Klarinet Archive - Posting 000832.txt from 2000/11

From: Knaphet@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Song and Wind (was Article: Breathing and Support)
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 10:45:40 -0500

I think we agree on this...I just wish that another term could be used, I
guess. Just like Jacobs preferred terms "suck" and "blow" over "inhale" and
"exhale" (they brought better results because players thought of their mouths
rather than their torsos), I wonder if there is a better way to describe
breathing devices that don't make it sound like there is physical exertion or
strength development involved. Maybe "breathing toys" is good, keeps things
fun.

The point of saying "weight lifting" is to make the analogy to sports, that
maybe the most beneficial thing to do is something off the field, like in
wind playing sometimes the best thing to do is away from our instruments. I
can accept that.

I keep mentioning Keith Underwood, don't know if he is a known entity out
there or not, but he said that when he works with brass players (and he has
worked with many players in major orchestras) he says they sometimes approach
devices with a strength rather than efficiency focus. So when Underwood uses
a "breath builder" machine, or a "breathing bag", I assume he uses it for the
same purpose that Jacobs did. I read a little on the Arnold Jacobs website
(maybe I should say the Brian Frederiksen website, since he probably set it
up), and from what I read, Jacobs and Underwood are consistent in their basic
purpose when using devices.

I think what I am getting it is the tendency to get overly tense when playing
instruments with a lot of backpressure. Clarinet has some backpressure, and
I am trying to learn how to sidestep the temptations that come with high
pressure instruments, and how to teach that as well.

--Anthony Taylor

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