Circular Breathing

[Matt Summers]

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

[RickF]

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.

[davewerden]

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.

[Magikarp]

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….

[Matt Summers]

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.

[iMav]

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?

[iMav]

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??

[Matt Summers]

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.

[iMav]

“Play long notes without having to breathe….slight risk of dropping dead.” Ummm, no thanks!

[davewerden]

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).

[RickF]

Oh man, I remember reading about William Bennett dying on stage during a solo. Only 56 and had a brain hemorrhage. I only knew him from a wonderful DVD I have with the MTT (Michael Tilson Thomas) program called, "Making a Performance" when they're preparing for Tchaikovsky No. 4 Symphony. Mr Bennett is featured quite a bit in rehearsing the second movement where the oboe and bassoon are both featured. I remember him stating that he was usually the first on stage to acclimate his oboe to the temperature as there's not much room to tune the oboe.

If interested this link will take you to the start of Bill Bennett's feature:
Making a Performance - Tchaikovsky No. 4 (YouTube):

I think the audio/video is better at this link with the whole program:
https://michaeltilsonthomas.com/keeping-score/tchaikovsky/

Sergei Nakariakov is about the best brass player I've seen using circular breathing. He uses it quite a bit playing Haydn Cello Concerto in C major on flugel horn.
...

[aroberts781]

Thanks for sharing these Rick, I had not listened to Sergei Nakariakov before and that was really great playing, I'll have to find more from him.

I was watching a video of Wynton Marsalis tonight and noticed him circle breathing so thought I would come share this example.

https://youtu.be/3blL4v-cY18

[tokuno]

Oh man, I remember reading about William Bennett dying on stage during a solo. Only 56 and had a brain hemorrhage. I only knew him from a wonderful DVD I have with the MTT (Michael Tilson Thomas) program called, "Making a Performance" when they're preparing for Tchaikovsky No. 4 Symphony. Mr Bennett is featured quite a bit in rehearsing the second movement where the oboe and bassoon are both featured. I remember him stating that he was usually the first on stage to acclimate his oboe to the temperature as there's not much room to tune the oboe.

Wow, memory lane. Our meagre student budgets afforded only a few SFSO tickets, but I met him in person when he came across the Bay 1983ish to present and perform at a small UC Berkeley lecture for "Physics of Music" (yeah, dumb class, but I needed the easy A and it fulfilled an engineering general-ed req). He was personable, charming, and provided a fascinating history of the oboe's development. It's striking in retrospect how much time, effort, and experience his presentation represented in those pre-Internet/Wikipedia days. I remember thinking that - with his oxford shirt, sport coat, and leather shoes - he looked more like a professor than any of my 'real' professors did.

One day in jr. high school, some of the high schoolers swung by to assist and our band director conducted a "longest held note" contest that the high school trumpeters won via circular breathing.
A bunch of us spent a blink trying to cb, but I don't recall anyone picking it up.

[iMav]

I'm simply not going to bother trying to learn. (I'm in MY 50s...don't need to drop dead suddenly...LOL Plus, many pros seem to get along just fine without this skill, so this amateur certain can!)

It IS a cool technique though.

[euphdude]

I recall hearing in one of Steven Mead's pandemic videos answering a question from a reviewer about this topic. Steve said he could do it, but didn't advise it for most players and he seemed to imply that there was a tonal penalty for using this as well - he seemed to say he didn't think the time to invest to acquire the skill was worth it and he also said he almost never uses it himself - and if a player at his level almost never uses it, that speaks volumes to me.