Air Endurance help!!!

[TheTuba]

I used to be pretty good at breathing until recently

I do the usual Oh shape while breathing in

But I can't last longer for more than two measures in my normal Band music

Does anyone know good Breathing excercises?

I have the Breathing Gym but don't know where to start
Thanks

-Raghul:tuba:

[thejester10276]

I had a low breathing capacity as well, which led me to also do breathing exercises. I noticed some improvements, but since I like to quantitatively analyze things, I also picked up an inspirometer from ebay so I could see 1) how much I could breathe in and 2) how consistently the air was coming in. May not be your approach (it was only $10 btw), but after having it lying around for a month just picking it up every now and then and working on it, my breathing became MUCH more efficient. If I take in a deep breath, playing at a piano dynamic I can hold out a note for approximately 15-20 seconds before there are fluctuations in pitch and the sound overall, whereas before (while I didn't think about trying the same thing at the time to compare) I could only play about 4-8 seconds of music at a time before my lungs would feel almost completely empty. There was also a noticeable effect on 1) my dynamic range and 2) slurring; pairing a relaxed embouchure and overall playing with an abundance of air made it possible for me to project much farther and resonate A LOT more, and playing quietly was also easier and I was able to play somewhat softer than I could before. Slurring was on another planet better.

Hope this is helpful, good luck!

[TheTuba]

Bump for replies

-Raghul

[Three Valves]

I recently discovered that I was not breathing in to my full capacity.

Make sure you are taking deep breaths.

When I was younger, I ran X-country track.

That helps.

And it makes you a stud!!

[happyroman]

I used to be pretty good at breathing until recently

I do the usual Oh shape while breathing in

But I can't last longer for more than two measures in my normal Band music

Does anyone know good Breathing excercises?

I have the Breathing Gym but don't know where to start
Thanks

-Raghul:tuba:

If you have the Breathing Gym, you really have all that you need (in terms of breathing exercises), so start at the beginning and go slowly through the book. Sam Pilafian and Patrick Sheridan both studied with Arnold Jacobs and have expanded upon the breathing exercises he taught in the development of the Breathing Gym.

A couple of points to keep in mind are as follows. The respiratory system is a segmented bellows system that is designed to maintain human life, not to play a brass instrument. We can use only part of our capacity, using the diaphragm only or rib expansion only and still sustain life. For tuba playing, we need to use both the diaphragm and the rib cage to take a full breath. Many students rely on only one or the other, resulting in the elimination of 45%-55% of their capacity. Mr. Jacobs compared playing a brass instrument with athletics saying that "follow through" was important in both. In brass playing, follow through is accomplished by starting each phrase with comfortably full lungs.

Jacobs also taught the psychology of breathing instead of the mechanics of breathing. From a mechanical standpoint, to take a breath, the rib cage expands and the diaphragm lowers. This results in lower air pressure inside the lungs than outside the lungs, causing air to rush in. However, Jacobs cautioned against focusing on the body to take a breath. Instead, he taught his students to "breathe to expand" instead of "expanding to "breathe." In other words, suck a large quantity of air into the mouth and the brain will control the body, creating space for the air to go.

With respect to breathing exercises, an important point Jacobs made is that we should start by learning to take slow, full breaths. It is better to learn what a full breath is as opposed to what a fast breath is. If you focus on taking a fast breath, you don't tell the brain how much air to take. Get used to taking full breaths, and then gradually learn to take a full breath fast.

Finally, Jacobs taught that we should replenish the breath before the lungs get anywhere close to empty. When we get down to about 1/4 tank left, the air is moving too slowly to be of much use playing a brass instrument. The body also starts to squeeze the lungs in order to expel this last bit of air, making it more difficult to breathe in when we take a replacement breath. He said he had many players that would come to him that filled up to only half full and played to empty. It would be much better to fill up to 3/4 full and replenish the air when you have 1/4 tank left. In both cases, you are only using half a tank, but the second example is much more efficient.

[TheTuba]

Yes, about two weeks ago, I bought a RT-44

It is great, but now i'm noticing it takes me more air for a better tone than on my previous mouthpiece.

I'll start on the Breathing Gym.

Thanks!
-Raghul

[pecktime]

Cardiovascular exercise will help too.

If you run or swim you will notice a difference

[apkujala]

Go swim, dive for 5min and when you go back up you will see how you should breath in. Mental picture of this could also help a bit.

