Listening to myself recently, one of my biggest flaws as a player is the choppiness of my playing due to low breath endurance. I’m not happy with it. So, does anyone have practical advice for getting longer passages of music without the “big gulp?”
I’ve been playing whistle for a while but flute for a bit over five months. Is this something that naturally develops or are there steps one can take proactively?
Funny you should bring that up. I’m having the same problem, only mine is because I USED to be able to go 8 or 10 bars without a breath and now the old body says “I don’t think so.” But my old brain, after 30 years of doing it a certain way, isn’t giving up so easily. So I’m having to rethink the whole thing and have decided in my case I need to get kind of hard-core.
Any other suggestions are welcome, but here’s what I’m up to …
Listening to the really good players and where and how they breathe.* (you’ll have better luck on live or “verite” type recordings because a lot of really scrupulous studio engineers on super-produced recordings will go through a track and lower the volume on each & every breath)
Working on taking more frequent, smaller “sips” of air that aren’t so noticeable.
Taking the sheet music of tunes I know and literally marking breaths on the music every two or three bars, wherever it looks most logical, and playing the tune while forcing myself to breathe when I see a mark – whether I feel like it or not – because in 2 or 3 more bars, I will feel like it, sometimes desperately! This is an attempt at retraining myself. I’m also doing it on tunes I’m learning. So in other words, I’m mapping the breaths in advance and trying to incorporate them into the tune & its phrasing the same as I do the notes.
Practicing inhaling more quietly (look out, Bill Clinton!). Having my mouth slightly more open like a “hah” or “huh” seems to help.
Basically, doing whatever I can to remain conscious – and remain conscious of it!
*It’s really interesting, listening to the breathing patterns of people rather than the tune they’re playing, that’s for sure! You kind of get to know them on a whole different level.
Like I said, I’d be thrilled if someone has a better idea – meanwhile, good luck! I never realized what an Achilles heel it had become until I heard a recording of myself recently. 
Interesting - I am kinda trying to go into the opposite direction because in my playing, that regular, safe, frequent, punctuated breathing kills any sort of flow or lilt. But that’s just me, and there probably wasn;t much lilt or flow to begin with!
- Practicing inhaling more quietly (look out, Bill Clinton!). Having my mouth slightly more open like a “hah” or “huh” seems to help.
That sounds like good advice. I’ll ask Bill.
*It’s really interesting, listening to the breathing patterns of people rather than the tune they’re playing, that’s for sure! You kind of get to know them on a whole different level.
Like I said, I’d be thrilled if someone has a better idea – meanwhile, good luck! I never realized what an Achilles heel it had become until I heard a recording of myself recently. >
I also think - probably like a lot of other people - that I play differently into a microphone or an audience than when just screwing around. That “play it safe” mentality detracts from expression, sometimes.
Hey worm, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Get out some nice flute playing albums and learn from them. If you play close enough attention and ignore the sheets you will hear where they breath and how often. You should also remember that the longer your phrase goes the harder you have to push your diaphram to keep the volume up and flute in tone. Quick breathing will come with practise and it helps to use your belly to push. It’s hard to explain but you’ll get the hang of it.
I think that Cathy Wilde and Wormdiet both have it, even though they think that they are talking about different things. We want to try to increase our endurance and breath control for the long haul, so that we can go a long time if we need to. But we also need to always be aware of our current condition.
It is just like hiking – drink water (oops, I meant breathe) before you need it.
Ain’t that the truth. Microphones. And wind. And audiences. And banjos. And bodhrahns. And dragging tempos. And age. Sheesh. :roll:
It’s always something…
Gilda Radner
I second the idea of planning in advance where to breathe and making this part of practising a tune, in the same way you practise variations and ornaments. I realize it can sound mechanical if you are breathing every two bars like clockwork, but you can plan to change breathing schemes on the repeats. Any kind of stress lowers my ability to sustain my breath support, so knowing that the breaths are preplanned reduces those desperate catch breaths and large sucking sounds as I discover en route that I am not going to make it as far as I hoped. I also agree that breath support that comes from contracting the abdominal muscles helps a lot.
Hugh
I have been told by both of my teachers that there’s no such thing as taking too many breaths, but many flute players take too few.
Practice tunes taking breaths in different places each time through. The most important thing is to have many places to breathe, since you may have to take an unexpected breath. The most important thing for me is to have a place to take a deep breath every time or two through a tune. I can deal with a gasp every 2-4 bars, but have to have a quarter-length breath every 30 seconds or so. (It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, swimming, anything else with metered breaths, I have to have just about a yawn every so often.)
And as Murph said, listen. Yes there are some fluters who almost seem to have circular breathing, but many more do breathe every 2-4 measures – I was just listening to Deirdre Havlin (lawdy, she’s wonderful), and she does some long phrases, 4-6 measures, but occasionally does the double-dip, with breaths in consecutive measures. It’s not how often you breathe, but how it fits into the flow of the tune, that counts.
If it’s notta one-a thing, it’s anotha.
Already a convert on the sheet music issue 
Strictly aural learning for the next year for me.
You should also remember that the longer your phrase goes the harder you have to push your diaphram to keep the volume up and flute in tone. Quick breathing will come with practise and it helps to use your belly to push. It’s hard to explain but you’ll get the hang of it.
One thing that have definitely acquired a taste for - like Scotch - is that diaphragm pulsing “huffy” style that seems fairly unpopular these days. It’s a nice change of pace.
i believe it’s all in the right ergonomics, detailed in my link bellow.
