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Thread: Circular Breathing

  1. Circular Breathing

    Very useful technique to incorporate into daily playing...

    Where to start?

    I'll just leave an example from rehearsal today, showcasing a perfect occasion for circular breathing.

    Starting on a high concert Bb, with a long line of sustained FF bell-tones... No space for breaking the line...

    From the "Joyous" coda of Jessica Meyer's Press On

    https://youtube.com/shorts/4k0WfH-WPNg?feature=share

  2. #2
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    Oh Matt, that's great if you can do it! I tried learning that some years ago and used the drill of blowing bubbles in a glass of water using a straw and try to keep the air moving by puffing your cheeks and then sneak a breath through my nose. I got confused and inhaled through the straw and nearly drowned!
    My teacher/mentor was Fred Dart (U.S. Air Force Band in the '60s) and he told me his son, a trumpet player, learned how to do that in just about an hour. I think oboe players were the first to use this technique since the oboe creates lots of back pressure so a bit easier to use circular breathing. I sure wish I could do that.
    Last edited by RickF; 03-11-2023 at 11:45 AM.
    Rick Floyd
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    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
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  3. #3
    I can pass the straw test OK, but in practice I can't do much with circular breathing. My nasal passages have an odd obstruction (my doc says it's not harmful) that limits the amount of air I can sniff (and/or makes the process noisier than it is for most folks).

    However, I had a student during my band days who was talented at piano and euphonium. He came to our jazz ensemble's concert where Bill Watrous was the guest. He used CB in many places and my student asked me how he did that at our next lesson. I explained it to him. The next week he had pretty much mastered doing this on sustained notes. (That's pretty much what Watrous did - he would get to a held note, and then start his vibrato just as he was about to CB. That helped cover any tone distortion.)

    Having said that, it can be a useful skill for any wind player, and more useful for instruments that require a lot of air. During one of our auditions we had an applicant who used it to extend phrases a bit. In the Holst 2nd Suite solo he was not able to make 8-bar phrases on a single breath so he sneaked a little CB to extend the phrase. He used it in Carnival of Venice similarly. It demonstrated that one doesn't have to go all out to Moto Perpetuo with not breaks.

    FWIW, a friend of mine who is an oboist played for an audition for a Florida orchestra. The reason for the vacancy was that the previous player had gone a bit too far with circular breathing and died of heart failure. One might assume that was an anomaly.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
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  4. #4
    At the RNCM Festival Of Brass in January the solo euphonium of Brighouse & Rastrick was doing it - presumably because it was an audience of brass players and enthusiasts who would be inpressed - and there was no musical benefit to what he was doing (indeed the only effect was a detrimental one to his Ali d quality). The change of sound outweighs any marginal benefit. I suspect if it was worth doing there would be many people doing it. I also wonder what Lyndon Baglin would say about such things….
    Nowt

    Retired

  5. Quote Originally Posted by Magikarp View Post
    The change of sound outweighs any marginal benefit. I suspect if it was worth doing there would be many people doing it.

    If there's a change in sound, then more practice is needed.

    Like vibrato, It's a legitimate technique when done well, but crucially hasn't been incorporated into regular pedagogy.

    For me, in that particular excerpt, I do it so I can maintain 70-90% capacity, which gives me optimal compression (air support) for the (very) loud and air intensive playing.

    Like Dave, I have a loud sniff if I breathe in too fast, (and I can hear it occasionally on earlier recordings) but with 30+ years of using circular breathing every time I pick up the horn, I can manage that.

    Not everyone uses it (we're at 50% in the USMB section), though Phil Franke and I used to play the trio to Stars and Stripes Forever in a "single" breath on every tour concert...

    Can one play euphonium without circular breathing? Absolutely. But it makes things SOOOO much easier to not stress over breath placement in long phrases.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    I spent the better part of a summer in high school trying to nail down circular breathing. A no go.

    Have any resources to help teach this technique?
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    2024 North Dakota Intercollegiate Band (you're never too old!)


    Larry Herzog Jr.

    All things EUPHONIUM! Guilded server

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by davewerden View Post
    The reason for the vacancy was that the previous player had gone a bit too far with circular breathing and died of heart failure. One might assume that was an anomaly.
    Seriously? (Actual correlation between the heart failure and the use of circular breathing??
    Groups
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    2024 North Dakota Intercollegiate Band (you're never too old!)


    Larry Herzog Jr.

    All things EUPHONIUM! Guilded server

  8. More likely from the backpressure. San Francisco lost their 56-year old oboist to an aneurism mid-solo in 2013.

    Also, trumpet players.

    Circular breathing helps me in long quiet passages, since I can also breathe OUT through my nose while playing and then take new breaths, all while sustaining pitch.

  9. #9
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    Valley City, North Dakota, USA
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    “Play long notes without having to breathe….slight risk of dropping dead.” Ummm, no thanks!
    Groups
    Valley City Community Band
    Valley City State University Concert Band
    2024 North Dakota Intercollegiate Band (you're never too old!)


    Larry Herzog Jr.

    All things EUPHONIUM! Guilded server

  10. #10
    The oboe player story was just for general interest. I think Matt is correct that it was the back pressure (or more likely, the very low air flow - when most oboe players break a phrase they often exhale rather than inhale).
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

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