Deep breathing

Deep breathing is vital for the flutist to develop optimum breathing capacity in flute playing.

The flutist needs a lot of air to sustain a long melodic line and support beautiful lush tone.

The flute uses air very inefficiently, so a lot of our air is wasted when we blow.

Think about it. All other wind instruments have a mouthpieces for the player to direct their air into. We flutists just blow across the flute and much of it is lost.

On a personal note, I played alto saxophone in high school and college, for marching band and jazz band. Now I play it about once every couple of years. Even with that tiny amount of playing, I can sustain a longer phrase on the sax than I can on the flute! Why? Little, if any, air is lost when blowing into the sax mouthpiece, so you can just keep playing notes.

What's a flutist to do?

Well, deep breathing exercises help a lot. Learning how to breathe deeply and take in a huge amount of air is vital.

Equally important is knowing how to blow the air out efficiently so you don't waste it.

Getting the Air In, Inhaling

Here a couple of things to avoid:

1. Stay relaxed. Relax the neck and shoulders. Don't "hunch" up the shoulders. This is a sign of tension, and tension inhibits your ability to intake a large amount of air.
2. Sit up straight on your chair or stand. If you're sitting, move to the edge of the chair so that your feet are flat on the floor. Keep your spine straight.

When you inhale, think of these analogies...

1. Pretend there is a hula hoop around your waist and that you need to push your stomach out to hold up the hula hoop.
2. Pretend you are swallowing a watermelon and the watermelon is bulging out around your waist.

Both of the "mind pictures" will help you push down on your diaphragm and fill up your lungs with air.

Keep your throat open. Analogies...

1. Hold a golf ball in your mouth. The idea is to keep the tongue down and lower the soft palate.
2. Lower the bottom jaw and feel the hollow space at the ear.

Here is one of my favorite mind pictures...

Pretend you have a big chocolate shake in front of you. Now take a big straw, one about an inch in diameter, and suck up the yummy shake. Feel the cold shake going down your throat and into your stomach.

Instead of the shake, breath in air. That's a big breath!

Practice breathing in over a longer period of time. Breathe in for a count of 4, then a count of 6, a count of 8, etc.

Breathing Out, Exhaling

After inhaling, blow out for a count of 2, then for a count of 4, a count of 6, etc.

Ideally, you need to breathe in a lot of air quickly, and breathe out the air slowly.

Aim to inhale the same amount of air in a count of 2 that you can in a count of 20.

Then aim to blow that air out in no less than 20 seconds.

Can you do it? If not, keep practicing. If you can, move the counts up or down to make it harder.

Keep in mind that you'll probably feel lightheaded. That shows you're doing it correctly!

Be sure to keep your airstream sufficiently small. Find a point on the wall and imagine drilling through that point. Don't blow at a softball-sized hole, it should be a pinpoint.

If you consistently practice these deep breathing techniques, you'll be amazed at the lengths of the phrases you can sustain. Your intonation will be great and you'll have a beautiful tone.

Don't get discouraged if you find this difficult. Deep breathing takes practice! Also try getting more physical exercise, such as jogging or swimming, to develop your lungs.

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