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Hey guys,

I'm doing Sibelius 2nd, and I am having some issues with air usage (I'm old).

As many of you know, there are several long, low notes that start out FF > mp and then crescendo to FFF (over something like 12 Andante beats).

How do you guys deal with breathing for these effects?

Should I start jogging more???

Yes, I'm also playing it right now, and I'm getting gassed. I circular breathe, but there are limits: not only can't I do it on running passages, but I can't do it at loud volumes or really low notes. Which kind of crimps my day on the 1st Movement. But my choice is, and always has been, if I need a breath, I'd rather leave a gap to breathe, than start to sound bad and THEN leave a gap to breathe. We aren't machines, after all. That said, running up the stairs a couple hundred times the next few days might help. No, I'm not doing that either. I'm 59 damn years old - Mozart was almost 25 years dead when he was my age.

That section in the 1st movement you do have some help from the basses so you could sneak in and out. In the 3rd movement you are with the bones. When we did it the tuba and I used team breathing on that. I don't know how anyone could play some of those licks in one breath, especially that 42 beat tied note in the 3rd movement, even if it is piano.