Posted by Urbie Winding on January 25, 2001 at 16:31:21:
In Reply to: Breathing... posted by Matt A. on January 25, 2001 at 09:42:57:
I think the role of breathing in playing is incredibly overrated. Seems to me if you didn't breathe "perfectly" you'd be dead. Breathing "correctly" is no guarantee the lips will vibrate. I think the greatest concentration should be on what the lips do. I also don't believe thinking about the lips causes problems, as many have suggested. Saying it's so (even saying Jacobs said it's so) doesn't PROVE it's so.
Whether intentional or not, even if barely perceptible, air is always moving. So why think about it? Notes don't speak because of air. There's always air. Notes don't speak when the lips don't vibrate. Thinking about the air so much is, to me, avoiding the real issue, the lips.