Hello, everybody.
I’m looking for some references on breathing: exercises or ways to proceed as I try to improve my technique 
. What have you found most helpful to you? I am always running out of air at the most inopportune times, and I have to run to catch up, or I fade out entirely. Does Grey Larsen have any tip? I have his big book on the whistle and the flute.
Thanks to all who reply.
With best regards.
Stephen
Swimming is supposed to be quite good for building your breathing stamina; I believe Kevin Crawford credited it for improving his lung capacity.
Years ago I had some lessons with a voice teacher, and one of the things she had me do was to practicing saying nonsense words, just whatever came to mind, for as long as I could on one breath while using my abdominal muscles to support the air column. She could do it easily for 60 seconds, which is quite remarkable as you’ll see if you try it. You don’t want to take in a huge gulp of air, it’s better practice to take in a normal breath and then try to control and sustain your exhale for as long as possible while saying gibberish. I made it to 50 seconds once; normally I’m in the 40 seconds range. If you’re sitting, sit up straight and don’t lean back in the chair; this will help you better support your air column.
The tricky part is then transferring this skill to the flute. It’s easy to slip into your old breathing habits, and also you might find that the physical act of playing dance tunes uses more energy and thus more air. One way I’ve found around that problem is to play long tones or play a slow air, and then play the dance tunes using the same approach to breathing – long, supported breaths. Another helpful thing to keep in mind is that you can do glottal stops, tonguing, pulses, whatever, during a phrase without having to breathe: just because you’re playing a phrase all in one long exhale doesn’t mean the music has to be continuous. You can hear that effect here:
http://homepage.mac.com/bhurley/.Public/soutwestwindbrad.mp3
I’m not taking especially long phrases, but there’s quite a bit of staccato stopping and pulsing going on in my exhales; the phrasing isn’t entirely dictated by how much breath I have left.
I like to take sips often, rather than gasps occasionally. Long notes offer opportunities, eg consider these alternatives:
Doodly doo-dle sip diddly-i-do sip dum-di-diddle di-sip-do …
Never run out, try not to breathe “at the ends of lines”. Listen to good players critically - where are they breathing?
Terry
I’ve been a lap swimmer, I can agree with that. I’m just an amatuer but my personal theory is that besides improving breathing, a person has to build lung power behind that breathing. I picked up the harmonica after heart surgery (and subsequently all these wind instruments). I played the harmonica for my breathing exercises. I keep a harmonica in my pocket and play it when I’m waiting in line, pumping gas, killing time, and any other opportunity. Learning the basics of a harmonica took me 1 hour. My nephew has learning disabilities. it took him a whole day. Learn this instrument too. If someone knows of something better and more fun than a harmonica, that doesn’t require a swimming pool, to build lung power, please let me know.
A tip/technique I was once shown in a workshop given to folkies by a high level classical teacher - drop/relax your pelvic floor (and whole lower abdomen, but pay attention to your perineal area!) when you inhale - helps to make sure you fill your lungs deeply without tension in the upper abdomen… You can practice this both when playing or doing almost any other activity. I find it hard to remember to do it as I haven’t practised it enough for it to become subconsciously automatic, but when I make a point of doing it my breath control and support are far better and longer lasting.
thanks, terry. i think this is a critical technique used by many great players, one that I have yet to figure out and include in my own playing (too much classical thinking, i.e. long breaths and operatic phrases; still trying to break the habit). Can anyone else speak to this sip/snatch breath within phrases techniques? Thanks. jason
I finally figured out what glottal stops are; I do them when I mouth whistle.
And doing them on the flute seems to create opportunities
to take breaths where I didn’t see them before. As the breath
stops, why not take one?
Clive Bell on
http://bansuriuk.blogspot.com/2008/03/2-breathing-and-blowing.html
(I like the way he has covered point 6)
yes, for a start you take in a lot of air quickly thru the mouth
and then expel with great control.
precisely what happens with fluting.
That quick inhalation makes it unlike normal breath.
Question: Does it really matter if it’s 30 or 60 seconds? Basically, one takes more sips at the right places and the tune doesn’t seem to be hurt.
Or does it?
No it doesn’t matter, but the ability to go longer between breaths gives you more choices. It expands your options for variation in phrasing. The flute player Garry Walsh did that on his first CD “Uncovered,” first tune on the second track, The Cross-Legged Tailor: he plays the A part nearly two times through before he takes his first breath. He aims for a very flowing legato style, and wanted to avoid interrupting the flow as long as possible. I like to vary long and short phrases; I think the main thing is to take breaths in places where it makes musical sense and to make sure you always have enough breath to finish the A or B part of a tune strongly.
Regarding the quick sips, I noticed this in Séamas Tansey’s playing in an old clip…sometime back in the seventies on RTE (Irish tv station) - It was probably on Youtube and could well be in the archives on C&F here. I think he was playing “The Shaskeen”. He’d spit out a short spatter of notes, followed by a quick sip and then another short spatter, a sip and so on…It was a noticeable element of the player’s style. I tend towards longer breaths than that myself but use the shorter ones too…As long as you don’t run out.
Garry
Your playing style is governed by when you have to breathe.
The longer you can go, the more options.
Lots of things sound right with a few notes/sip treatment
lots don’t 
I believe taking breaths is a good deal of the art of flooting ITM.
One can make lines more interesting by taking breaths.
One can create variations by repeating a line and taking
the breath in a different place. Catherine McEvoy taught
us something about this at the St. Louis Tional. Really
interesting. It isn’t merely a matter of getting air and
not running out (as I expect we all know). One creates
an interesting sound this way. Breath can be treated
as a kind of ornamentation.
Breathing? Stop it at once - you’re steaming up the windows!
So much hot air…
As long as the music isn’t insipit… 
and all other wind instruments (and vocal) for all genre 
let us not turn this into an other zombie thread
zombies do not feign wit