Circular Breathing for Wind Players
Article date: 5/11/08 | Last edited: 21/12/08
Circular breathing can produce spectacular effects in contemporary Western music, but players have used its techniques for centuries. Technically, circular breathing is the production of a continuous sound by using the cheeks as an air sac and breathing through the nose while forcing air from the mouth into the instrument.
Near a kitchen sink, get set up with a drinking straw, a glass of water, and your instrument. Before attempting this technique, you need to understand what the involved muscles will do. First, you should learn how to move your tongue and cheek muscles independently of each other. To do this, close your throat with your tongue and breathe through your nose; at the same time open your mouth and move your tongue in various directions, inhaling and exhaling repeatedly.
Then concentrate on your cheek muscles, which act as a powerful sac to control the air flow. Stand over a sink and hold a drinking straw between your lips. Take as much water as possible into your mouth, then close your throat and puff your water filled cheeks. Use cheeks and tongue to push water through the straw, keeping the flow even as if through a garden hose. Then try this exercise without the straw; the water should come out in a straiht spurt. Keep your lips formed in a small aperture, using cheeks and tongue to force the water out.
Prectice this while standing further away from the sink; the stronger the flow, the better. This water flow will eventually become the air flow through your instrument while you breathe. While spitting the water evenly into the sink, inhale and exhale through your nose. At first concentrate on inhaling as the water spurts from your mouth. When you master this, play a comfortable note on your instrument. Then fill your cheeks with air, close your throat and throw air into the piece to produce the same note. At first it may be difficult to create a sound using only the air that you have stored in your cheeks. Imagine pronouncing the letter p in a popping manner. Create a strong pressure with the air in your cheeks while keeping the lips closed, then free the opening so that the air is forced into the instrument.
With a little practice the tone should become longer and sound better. Stay at this until you can play for one or two seconds without using air from your throat, then play these note while inhaling and exhaling. While sustaining an easy note, gently and gradually puff your cheeks. As you close your throat, push air evenly into the instrument with your cheeks, as you did earlier with the straw. Try this while inhaling and exhaling, continuing the exercise by rapidly but gently restoring the natural air column flow in the instrument as you open your throat to let air through. With practice all movements should become less fragmented and all the steps should become as one; a stronger air flow links the steps together. Remember to close your throat when the cheeks push air out and open it when using a natural air column flow.
After practicing long tones with circular breathing, try playing scales or other rechnical patterns. Circular breathing is easier when playing scales or other technical patterns. Circular breathing is also less difficult on instruments with high resistance like oboe and trumpet. Low resistance instruments, such as the flute and clarinet, require more cheek control and more practice. With training it becomes unnecessary to puff your cheeks because the tongue will push air into the mouthpiece. Eventually circular breathing happens naturally but it still should be regulary practiced.
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I’ve heard that circular breathing on the flute can be damaging to the embouchure and as a result the tone is messed up. There’s a flute player, Sharon Beazley, touring with ACO later this year who can circular breath… it’ll be interesting to hear what she makes of it!
You mention that this technique has been used for centuries. You aren’t referring to Western music, are you?