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Re: How long?

Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2014-03-19 00:31

Mart:

Is my assumption that you are still school aged and relatively new to the instrument a correct one?

There's something in, at least single reed instrument play, if not other winds called circular breathing http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=circular+breathing+clarinet&sm=1 that allows the player to put air into the cheeks, close off thir respiratory system's exhalation but continue to blow air into the clarinet from that in the cheeks, all while breathing in through the nose.

The popular saxophone recording artist Kenny G. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_G sustained a note this way for nearly 46 mintutes.

...And yet, I suspect we aren't talking about circular breathing.

Mart...if I may make a metaphor: it isn't just the distance you run but the quality of your stride...

to point, yes, seek to increase this length, but not at the expense of the quality of the sound you make.

Do you know what also builds endurance in addition to non-practice aerobic training......?

practice itself. Which also improves technique. Try to take fewer breaths every now and then. Provided you are healthy, you'll improve lung capacity this way too, and develop as a player.

Note: your teacher may also be training you to sustain an embouchure for durations of time, or even holding the clarinet, not just increasing your lung capacity. Confirm with them what their intentions are as it relates to this exercise.

(P.S. I am of the opinion that clarinet holding endurance is very low on the totem poll of priorities. Players with issues doing this, new and old alike, should, IMHO, wear clarinet neck straps.)

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