Author: Buster
Date: 2011-10-15 17:21
The stomach is not itself expanding. In fact you cannot consciously expand your stomach at will; unless you are in a hotdog eating competition.
The stomach actually lies up much higher, directly below the diaphragm to be exact, than most imagine. The abdominal region is what can expand below the lungs/diaphragm, or be restricted from expansion. I actually note an expansion in all directions in this area when actively inhaling to play an instrument. As for "pre"-tensing the muscles- unless I clench the abs/obliques an inordinate amount, I can inhale just as much air as with them completely relaxed. I have tried this with inspiratory spirometers just for my own verification- not that a "scientific" study was necessarily needed (or rather pseudo-scientific).
Depending on the situation I may "pre"-contract (let's drop this tensing as it carries too many negative connotations for most) my abs/obliques/back-muscles as I inhale, or I may not. Remember, for many instances, a full tank of air is not needed so the quantity of air coming in is of less importance as the ability to control the exhalation: pre-contracted abs put the body in a "ready-state" to immediately turn the air around for a quick entrance.
-just one example. The Mendelssohn Scherzo. If I inhale (not a full fill-up) with my abs(obliques etc....) pre-contracted, I have much more control over not just the first entrance, but the agogic stresses, small dynamic and color shifts etc... that are needed to actually give the movement the character it needs. For me, at least, it is far easier to do this with pre-contracted abs and usage of diaphragmatic support as opposed to slowly tanking up, then contracting my muscles, and then trying to play the piece feeling like I'm driving a large tractor-trailer.
On the other hand, I will take a much larger, slower inhalation slowly flexing my abs as the air enters, before something such as the Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto solo. Here I find it far easier to match my entrance to the flute decrescendo inhaling in this manner. Same would go for the solo in Brahms 1st where we have to taper our first note in matching the receding oboe. This is what I have found works for me. It is not "The Way"; yet it shows there may be reasons to pre-set your abdominal system.
As for the expansion in the chest, it occurs to varying degrees with the amount of air taken in. Yet no matter how much I take in, the exhalation is still controlled by my ab-diaphragm system.
We need to be careful with what we write here as it can greatly mislead a reader. The lungs expanding from the bottom up is just an image we use- it is not what actually occurs anatomically speaking. The idea of breathing exercises saying "this should move", "you should feel this" or "this is how it should feel when you play" should be taken out into the pasture and shot. All that can be done, and this is much easier in a one-on-one setting, is set up an environment where a player can actually experience what we talk about first-hand. Until they experience this "a-ha" light-bulb moment, and trust me you can see it when it happens, our gadgets, exercises and concrete descriptions are useless.
I'm sorry if I seem angry, but having fought these issues because of some bad "advice", I'd prefer take your hate mail and save someone from going down that same path. I know I spoke of a set of certain circumstances where I pre-set my abs. Normally I would not speak in concrete terms, but did so to address one posting. Yet, I did try to keep out descriptions of what I tangibly "feel" inside as I breath/play. I can no better describe that as I can describe a fine clarinet sound to a deaf person. Or the color of the sky to a blind man.
-Jason
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The Clarinet BBoard
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