 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Wanurt
Date: 2009-11-24 18:40
Hello fellow clarinetist!
I've got a question for you:
When you are past the "drinking straw stadium" of circular breathing and you've started to practise it on your instrument, which exercises should be used? How did you learn circular breathing after that basic stadium?
All the guides I found on internet explains the basic straw thing and then according to them you should be an accomplished circular breather. I've looked for a more comprehensive guide without success...
I've also asked all professional players I know but they seem to be a little bit to old to know how to do it.
Thank you!
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Author: USFBassClarinet
Date: 2009-11-24 18:58
Just going to paraphrase the Henri Bok Book a little.
He describes using the cheeks like a bagpipe instrument while transffering air to them from the lungs.
By contracting the facial muscles air continues to go into the instrument, at the same time take a breath throw the nose.
He does specifically say it should take 2-3 months to "master" it.
As for practice, when I first started it, I just used long tones on medium-low notes. (I would say whatever is the easiest notes to play for you)
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2009-11-25 06:28
What made the biggest difference for me was actually seeing someone else do it right in front of me. That made me realize some things that I haven't really noticed before. After that it took a few days until I was able to do it first time. Then the way I practiced was to start with some single notes but very fast changed to improvise and just constantly trying to do it, sometimes it worked ok and sometimes not, but gradually improvied. Another stage was to change from being able to sound ok doing it for a few times to being able to continue for a few minutes. In the beginning it was very tiring after a minute or two.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-11-25 07:11
Same as Nitai, I only learnt how to circular breathe properly when someone demonstrated it to me (a Sicillian oboist) rather than what I've read about it. And far more quickly as well.
To me, the drinking straw and glass of wather method is useless as there's no resistance there at all - you need to have the same degree of breath resistance you would normally have while playing to achieve it.
It's far easier on oboe/cor due to the very high breath resistance on these instruments, though it can still be done on clarinet.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2009-11-25 09:24
I just learned by myself. It took years to get it smooth. I recommend starting long tones on low E and work up- it has the most resistance and is the easiest (for me) to do circular breathing on.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2009-11-25 11:29
I greatly admire people who can master this technique. Maybe I'm too old a dog to learn this new trick. Or, maybe I haven't spent enough sustained, concentrated time on it. I've failed ludicrously, despite getting excellent face-to-face instruction from a saxophone player who's brilliant at circular breathing and also at explaining. He showed me exactly what to do. My subsequent private practice sessions generally ended sooner than I'd expected: Just in case anyone wondered, breaking out laughing does not improve circular breathing technique.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2009-11-25 18:18
Michele Gingras' circular breathing teaching method starts using a coffee stirrer (one of those restaurant plastic straws consisting of two very small diameter straws (2@ about 1-mm bore) extruded side-by-side. With a large glass of water, you fill your mouth with water and spit it out through the coffee stirrer while breathing in --doing all those "interior stops" to keep the stream flowing while you breathe.
When you can spit a steady stream of water through the coffee stirrer, you advance to the use of a cocktail straw. Only, when you can sustain a steady flow through the cocktail straw do you move up to a large diameter drinking straw.
Finally, you use your instrument. and air instead of water.
She said that she finds that about 30% (if I recall correctly) "get it" right away. The rest of us have to struggle.
Bob Phillips
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Author: knotty
Date: 2009-11-25 20:32
I learned circular breathing when I used to play the soprano recorder. Unless I'm doing something different, it's just filling the mouth and throat, cheeks puffed out with air and using that to play while you take in air through the nose. It has to be a quick intake through the nose though depending how fast you deplete the stored air in the mouth and throat.
I just tried the water straw thing and that works but a penny whistle or sopranino recorder works, (no water involved) In fact, you can just puff your cheeks, store air, blow it out though a small lip opening and you can do that walking down the street.
I wonder if Dizzy Gillespie was doing circular breathing?....kidding.
You can see Julian Bliss doing it while playing flight of the bumblebee on Youtube.
knotty
~ Musical Progress: None ~
Post Edited (2009-11-26 01:26)
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