Taking a quick quiet breath is not as easy as it seems.
Sure, we all know how to take fast breaths when we exercise. But when you’re playing through a fast passage, and you need to breathe while in tempo, you’ve got to learn how to do it quickly AND quietly.
Here’s a way to train yourself to relax your throat and jaw, so that you can easily breathe quickly and quietly.
The biggest mistake we make is keeping the throat tight. When we take a fast breath, our instinct is to just suck in the air we need while keeping a tight jaw and a tight throat.
This produces a noisy breath. It makes a sound. A sound that we probably don’t want in the middle of a piece. Once when I went to a flute convention, I heard Trevor Wye talk about all these competitive performers who we’re not thinking about the noise they made with their breaths. He was actually complaining about how much it bothered him.
It made me start thinking about my breaths. Were they noisy when I played? I wasn’t even sure. I began to listen to myself and thought that I was fine. Then I heard a recording of myself in a performance and was shocked to hear the sounds my breath made. I realized my throat and jaw were tight and those quick breaths were louder than I imagined!
Generally, when you take a fast breath in the middle of a piece, the vast majority of flutists take it with a tight jaw and closed throat. The spontaneous breath is closed and tight. Thus, the right method of breathing has to be well thought out and practiced just like everything else in music. It will take intentional thought to breathe properly.
When I want to work on breathing, I pick a passage from what I’m working on and I practice taking a proper fast breath with an open throat and relaxed jaw. If I play at the speed required for the piece and take a breath I will undoubtedly do it wrong. So, instead when I need a breath, I stop completely and open my throat which automatically relaxes my jaw. By practicing this breathing technique while I’m practicing a piece, I learn to take this kind of breath every time
Every time an intentional breath. Every time.
It’s amazing that all you really have to do is relax the throat and breathe to do it quietly. And not only is it quiet, but just as fast too.
Now, experiment with this practice technique. Experiment with taking those fast breaths, but do it from a complete stop. Fill up, and then resume at the tempo in which you ended. This is a way to practice breathing correctly and a way to train yourself to take that kind of breath every time.
Add this to your practice routine. You’ll be glad that you did because a quick breath can open that throat up and relax the jaw. It’s quick, it’s quiet, and it will give you a better tone when you come back in.
Have fun!
DoctorFlute
Watch me demonstrate this FluteTips 83 Taking a Quick Breath Quietly with Relaxed Throat & Jaw
