Klarinet Archive - Posting 000761.txt from 2000/11
From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Article: Breathing/Relaxation
Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 22:02:18 -0500
--- Karl Krelove <kkrelove@-----.net> wrote:
> It's always seemed to me, though, that most of it's necessity comes from the
> need to play in large ensembles in large halls where projection, volume and
> intensity of tone have a great deal of importance. One of the anomalies I've
> always wondered about is that I can be much more relaxed and achieve greater
> ease while breathing shallowly (incorrectly by both my teacher's and Neil's
> standard) in my small practice studio than I can breathing correctly in a
> large auditorium playing with a big orchestra.
This is a mistaken concept, Karl. Taking a full breath and maintaining
continuous diaphragmatic support is not specifically for the purpose of
loudness or projection, but rather for fullness of tone at any given dy-
namic level. By sustaining support at all dynamic levels, varying the
speed and focus of the air stream appropriately, it is possible to keep
the reed vibrating consistently at all dynamic levels, which affords a
player beauty and consistency of tone in all contexts.
> while tension is certainly the main problem for most of us, breathing
> technique may not be the entire solution for everyone.
Ooh, good statement. I had a feeling that my essay might give the impression
that the technique is irremovably linked to breathing, which it is not, with
respect to its benefits to the player. Perhaps I should have been more expli-
cit in the section which discusses how maintaining muscular expansion in the
diaphragm enables a player to relax muscles in all other areas of the body
without losing technical control. In fact, once the fine motor skills in
the other muscles have been developed, the relaxation that results from
proper use of the diaphragm also results in much *greater* control in all
other areas. Naturally, you're deriving a benefit from proper breath sup-
port by using the diaphragm in this manner, but the other benefits may be
perceived separately.
An anecdote: I like amusement parks, but I really *hate* roller coasters with
big vertical drops. Out of some sort of masochistic quirk, I still ride those
roller coasters, and even venture onto those "cliff-drop" rides that simply
take you 300 feet straight up and then let you free-fall straight down. Until
I discovered the tension-grabbing properties of the diaphragm, I used to shiver
horribly and uncontrollably in anticipation of the big vertical drops on those
rides. One day, I was thinking about playing the clarinet, while sitting in one
of those cliff-drop rides, slowly ascending to the top. When the moment came
for the ride to release the car, I took a deep breath from the diaphragm and
kept it expanded as the car fell back down to the Earth. I was delighted to
discover that my body had been completely relaxed during the fall, because
all of the tension had been drawn into the flexed diaphragm muscle and con-
tained there. The rest of my muscles remained relaxed. I enjoyed the exhil-
aration and thrill of the fall, without the nearly unbearable discomfort of
shivering and tension that previously characterized the experience for me.
Now I love those rides!!
-- Neil
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