My own story: I was very confident with my breathing for many years. Amount of years was about as long as time between lessons I took. And the next lesson the teacher gave me breathing bag which helped a lot in the second. Been couple years since and I've managed to _get_ bag of my own...haven't used it much because I'm pretty confident with my breathing...

[Leland]

Go run. Or do Zumba classes. And yoga.

Do Breathing Gym every day until the end of this summer as part of your daily practice routine. (yes, I know it's barely April) The principles that Pilafian and Sheridan teach are pretty much an embodiment of Jacobs's principles that happyroman outlined above.

FWIW, the only times I can last two measures on one breath are in really soft parts. I usually breathe a lot more often.

[timothy42b]

I used to be pretty good at breathing until recently

I do the usual Oh shape while breathing in

-Raghul:tuba:

The Oh inhalation is commonly taught. But I was at a lecture with Jim Markey (Boston Symphony trombonist) a few weeks bad, and he said in his opinion that's wrong, Ah is better. He had us inhale on Oh and on Ah, and Oh definitely restricted inhalation more for us, Ah was more open and relaxed.

If you are overweight. That's actually a good guess if you are in the US, as 70% of us are. And while I have some tuba playing friends who are skinny - well no actually I don't. But I digress. Mostly that's because my friends are my age, and we've all gained a little weight over the years.

A trombone player noticed that when he lost weight it changed his breathing. He had been unconsciously resting his rib cage on his, ahem, calorie storage, and when that physical dimension was lessened it changed his posture and his playing.

[happyroman]

I used to be pretty good at breathing until recently

I do the usual Oh shape while breathing in

-Raghul:tuba:

The Oh inhalation is commonly taught. But I was at a lecture with Jim Markey (Boston Symphony trombonist) a few weeks bad, and he said in his opinion that's wrong, Ah is better. He had us inhale on Oh and on Ah, and Oh definitely restricted inhalation more for us, Ah was more open and relaxed.

If you are overweight. That's actually a good guess if you are in the US, as 70% of us are. And while I have some tuba playing friends who are skinny - well no actually I don't. But I digress. Mostly that's because my friends are my age, and we've all gained a little weight over the years.

A trombone player noticed that when he lost weight it changed his breathing. He had been unconsciously resting his rib cage on his, ahem, calorie storage, and when that physical dimension was lessened it changed his posture and his playing.

There is likely a reason the doctor has us say AHH when he wants to look at our throat. But it is really a matter of choice between any of the low vowels (OH, OOH, or AHH). All three keep the tongue low in the mouth and out of the way.

When taking a breath, of more importance is to make sure the opening at the lips is slightly smaller than the opening in the throat. If the friction occurs in the throat, it can easily constrict as a result. Keeping minimal friction at the lips will prevent this. Suck the air into the mouth past the lips. A good mental image is sucking a long strand of spaghetti into the mouth.

I suspect that if the mouth is open too wide, AHH does indeed work better than OH or OOH.

[JasonWall]

I used to be pretty good at breathing until recently

I do the usual Oh shape while breathing in

-Raghul:tuba:

The Oh inhalation is commonly taught. But I was at a lecture with Jim Markey (Boston Symphony trombonist) a few weeks bad, and he said in his opinion that's wrong, Ah is better. He had us inhale on Oh and on Ah, and Oh definitely restricted inhalation more for us, Ah was more open and relaxed.

If you are overweight. That's actually a good guess if you are in the US, as 70% of us are. And while I have some tuba playing friends who are skinny - well no actually I don't. But I digress. Mostly that's because my friends are my age, and we've all gained a little weight over the years.

A trombone player noticed that when he lost weight it changed his breathing. He had been unconsciously resting his rib cage on his, ahem, calorie storage, and when that physical dimension was lessened it changed his posture and his playing.

This reminds me of a hip bone music interview Michael Davis did with Phil Myers, Former Principal Horn of New York Philharmonic. Just retired last year actually, he will be certainly missed. In this interview he was talking about the struggles he went through as Principal Horn and his weight gain/lost. It SEVERELY threw his playing around and pscyched him out. He eventually perservered and got through it but it was such an inspirational story from one of the greatest horns of our time! check it out if y'all haven't, brought me to tears. but to respond to the thread. Breathing gym is the best way to go! Sam Pilafian and Pat Sheridan surely knew what they were doing and with those exercises it covers a huge variety and platter of problems of all kind in one setting.

[timothy42b]

I found the interviews but there are several sections. Can you remember in which one he addressed the weight?

I had not realized quite how heavy he was until I watched a bit of that interview.