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I'm a big proponent of the Breathing Gym. I own the DVD and Book (signe ala P. Sheridan), have participated in the classes, and recieved Pat and Sams training at Phantom Regiment.

What would your response be to someone who has a hard time "buying" into the improvements this program brings to your playing?

"You can take a deep breath, or you can pay a bunch of people to teach you a class in Arizona"

It does seem semi-logical that such a program could easily be reproduced with a concentration on breathing or just a concentration on sound and phrasing.

Not having the medical or psychological background to fully support why I enjoy the program and believe it has improved my playing, has given me a hard time explaining why the Breathing Gym is so successful.

I've encountered similar attitudes in places, and the cold hard fact is that everyone doesn't buy into it, and that's ok. I've had a lot of success incorporating small aspects of the breathing gym pedagogy into my teaching, especially in places or situations where things are done differently. One of the most difficult things for me after I came back from Arizona was scaling things back, little by little, to integrate into what we were already doing in my program. Every band is different, and if you can only change one thing, then change that one thing. Maybe the next day you can change something else. Good luck!

There are those out there that cannot be convinced of anything and will not open their minds to anything. I've seen people walk out of Mr Jacobs' lectures, seen them walk out of sessions I have done (mostly trumpet players - guess I am doing something right). Many of them think embouchure this and embouchure that and lose tract of the fact that all the embouchure does is vibrate fueled by air.

Once there was a player who came up with little sound. The teacher was having this player switch embouchures making it picture perfect although it did not match his skelatal system. The problem was his conception of a full breath was only two liters. He barely had enough air to fuel the lip's vibration. While the student was open to an air problem, the teacher maintained that the problem would be solved only with an embouchure change - this student suffered because of a teacher's inflexability.

Mr Jacobs told me many times that with some people it's just not worth it to argue with them, they are set in their ways and will not budge. That's the real problem!

I think the reason that the breathing gym is so effective when used often is that it is an exercise routine that produces certain results.

Sure you can take a deep breath and save $20-$30 or whatever the asking price is for the materials, but if you buy and use the breathing gym program, then you will be training yourself to automatically take a healthy breath every time. What the breathing gym deals with is training muscles to do things automatically that you would have to think about normally. Doing the right thing automatically is especially important in the performance setting where nerves and distractions take most of the sane thinking out of your playing.

To me doing breathing exercises of any sort, whether its the breathing gym or not, is like doing push ups and lifting weights to be better at football. Sure, you're not actually catching or throwing a ball or running or anything really related to football, but you're training your body to better do what you want it to do.

Routines are important to our art, because routines covering basic ideas are what allow us to lay aside rudimentary concerns and concentrate on making music. (because those rudimentary concerns should become automatic after lots of practice)

Shirking breathing exercises and not "buying into them" would be like saying "since this etude book is not the solo or exerpt I am working on, it has no value. Therefore I should save my money and buy exerpts and solos only."

Why even respond?


Let em go, and you use it--less competition for you later!

Dean wrote:Why even respond?


Let em go, and you use it--less competition for you later!

It isn't competition. It is a very good teacher. One that shall remain nameless, but has a good reputation within the tubist community and lord can the man eat.

brianf wrote: Mr Jacobs told me many times that with some people it's just not worth it to argue with them, they are set in their ways and will not budge. That's the real problem!

So...Keep doing what you are doing. "People of integrity expect to be believed. And when they are not, they let time prove them right."

Exactly what the above poster said.


Its not your responsibility to get others to accept good ideas (unless its a student--and even then you are not 100% responsible). You can present/talk about them--they can take it or leave it.

Dean wrote: Its not your responsibility to get others to accept good ideas (unless its a student--and even then you are not 100% responsible). You can present/talk about them--they can take it or leave it.

I completely concur.

but there will be alot more in the coming generations inspired and taught by pat and sam and their methods.

Actually Pat and Sam are passing on to another generation what they learned and making it available in a video format. Who knows how this will be passed to generations down the line.