attributed to Roger Bobo is to take breaths earlier in a phrase rather than later. Finish up strong may be another way to word it. If you have a 6 bar phrase and must interupt it somewhere, it may be better to take a massive inhalation, then replenish a bit early to allow you to keep the latter part of the phrase intact. The final notes in the phrase must be meet the same high standards you would impose on the first few notes.
Another contributing factor could be inefficiency in sound production. This can come from a weak buzz, partial inflations, artificial tensions, or any number of other distractions. While playing low and strong may scientifically require more air, you can't approach it from the concept of blowing air. We play by sound, not by air. Strong sound comes from a rich mental image followed by a rich buzzing of the tunes. This may or may not involve massive exhalations, but should always involve massive inhalations. Many people waste too much air when facing pieces such as a shout section of a Bruckner symphony, thinking it will result in greater projection.
If you must make a choice between extending a phrase and sustaining a high quality product with a quick breath, then the quick breath is almost always the better route to take. I am not too familiar with sniff breathing. I would prefer to make an inhalation through the oral cavity. Replenishment breathing is one of the more challenging aspects to brass playing in general. If you can keep yourself from entering negative pressures, below 2/5's full, then quick inhalations become easier. Once you enter negative, in relation to atmospheric, pressures in the lungs, then exhaltion goes from being a more passive process to becoming a more active one with squeezing end tensions to evacuate air. To replenish from this state first requires a release of tension from the opposing muscles to inhalation, then the inhalation can begin. When this shift begins the body is performing isometrics as the opposing muscles of squeezing and inhalation are both active. To prevent this isometric manuever first requires a relaxation, then the inhalation. This takes time, and may be part of why fully replenishing from almost depleted lungs is more challenging and generally takes more time.
sean