Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [breathing]

Breath control as it relates to playing wind instruments, rapping or singing.

Breathing has always served to satisfy two competing objectives: the delivery of oxygen to the body and providing the medium for sound generation. In the latter, there are better and worse moments to take a breath, since one would like not to spoil musical lines. A special variant, circular breathing, allows quasi-continuous playing by inhaling during playing.

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Why do I yawn while singing?

Singing almost always make me yawn. I've heard this is due to not breathing correctly, but I'm not sure what that means. What's the correct way to breathe while singing so I don't yawn?
BenV
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Improving breath support

What are some exercises or tips to help singers improve their breath support?
rshallit
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Breathing practice for harmonica

What are some good breathing practices for playing the harmonica? I have been learning the harmonica for a while now, I can play small time rhymes and some songs. But when I try to get into high intensity mode or try to play continuous blows or…
kamaal
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Is circular breathing something an oboist needs?

Is the Circular Breathing a technique that is needed to know by a good Oboist?
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Why do string players tend to breathe heavily in performance?

Recently, I've started to develop an interest in classical music, specifically chamber music and, more specifically, piano trios. Having listened to a few performances now, I can't help but notice some heavy breathing going on with violin and/or…
Decent Dabbler
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How can I learn circular breathing?

I play clarinet and am interested in learning to circular breathe. How is circular breathing done? Once I learn to do it, is it something that I would want to use throughout my playing or only for certain passages?
David LeBauer
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Why is it considered wrong [for a singer] if shoulders rise when breathing?

What is the difference between the breathing that causes your shoulders to rise and the breathing that enlarges your stomach? Why is the first type considered wrong?
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Brass instrumentalists are taught that higher notes require faster air while lower notes require more air. How exactly is this different?

I cannot count the number of times I've heard the simple adage: To play higher, use faster air. To play lower, use more air, but slower. And unfortunately, this statement is just as confusing to the student the 100th time they hear it as it was…
Richard
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Breath Marks (different symbols)

Breath marks (related to caesurae) often appear in scores for woodwind instruments where it is acceptable to take a breath of air. They are placed in a passage where the phrasing will not be disrupted. A breath mark will necessarily mean that the…
Elements in Space
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How do I stop a sensitive microphone picking up breathing when recording acoustic guitar?

I am using a budget condenser microphone to record acoustic guitar. The microphone has a Cardoid pattern, and is pointing toward the end of the fingerboard (between the sound hole and where the neck joins the body). I find that I get a good…
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How do I improve vibrato and breath volume in singing?

Some people say that vibrato is a gift acquired by birth while some say vibrato has to be practiced and gained before puberty. Once puberty (10-12 yrs) is attained, and the male voice changes to a low pitch one, vibrato is no longer achievable. I…
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How do I learn proper breathing when teaching myself the flute?

I have slowly, over time, begun to teach myself the flute. I play the piano and the recorder (sort of), so learning the note positions and how to read music is not a big issue for me. The biggest difficulty I am facing is how to learn to breathe…
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Singing: Is it true that all of your power behind singing should come from your diaphragm?

I'm not sure if I can ask this here, but I have a question about singing technique. My teacher once told me that all of your power behind singing should come from your diaphragm and that you shouldn't feel pain/tension in your throat. I interpreted…
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Are there any breathing methods for Rap vocals?

I am looking for handy vocal techniques for maintaining my flow during rap. This technique(s) will have to help me maintain my breath during rapping. I seem to be trying to hold my breath too long but when I think about breathing I lose track of my…
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Breathing technique for younger brass band players

I'm a conductor in a church brass band. Currently I train children to learn a brass instrument from 10-11 years old up. I plan to lower that age limit but starting to work with kids younger than 10 years old, I have started to worry about the…
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