Breathing and Breath Control: Part One by James Neilson
What every brass player should keep in mind about the ins and outs of breathing
Breathing involves a set of muscular actions and reflexes that operate at the subconscious level. Control of the intake and output of air is vested in a built-in responsiveness to external stimuli. Normal breathing is not accomplished by an act of will. If this were true, we would never dare fall asleep. Since the reflexes that govern the respiratory process are controlled at the subconscious level, many brass players do not understand the basic muscular activity involved, and many fuzzy ideas exist regarding both breathing and breath control.
In more than one instruction book, the diaphragm is referred to as a muscle that may be controlled by conscious effort. While the diaphragm is a combination of muscle sinew and tendons, in truth it cannot perform conscious muscular activity. Its chief purpose is to serve as a membrane separating the area occupied by the lungs and heart from that occupied by the organs of the abdominal cavity. The movement of the diaphragm is controlled by the abdominal muscular structure.
When this structure is caused to move upward and inward, the diaphragm contracts and expels air from the lungs. When it relaxes downward and outward, the diaphragm is gradually distended, thereby governing the intake of air into the lungs. Like those that govern the pumping of the heart muscles, these reflex actions are controlled by the subconscious, but with this big difference: under no circumstances can the muscular action of the heart be brought under conscious control, while the function and control of the respiratory process can be moved from subconscious to conscious levels, with its operative reflexes controlled by an act of will.
The diaphragm, however, is not directly involved in this. Rather, it is the reflexes of the abdominal muscular structure that are brought under control. The ease with which this is accomplished measures the wide gulf between the superb artistry of a gifted trumpeter and the efforts of those not so skilled. The most important single element contributing to an artistic performance has always been the production of a pleasing tone. And a pleasing tone, refined and smooth, must be under perfect control at all times.
The development of superior tone quality depends upon two things: (1) performance on a fine instrument, and (2) a completely disciplined use of the respiratory process, or "breath control." These assumptions are reasonable so far as brass instrument performance is concerned. Consider also the following:
1. Control of the reflex action of breathing must be moved from subconscious to conscious levels during performance. At higher levels of artistry, however, this control tends to revert to the subconscious.
2. Only one third of the lung capacity is used in normal breathing. Basic practice routines must be devised that make it imperative to fill the lungs to their full capacity. Practicing on sustained tones compels the student to take in such additional quantities of air that he or she soon begins to fill the unused segments of the lungs. Continued daily practice eventually enables him to arrive at a stage where he easily controls the emission of tone over successively longer periods of time.
Additional intelligent practice on sustained tones will bring all reflex actions into perfect coordination, ensuring an even flow of compressed air to the vibrating areas of the lips–no matter what dynamic is being used. Lack of control over intensity of tone (the rate of flow and compression of the air stream) causes tonal values to deteriorate.
3. Since degrees of loudness or softness are determined by both the rate of compression and the speed of the air stream, reflex actions of the abdominal muscular structure must remain under perfect control. For example, immediately after taking a breath, control is maintained easily when playing louder passages but is difficult to maintain when playing the softer passages. Conversely, after a considerable amount of breath has been expended, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain control over the louder passages but much less so over the softer. Daily practice on sustained tones must include concentrated effort directed toward making these technical difficulties nonexistent.
The seemingly effortless ease with which intensity of tone is controlled has always been a large factor in determining the stature of the performing artist on brass instruments. The real artist is always in control of the respiratory process, no matter what adverse factors may arise during the performance–unless the player is at the mercy of an inferior instrument. Only the best made instruments are "good enough." Students are cautioned against accepting inferior substitutes. Mediocre instruments interfere with the development of basic skills.
4. Tones in the higher registers must be supported with ample breath pressure. On higher tones, compressed air should be expelled more quickly so the vibrating areas of the lips are excited easily. On high tones, the embouchure must be tightened to produce a greater number of vibrations. This tightening of the lips causes them to offer more resistance to the air stream, making it imperative to expel more air to set the vibratory surfaces in motion.
This underscores the importance of posture. The performer must sit or stand erect in order for the abdominal muscular structure to have free play. Poor posture makes it difficult to negotiate higher registers with ease. A major third can often be added to the upper range by the simple expedient of improving posture.
5. When playing, breath is forced through the aperture under compression. Compression is achieved when the diaphragm remains taut, with the abdominal muscles that support it ready to "spring into action" at the precise moment of the attack. Immediately after inhaling, just before the attack, there should be a slight contraction of the abdominal muscular structure. This acts as a pump to build compression so that, at the moment of attack, the air stream is expelled positively and the tone begins immediately and clearly.
Tonguing is an act of release; the tip of the tongue must be removed from the point of contact and breath expelled before the lips can vibrate. At this precise instant, compressed air must excite the vibratory surfaces of the lips. The reasons for a poor attack may or may not be related to sluggish action of the tongue. Poor attacks may be the result of a lack of compression behind the air stream (intensity) and its failure to excite the vibratory surfaces of the lips.
6. On higher tones the lips must vibrate more rapidly, a change that is effected by increased tension in the embouchure. Since the lips are held more tightly on higher tones, the flow of compressed air needed to set them into free vibration is greater, and the speed of the air stream as it passes through the aperture must be increased.
Says a good friend of mine, "Do not blow up for higher tones; blow out for them. Blow through your instrument and project the tone beyond the rim of the bell." By blowing "through your instrument," he means maintaining a higher rate of breath compression on high tones so that the air stream may move more rapidly across the surfaces of the lips.
Having now explored the nature and importance of breath control, we shall next examine exercises to develop it–as well as bad habits to avoid.
Dr. James Neilson served a lengthy tenure as Leblanc's educational director during the 1960s and '70s. The above has been condensed from a publication he authored in 1962. Part Two will appear as a future Keynotes online update.
