I know this topic has been covered many times before (including myself ), but breathing is still a big issue for me.
I’ve been playing whistle for some years now, so I’m not a total novice. Breathing (not breath control) has been perhaps the biggest challenge for me.
I watched this video clip of one of Brian finnegans workshops http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inihv6-WR7M, and he said that breathing was " the last piece of the jigsaw", and took him many years to master.
Filling your lungs and holding it can also be called holding ones breath.
I often find my lungs are either too full, or too empty to take a breath, or exhale in exactly the right place.
When i learn a new tune, It’s not learning the melody, or how to ornament it, which presents the biggest problems. Its putting the whole tune together and play fluently without me feeling like I’m drowning. Getting through a whole piece without any breathing issues is when i feel I’ve finally learned a tune.
Any thoughts or tips, perhaps some of you have had similar issues and have learned how to tackle them?
Hi Chris,
I had the same problem, and still do with new tunes,
then I got June McCormacks ‘Fliuit’ books and the light came on
I know her books are aimed at the flute but I just find her
style works for me on whistle.
The first tune in her book I tried was ‘The Haunted House’
I already knew the tune but her version & breathing spots made it flow for me.
I find Michael Eskins ‘Trad lessons’ a good source for varying breathing spots too.
when i learn a tune i go through find out where the phrases end and breathe there if i find it hard to breathe somewhere i try to find a point where i can use my breathing as an effect ie double notes somewhere and miss out one so i can breathe
Some thoughts from an old (retired) high school band director…
Keep your mouth on the mouthpiece when you inhale. More specifically, keep your upper and lower lips touching the mouthpiece. Spread your mouth wide like making a broad smile, so you are taking in air at the sides while your top and bottom lips remain in contact with the mouthpiece. This allows you to fill your lungs more quickly and be ready for the next note without having to completely reassemble your embouchure.
Do no worry about making a breathing noise. I’ve seen this prevent students from properly filling their lungs. The noise is unavoidable, although lessened when you make the largest possible opening for the in-rushing air. This is simply part of the music, like hearing a classical guitarist slide his fingers up and down the frets on his guitar.
In a fast jig or reel, you simply can not fill your lungs between two 1/8th notes. You must find “or make” places in the tune to take in enough air for the next 4 or 8 bar phrase. Sometimes you simply have to eliminate a note or two leading into the next phrase to take a breath.
There is a great deal of difference in peoples lung capacity. So what works for someone else may not for you. You are correct in that with too much air in your lungs, it is more difficult to control the lower whistle tones as the air is under greater pressure when the lungs are full. That air pressure creates faster air that will push those low notes up into the upper register.
I always taught my students to mark their “breathing” spots (usually with large commas) on their sheet music, so they did not forget when to breath.
Singing the tune is a good way to learn and practice where and how much to breathe esthetically. Every melody, especially the slow airs and waltzes have a natural ebb and flow to the melodies Singing the tunes without worrying about the technical side of the instrument helps you focus on the phrasing.
Learn magic. No, not that it will help you directly, but you’ll find out about leading people’s expectations, and being able to sneak something in on them that they don’t notice. If I am just learning a tune, and don’t have it up to speed, I breathe when I need to and carry on. But once up to speed, I find I can establish a beat or rhythm that carries folks along and I can breathe where a note is supposed to be and a lot of times they don’t even notice as they filled in the note in their mind. Surprisingly, this can be on a really important note, not just on one of those longer notes that they write down so the measures will all add up. Also, breathing in different spots each time thru can help keep the rhythm going. It’s even better if you get people clapping, then you can breathe on the claps. But the key is getting momentum going.
That said, there are still tunes that I’m not happy with where I have to breathe, and I will see the phrase that I don’t want to interrupt coming and get the breath over with in time to keep that important phrase going.
And, one of my session mates who has taught flute, said a good exercise to develop lung capacity or to learn to manage air is to hold a dollar bill against the wall with a stream of air from your lips as long as you can. Time it and you will see that it will get longer over time. As will the phrases you can play. But you’ll still have to breathe someplace before the end of the second time through!
If you are patient enough to wait for the second half of this video you will see what can be done with practice on breath control. There are many other things along the way too, though this is a trumpet player (many say the greatest that ever lived) and not a whistle player.
I like Blazer’s reply. I’d add a few things that have helped me. Slow the tune way down and figure out a nice phrasing- where to break up the rhythm (without disrupting it). Consider the downbeat at the beginning of a bar, especially if it’s a 2-count note and play the first half, then breath through the second beat. If it’s straight 8 notes to the bar (a reel, specifically), you might drop the second note after the bar and breathe there. Identify more possible breathing spots than you need, then mix them up for variety. An example: a2aa aaaa becomes a(breathe)aa aaaa. Make sure and keep the note after the breath right on time. Beginners are commonly slow and late on that note. Sounds terrible even to the player.
Try transcribing a good, well played tune from a cd (at least 2 rounds of the tune) and write in the breathing spots. Notice how they vary. You’ll begin to see logical and predictable patterns if you do a lot of that.
Tony
Leaving out the middle note of 3 eighth notes strung together or shortening a longer dotted note for example to take breathe can lend some nice variety to a tune.
I second the recommendation of June McCormack’s book. She doesn’t exactly say anything about breathing, but listening to her play and seeing in the sheet music where she puts the breaths does turn a light on.
It’s also best not to think of it as trying to gulp as much air as possible and then playing until you run out. Take little breaths early and often. Breathing isn’t in the way of the music. It’s part of the music. It’s what makes the whistle or flute special. Listen to good players and you’ll see how they enhance the music with breathing. Like someone else said, magic.
), but breathing is still a big issue for me.
