Breathing- Part One: Inhalation

Over the next few weeks, I will be presenting a series of blog posts about the fundamental art of breathing. I will tackle a new problem and a solution every week, so come back often to see what we can accomplish together.

Let’s talk about breathing.

Breathe in 1, 2, 3. And out 1, 2, 3. Rinse. Repeat.

If only breathing in the world of music was that simple. But, alas, it is not. Quite the opposite, actually. Breathing, and the concepts that tie into it, can be incredibly hard to grasp for a lot of musicians. Many teachers use abstract concepts (air speed, air column, use more air) to instruct their students, of all ages, the correct way to take a good breath before they play a note on their instrument. These ideas and concepts are all very good ways to diagnose and fix a problem, but I find that most of the problems I face in my own playing are the result of an improper initiation of the breath, before I even start to exhale.

The Mouth

The first thing to think about when you take a breath is how air moves into your body. I see a lot of students breathing primarily through their nose, never taking their mouth away from the mouthpiece. (There is a time and place for nose breathing. The initial breath is not that time.) Your nostrils are very small, so you have to work really hard to take in large amounts of air. The solution is simple: take in air with your mouth, or oral cavity.

But the fun doesn’t stop there.

Before you are able to take the perfect breath, you have to do a couple of things to prepare yourself for the wonderful influx of air into your lungs.

You have to create space in your oral cavity to eliminate as much resistance to the air as possible.

To do this, you flatten the back of your tongue just enough to get it out of the way. Too much, and the muscles in your throat will tense up, and you will have adverse effects during the breath.

For a visual reference, think about the shape of a ping pong ball, and trying to form that shape inside of your mouth. It should create space, and your throat should feel relaxed.

Next, open up your lips, just wide enough to let air move freely into your body. Like the start of a yawn. This will move them out of the way so that they do not interfere with the airflow. However, do not open up your jaw so far that it locks into place.

As the air enters the body, it should be almost silent. If you hear a high pitched “whooshing” sound, the air is encountering resistance somewhere in your oral cavity, thus making you aware of the tension in your body. You want every breath to give your throat the same relaxing sensation of a yawn. It will probably take some getting used to, but all good things come with time.

Now, you are ready. Ready to take in a breath.

The Body

The next important thing to consider is which part of your body the air is traveling to when you take in your breath.

Obviously, you breathe into your lungs. But which part of your lungs should you inflate first?

You might have heard the saying, “Breathe with your diaphragm.”

I like the idea behind this, breathing deep into your lungs. However, for a lot of students, I find that they do not fully understand what it means to “breathe from your diaphragm.”

The diaphragm is an involuntary muscle, which means that you cannot physically tell your diaphragm to move. So for some students, the concept of taking a breath using the diaphragm can be a little bit confusing.

Instead, I like to teach breathing by thinking about a balloon.

When you blow up a balloon, the air inflates the bottom of the balloon first, and then, as the balloon starts to fill, the air travels up to the un-inflated portion until it is completely full.

So, as you breathe, think of your lungs as a balloon, inflating from the bottom to the top. As the bottom of the lungs inflate, it will move the diaphragm down to make room for the air. Filling up the bottom portion of your lungs first ensures that you are using the full capacity of your body. As you fill up the tank with air, you should be able to see the air travel up your body as you fill up. Bottom, middle, and then finally the top.

It is okay to look a little bloated when you breathe properly. Aesthetics are not nearly as important here as a good result.

It is also important to note that it is possible to have TOO much air in your body all at once. If you take in too much, your body will become tense, and you will have ruined a great breath.

To find the max amount of air that your body can handle without stress, just take a huge breath until you cant take any more in. Now take a couple more sips. The really uncomfortable feeling you get when you’re this full of air should be avoided. Try to find a happy medium between not enough and about to burst. Only you can make the decision about how much is the right amount for you.

If you fill up the top first, your shoulders will rise and your body will get tense. When you see a student take a breath and their shoulders rise, nearly touching their ears, you know that they did not breathe from the bottom. They started at the top, and their body didn’t like it. If you start in the middle, you are neglecting space in your lungs that you could be filling up with air. Starting from the bottom? Perfect.

Practice

This sort of breathing is relatively easy thing to practice. You can work on your breath in your car on the way to work or school. Grocery shopping. And especially before you pick up your instrument.

Here Is a simple breathing exercise you can try. As you practice, focus on using the entire capacity of your lungs, from the bottom to the top. Also, remember that your air should be constantly moving. Always in or out. Never stagnant.

Breathe in 4 counts, out 4 counts.

Breathe in 3 counts, out 3 counts.

Breathe in 2 counts, out 1 count.

Breathe in 1 count, out one count. (This one is difficult. Focus on filling all the way up and all the way out, staying relaxed, every time.)

Happy practicing.

(And don’t forget to yawn.)