In my first post, I explained what circular breathing was and showed you two examples of the process. I also listed several exercises for you that would allow you to take air in and at the same time let air out. What we will be doing in this post will be giving you additional exercises to do in order to actually produce a note from your instrument which you should be able to sustain indefinitely.
Getting a buzz going while inhaling.
First we need to practice what we had accomplished in Part I of this post.
1. Lower your jaw, fill your mouth with air and close your lips together.
2. Raise your jaw while keeping your lips sealed.
3. With you cheeks expanded, continue to breathe in through your nose.
4. Slowly let the air escape from the center of your lips and at the time breathing in through your nose.
Now we continue.
5. Repeat this exercise but this time place your mouthpiece on the vibrating area of your lip to get a buzz through your mouthpiece.
6. Practice this same exercise several times until you are able to not only get a buzz, but you are able to change pitch.
7. You may have had a difficult time accomplishing exercise # 6. If you were able to accomplish the exercise, you are way ahead of most people.
If you were not able to accomplish #5- #6, do these exercises.
1. Place your mouthpiece in your horn and insert the most restrictive mute you own, ie. practice mute or cup mute.
2. Play a second line G and as you sustain the note, allow your cheeks to fill with air.
3. Seal the areas between the top of your mouth as you have learned and force the air out of your cheeks at the same time you raise your tongue and move it forward in your mouth. This may take some practice before you are able to accomplish this exercise.
Do not be surprised if this seems impossible for this is the most difficult coordination exercises that you will have to learn. Some students have had to practice this level for several days before becoming proficient at it. If you want to circular breathe, you will have to learn this technique before moving on. If it takes you four weeks, take four weeks and learn it.
Now that you are able to sustain a second line G indefinitely, you need to improve on what you have accomplished.
I have asked you to play the G second line for a very good reason. This note is the easiest to begin and sustain and because of that fact, we started there. You may notice that as you take you quick breaths through your nose, the pitch changes. You need to first be aware of this sound change and as you continue, try to minimize the sound difference and work toward a consistent tone and pitch. Trust me, it’s not easy at first but it will come with practice. Once you are satisfied with your consistent sound, pitch and volume, you can then start to play other notes. The extreme upper and lower ranges will be the most difficult to develop but they also will come with time. When I say practice, I’m not talking about days or even weeks. Some students continued to work at this level for months before they were proficient enough to move on.
Moving on.
I have listed a few important areas you should be aware of as you continue to develop you skills in the technique of circular breathing.
- The easiest notes will be in the middle range and at the middle dynamic level.
- Always work for a consistent pitch and volume, try to hide the points when you take in air.
- Sustained note are the most difficult to develop for they are the most exposed.
- After you have accomplished consistently sustained notes, it is easier to learn scales and runs.
Coming into the final lap.
Now that you are able to sustain a single note without the slightest change in pitch or dynamic, you are now ready to start moving your valves.
1. Start on second line G and play for about a minute without a break. If you are able to sound consistent and you have the confidence to show everyone that you can play indefinitely without stopping for air, continue to the next exercise.
2. Start the G again and slur between that note and the F# just below it. Try to move the valves when you are not taking a breath.
3. Now move the valves when you are taking a breath. You should not hear any difference between the two. If you do hear a difference, remain on this exercise until both sound the same.
4. This time start on G and move down to F# then back to G and up to G# and return to G. Work slowly until you are able to play this pattern at any tempo without change in your tone or dynamic level.
Congratulations on a race well run. If you have been honest with yourself at all levels in this post, you should now understand what goes into circular breathing and what it will take to polish your new technique to the point of perfection. The first video I had you watch was impressive but the next should impress you even more. Many people have a hard time with Kenny G as a serious jazz musician and rightly so. He is not in my opinion a jazz player but I do feel he is a very gifted musician and for that reason I would like you to view his explanation of how he uses circular breathing in his playing. His use of connected and changing pitches is what I want you to understand. In the first video, Mr Morrison used circular breathing primarily on a couple notes, Kenny G, on the other hand covers the full range of his instrument.
I wish you the very best in your continued development in art of Circular Breathing.