Personally I feel that instead of hiding breaths and making them as inconspicuous as possible, I think a good flute player should be able to use breathing to accentuate and vary phrasing. Its something that distinguishes flute players from the others: they often have to place pauses in the tune. And since you have to do it might as well do it with style - something like turning a weakness to a strength. Players like those on the “flute geezers” mp3s, (for a more extreme example) Micho Russell, Tara Diamond, Peadar O’Loughlin etc do this to great effect. Their breathing is always very deliberate, and helps with phrasing and variation of rhythmic emphasis.
So what I feel is, if you can’t do long phrases for the now, work with short and medium phrases first. Take this as an opportunity to play around with breathing spots, how to vary them and realising the effects on phrasing, rhythm, of choosing these spots. This must be coupled with listening to good flute players with defined breathing to inform yourself regarding style and choices. When you become physically more comfortable with playing the flute you can go into another phase of exploring longer phrases, listening to guys like Paddy Carty, Eddie Moloney etc.
Another thing worth noting is that running out of breath quickly in beginners is often a primary symptom of a bad/undeveloped embouchure, inefficient usage of air.
I agree with a lot of what’s been said here, and would emphasize Eldarion’s comment that as your embouchure strenghthens and becomes more focused you’ll be able to take longer phrases. As others have pointed out above, you don’t need to take long phrases in playing Irish music, but I think it helps to be able to do it when you want to. Varying your phrasing is one way of introducing variations into your playing, and sometimes I like to take a longer phrase in part of a tune just for variety.
I had voice lessons for a while, and that helped me immensely with breath control. My teacher had me talk nonsense words for as long as I could on one breath while supporting the air flow with my abdominal muscles. Eventually I could do it for about 45 seconds; she said some of her students can do it for a minute or more.
Try holding your breath and then letting it out slowly through your closed lips in a steady stream. As your lungs start to empty out, support your breath with your abdominal muscles so it doesn’t slack off. Your belly should contract as you breathe out; keep the air stream steady. Don’t let any air out your nose…that’s a bad habit to get into as a flute player as it’s just wasted air (unless you also play nose flute, I guess).
Try that technique without the flute for a while until you get the hang of it, and then try it with the flute, first with just one note to see how long you can hold it before you run out of air. You want the note to remain steady and strong, not wavering in loudness or tone. Practice that for a while and then see if you can apply it to your playing.
As a beginner, I still have a long way to go in learning breath control, but one thing that has helped a lot is Seamus Egan’s admonition not to put too much air into it. He likes to tell people that playing flute should take no more air than talking. That analogy really helps me think less about filling and emptying my lungs and more about focusing my embouchure and airstream, and finding the flute’s sweet spot where it will project, without being overblown.
Also, though I lean toward a smoother, less energetic style, listening to Conal O’Grada is a real mind opener in terms of giving yourself permission to breathe as often as you want. From there, I’ve been lengthening my phrases as embouchure and air capacity allow.
MurphyStout and Brad have both touched on the key to successful breath support–the diaphragm (abdominal muscles just below the center of your rib-cage). When you inhale (through your mouth, not the nose), let your stomach relax and expand–this allows more room for your lungs to fill with air. Then, as you play, support the exhalation with your diaphragm, almost like you’re tensing to receive a punch–your stomach should be firm while exhaling. Learning to breathe properly is sometimes easier without the flute, for starters. Many people go through life thinking deep breathing involves lifting the shoulders and sucking in the stomach, which effectively limits how much you can fill your lungs. As you learn proper breathing and breath support, you’ll find that you can breathe when the tune warrants it, not when you’re forced to. You’ll also find that you can anticipate in advance when you’ll have to breathe (no more suprises), and your tone will become richer and fuller with good support. Intonation will also be positively affected.
Another key is keeping the throat open and relaxed. (Other than for doing glottal stops) the throat should simply be a passage for the air–don’t use it for squeezing the air out. That’s the diaphragm’s job.
And, as Brad pointed out, the other end of the system is the embouchure. Focus on that once you start to breathe properly automatically. By the way, don’t limit good breathing to flute playing…do it all the time. It will become unconsious sooner, and it’s healthy.
Oh, and this link is in the mirror, mirror thread…some good information on breathing here. http://larrykrantz.com/chapt2.htm#flpf
I seem to do all right within the tune, and find appropriate places to breathe – until the very last gasp. The end. I love hearing players who stretch out that long last note to give it a strong final tone. But it seems really hard to remember to suck in some extra air so I can do it, until it’s too late. Then my last note is either way too short, or trails off and flattens.
Part of it is being so involved in the tune that I can’t remember to count so I know when it’s going to end. You know, just circle around and again and again, then into the next tune, that trance with the rhythm. I don’t have enough chances to practice actually finishing.
I’m a very long way from even a four-bar phrase without a breath. Sigh.
Jennie
Jack Coen had some good advice about that when I took a class with him once: he said to always remember to take a breath a bar or two before the end so you can finish strong.
Phrasing involves a bit of planning sometimes, you have to experiment and decide where it makes sense to take a breath, but it’s always good to plan for that breath just a few bars before the end.
Tintin’s advice on breathing is excellent. My voice teacher once showed me a diagram of how breathing works – inhalation starts with the diaphragm, which moves down toward the stomach (which is why your stomach should bulge a bit when you breathe in; the diaphragm is pushing down on it), and that creates a vaccum in your lungs which sucks the air in. To expel the air, your diaphragm moves back up and pushes the air out. Simply visualizing that process made me breathe better.
Yes. Precisely. And Denny’s mean. 