Re: Re: inhaling through the nose


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Posted by Leland on May 06, 1999 at 14:13:14:

In Reply to: Re: inhaling through the nose posted by Brian Frederiksen on May 05, 1999 at 08:47:58:

The key words Brian wrote are "..these techniques may not be needed." Specifically the word "may", really.


Better than 90-95% of the time, the standard full breath through the mouth works much better than anything else. Even the best breath, though, won't last by itself through thirty seconds of pulsing forte notes, and for me, other breathing techniques must be used during those sections for the most reliable rendering of the part.


It's totally true that sniff breathing won't get much air inside. Still, in the examples I mentioned, there are enough musical gaps between the notes already to allow fresh sniffs every 3 or 4 notes. Sniff breathing also doesn't require my mouth to keep jumping on & off the mouthpiece, so it makes missed notes much less likely to appear.


When the music dictates it, I have to use whatever other techniques I've got, and that does include both circular breathing (rarely) and sniff breathing. Sure, I could take a full breath and play softly just to last through the phrase, but if the sound doesn't jump off the stage, why bother playing at all? It must have worked -- one of our piano faculty told me after my performance at our honors recital that she hadn't heard a tuba play so clearly, and that she had always heard woofy sounds before. Of course, she's probably been sheltered from the great tubists that we know (which wouldn't surprise me -- nearly all of the non-brass faculty are like, "Gene who?"), but I was happy enough to get my point across to the audience.


Seeya,
Leland


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