photo by Kirby Fong
Most of us have had teachers who instructed, “Breathe from the diaphragm.” Actually, the diaphragm is an involuntary muscle. It separates the thoracic cavity (where the lungs are) and the abdominal cavity (where digestion occurs). The diaphragm moves down when we inhale and up when we exhale.
It is the intercostal muscles, between the ribs, that we employ when playing. Singers, especially those with vocal training rooted in the Italian tradition, use a technic called appoggio. This is used to keep the air from coming out all at once by creating a balance between the abdominal and chest muscles. Basically, when blowing, the musician keeps the rib cage extended away from the lungs.
Many teachers instruct students to take a big breath. Rampal, the legendary French flutist, said he had never had a big breath that he could control. Thus, the reasoning for using appoggio is that it keeps the exhale more under the control of the player. For example, many auditions require a flutist to play a three-octave chromatic scale in one blow. This is quite difficult for most. Often students think that if they take a bigger breath, they will be able to play this scale in one blow. However, there is simply too much air to control, and they dump most of it in the first three or four notes they play. It is better to think of holding the air and portioning it out. The lower octaves can be played with little air while the top notes need a faster air stream. By using appoggio the amount and speed of air at any one time is controlled.
When I was a student, many remarked on the long phrases that Rampal was able to play. One day a flutist turned up the volume on one of Rampal’s recordings and realized that he was breathing all the time in short phrases that were constructed to sound like one long phrase. This type of breathing is called a sip breath. To sip is the same as if sipping a soda with a straw. James Pellerite (retired professor of flute, Indiana University) taught this by counting 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+ and having flutists play on all the +’s. I have found that using appoggio with the sip breath allows artistic freedom in creating the sound and shaping the phrase.
When teaching breathing, remember the sound is made on the exhale, not the inhale. Focus on what you want the air stream to do. Flutists should artistically use the intercostal muscles, the vocal folds, and the aperture (the hole in the lips). Michel Debost wrote in The Simple Flute, “Blowing is where the art is.”
Students often ask how tight should the abdomen be when playing. Have them sit in a chair with their legs extended in front. This is as tight as the abdomen should be. Teachers often use the word support, but to many students this implies tightening the abdomen and keeping it tight for long periods of time. Actually, breathing is a fluid process, so there will be moments of tightening and relaxation. We need to rethink our use of the word support.
How to Breathe
Drop the jaw to open the mouth. Some musicians get this reversed and leave the jaw stationary and tilt the head back to open the mouth. Breathing by tilting the head back is very wearing on the atlanto-occipital joint. Some flutists also inhale through their nose. If it works for you, do it.
Noisy Breathing
This occurs when students breathe with their tongue too high in the mouth. First, the tongue’s natural resting place is on the roof of the mouth. If the tongue is left there, there will be a swashing sound when taking a breath. Simply, lower the tongue. This will help in creating colors and more resonance of the sound too, so it is a win-win.
Sometime breathing is noisy because the note before the breath is held too long and there is not enough time to prepare for the breath and to breathe. Shortening a note, creating an articulatory silence, helps a player shape the phrase and breath quietly. After taking a breath, play the next notes softer to shape the phrase. Most flutists fall into the trap of playing loudly after the breath because they have too much air. It is the “all tanked up and ready to go” mentality.
Where to Breathe
Breathing in a rest is always a good idea unless the rest is part of the phrase such as in accompanying off-beats. However, off-beats may be successfully played with a sip breath. The player should play close attention to the dynamic when entering after a breath as it is easy to play off-beats too loud. It is the old story that melody is played louder than accompaniment.
Breathing at the end of a phrase is always the goal as it shapes the phrase. One of the first things seasoned flutists do is mark the breaths they plan to take. Most use a “v” to indicate a breath while others use an apostrophe. There may be a few that are in parenthesis because in a performance situation, players may be shorter of breath than they were in the practice room, and it is good to be prepared. In many modern editions of Romantic flute etudes, editors indicate places to omit notes so flutists can breathe and stay perfectly in time with a metronome. However, a metronome beat continues on and on with no relationship to phrasing. I suggest that flutists listen to violinists playing Romantic literature. They take time to shape the last notes of a phrase or a bow retake. Flutists should do the same. This means that when practicing etudes by Andersen, Kohler, Furstenau, Paganini or some other Romantic composer, there should be a turning of the phrase before the breath. The large beats are in time or a maybe bit slower, but the partials of a beat are played a bit slower to allow for a graceful breath. I think this is one of the most important reasons for studying this literature. The concepts flutists learn with these etudes teach them how to play Romantic orchestral literature. There is a saying about auditioning – play in absolute metronomic rhythm for the audition, but when you get the job, you will be playing in orchestral rhythm, taking time to shape phrases.
If a breath is needed before the end of the phrase, flutists may breathe after a note of longer duration, in between repeated notes of the same pitch, in between syncopated notes, and in a wide intervallic skip. In many of these instances, the sip breath will be used.
When entering after a rest, it is advisable to breath earlier than later. If flutists wait to breathe as they enter, then they will be playing late. Learning to count sub-divisions is helpful in this endeavor.
If students are running short of air at the end of a phrase, suggest leaning forward. This pushes the ribs against the lungs and provides a bit more air. It won’t be a lot of air, but if they have made a diminuendo already to conserve air, this may be just enough to end the phrase gracefully.
Practice Ideas
Every flutist has felt at one time or another that they could use more air. This is probably true for every wind instrument besides the oboe. A good exercise to naturally be able to sustain a note longer is to set the metronome on q = 60. Start by playing a note in the low octave first for one count followed by a rest, then play the same note for two counts followed by a rest. Keep adding a beat until you can reach 24 ticks on the metronome. Repeat in various octaves in differing dynamics. Almost everything is possible to play in the literature if you can sustain a note for 24 ticks. This works well for phrases too. Play one beat followed by a rest, then two beats followed by a rest until you can play the compete phrase. Sometimes I practice this by starting at the end of the phrase and working towards the beginning, measure by measure.
The opening of the Mozart, D Major Concerto, K. 314 has a third octave D for four measures. This may present breathing challenges initially. First note that the flute does not have the melody, which is in the first violins, so they don’t need to play loudly. Then while counting the opening rests of the exposition, they should slowly empty the lungs by blowing out so that the breath taken before the trill and opening scale is really needed. If flutists play quieter than they think they need to, they will have ample air to complete the phrase.
While breathing is a concern for flutists, what players do with their breath is an illusion to the audience. Hopefully they are not be conscious of what players are doing but just enjoying the wonderful music making.
