Klarinet Archive - Posting 000632.txt from 2001/06

From: "Tony Wakefield" <tony-wakefield@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Thumb and Wrist, Breathing, Print, Composing Problems.
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 18:15:48 -0400

Gene,

After reading your mail, your diaphragm breathing will be correct. No
problem. No shoulder movement, and also what you say re upper chest. But we
are not supposed to "bend" forward are we? That`s not what I said. What I do
say is that one must not sit with the upper back resting (or slouching) on
the back of the chair.

"The abdomen expands a lot". But it doesn`t does it? It`s the lungs which
expand , which in turn shifts the abdomen muscle out of the way. You say you
have no problem with long phrases. I`m jealous!!! There is, for the "long
phrases challenged", a way to add to the lung capacity. To add to the lower
abdomen capacity to be more accurate. Fill up in the normal way, expanding
the abdomen. And one can do this by pushing out at the side as well as the
front. When full, you can expand even more by filling up at the top end of
the lungs, which is what my original misunderstood advice(?) was, in saying
that one should not sit with the back to the chair. So, in effect, you now
<will> probably feel like a military school cadet. The secret is to learn
<not> to feel like one, but to hold this posture in as relaxed a way as
possible. All this may sound extremely technical. It`s NOT. It`s just that
it takes a bit of long-windedness, (if you`ll excuse the phrase) to explain
it.

Hope this clears everything up Gene.

Best,

Tony W.

From: "Gene Nibbelin" <gnibbelin@-----.com>

> Tony -
>
> "sitting up straight, with my back firmly against my chair" I use a
> secretarial type chair (no arms) with a lumbar supportive back rest. Just
> good posture, not rigidly straight like a military school cadet.
>
> As far as breathing goes, educate me. I learned diaphragm breathing from
my
> clarinet teacher in the late '30s and have breathed this way since then,
> even during the long time that I was not playing clarinet. Thus, my
> shoulders do not move at all when taking a deep breath, my upper chest and
> back move very little but my abdomen expands a lot. Long phrases do not
> bother me in spite of my age.
>
> My question is: How will bending forward and compressing my abdomen help
my
> breathing?
>
> In short, I don't follow your logic.
>
> Regards,
>
> Gene Nibbelin

> Original From: "Gene Nibbelin"
>
> > For example, as I sit here practicing (sitting up straight, with my back
> > firmly against my chair) I am resting my Bb about 5 inches above my
knee.
> > My A rests at about 3 inches above my knee.
>
> Should you not be sitting with your bum only at the back of the chair, and
> then sit with a forward posture to facilitate efficient breathing? :<)
> Don`t forget that when we breath in, it is not only our chest which
expands,
> but our upper back also. To sit with our back against the back of the
chair,
> will impair breathing in. There are some long phrases out there - - -

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