 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: dtclarinet ★2017
Date: 2009-03-11 22:41
I just posted about "The Structures and Movement of Breathing" by Barbara Conable and James Jordan.
Though written for singers, I have found it valuable to educate myself about breathing and support. For years I have been confused as to the best (and most "real" breathing technique, with little or no help from famous teachers. (who probably got it right without knowing how)
http://blog.davidhthomas.net/2009/03/structures-and-movement-of-breathing/
David Thomas
Principal Clarinetist
Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Blog- TheBuzzingReed.com
Post Edited (2009-03-15 23:46)
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2009-03-14 11:32
Early teachers tried to teach me to breathe wrong. I was a terrible student, but still the effect was not positive. Decades later, one lesson with Arnold Jacobs fixed this.
This looks like an interesting book. At only $7, I ordered 2 copies.
Amazon also listed her other interesting books, alongside my teacher Jane Heirich's book "Voice and the Alexander Technique".
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Author: dtclarinet ★2017
Date: 2009-03-14 13:21
Hi Ralph
Who were your "early teachers"? I assume you are a clarinetist.
Is Jane a voice teacher? Alexander teacher? I'm always looking for good Alexander teachers.
David
David Thomas
Principal Clarinetist
Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Blog- TheBuzzingReed.com
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2009-03-14 18:15
Hi David,
Yes I am a clarinetist.
There is no reason to comment on my early teachers as they have all passed away. But, in their favor, they were only passing on what they were taught, by well-respected performers of generations ago.
Jane Heirich is an excellent Alexander Technique teacher in Ann Arbor, who also trains AT teachers. Her web page is:
http://www.alexandertechniqueannarbor.com/
Regards,
Ralph
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Author: dtclarinet ★2017
Date: 2009-03-14 19:43
Thanks, Ralph. I'll get in touch with Jane.
It's true that a lot of good players don't know how to teach proper breathing. Marcellus and Brody were great players, but didn't know the mechanics of their own great support. I didn't know my own, until I had injuries which forced me to relearn basics. But I am a better teacher for it.
Best,
David
David Thomas
Principal Clarinetist
Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Blog- TheBuzzingReed.com
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2009-03-14 20:21
David,
Hope this helps. And Jane is on top of who is teaching where, so she may know of teachers closer to home for you.
Arnold Jacobs said he had worked with a passel of Marcellus' former students to fix their breathing problems.
Marcellus' breathing was like Horowitz' finger position. Boy did he play great, but you wouldn't want your students to start like that.
Regards,
Ralph
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2009-03-14 21:53
Ralph- I taught myself to breathe "wrong". As a teenager I became enthusiastic about improving my clarinet playing in every aspect that I could. I tried to read whatever books I could about clarinet playing to find some good tips to improve my technique. I can't remember the sources, but I do remember reading about how one should breathe "with the diaphragm", and how the belly should push out on the inhale. I tried this and at first didn't manage to do it, but after a bit of practise I was able to really force my belly out when I breathed in. I was very happy now that I had learned to breather "properly"! What I didn't realise at the time was that I was completely dropping my chest forward in order to force the belly out. This became my habit, until years later I started to get neck pain. Lessons in Alexander Technique changed this bad posture, the neck pain disappeared and my tome improved.
Good breathing and good posture should be something that clarinet teachers learn how to pass on to students. Of course you find players that somehow sound great with terrible postures, but generally I've found with students that tome improves with a better understanding of breathing and awareness of posture and it's effects on resonance. Singers spend years refining these things and I think we should too.
Ralph- this is a topic which interests me very much, and I would be very curious to know what Arnold Jacobs taught you in the one lesson and how it helped you.
David- I've ordered the book. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2009-03-15 12:57
Liquorice,
You have described the breathing technique that I was originally taught.
That one lesson sure didn't make me an expert, and my memory of that lesson 12 years ago is not perfect, so I would appreciate feedback from anyone else who may have better knowledge. I found the link below, which was transcribed by David W. Kutz from a masterclass given in 1973.
An orchestral tubist needs maximal airflow, more than anyone else except perhaps flutists. Mr. Jacobs talked about capacity and flow rates in here, and how your anatomy should move to achieve this.
Mr. Jacobs' approach is to use as much of your lung power as possible by expanding out everywhere. While the diaphragm approach you described may generate more force, it is inefficient in not allowing full lung expansion. "In order to take maximal breaths, all parts of the respiratory system must enlarge."(1) His studio was well stocked with flowrate and capacity measuring devices, the same stuff that a pulmonologist would have.
First, visualize your rib cage as being pulled upward by 3 strings: one above each breast, and one at the bottom of your breast bone. Visualize these strings pulling up your rib cage when you breathe.
Second, inhalation should not just expand your chest. When things are working fully, you should expand your ribcage in back, upward, and also expand between the ribcage and waist.
Raising the shoulders when inhaling can be counterproductive. Having said this, inhaling should cause your shoulders to raise slightly as your upper ribcage expands upward, but this should be a relaxed movement. Your shoulders should move with your upper ribcage, but tension created by moving the shoulders more than this may impede expansion elsewhere.
This is pretty simplistic - there is more to it, described in the link. But there is nothing like a live demonstration, which I was most fortunate to have had.
Hope this helps.
Ralph
(1) http://www.windsongpress.com/jacobs/jacobs3.pdf (p.272)
Post Edited (2009-03-15 13:04)
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Author: dtclarinet ★2017
Date: 2009-03-15 16:57
Ralph
Thanks for the link, and for your take on breath support.
I recommend anyone wanting to learn breathing from Arnold Jacobs also look up Floyd Cooley, a student of his, and another expert on the subject.
I wrote two articles on the subject in my blog.
http://blog.davidhthomas.net/2009/01/breathing-naturally-comes-naturally/
http://blog.davidhthomas.net/2009/01/breath-support-a-singers-words/
David
David Thomas
Principal Clarinetist
Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Blog- TheBuzzingReed.com
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