A Moment... for Breath
Many players unwittingly do not take a proper breath, instead using a quick breath, tension, and pressure to create their sound. This is especially true of players in marching bands. The students are more likely more physically exhausted and more focused on getting to their correct "dots" while playing the correct notes than breathing properly. This can be detrimental to a band's overall sound in numerous ways, especially in terms of volume and tone quality. Without a proper breath, the sound produced by the students will lack upper and lower overtones, seeming to be less brilliant, or resonant. This, in turn, does not carry as well as a fully resonant sound, meaning it will seem to be much softer. That creates a huge problem, especially for those big "press box" moments.
The methods to correct this seem to be obnoxiously simple. First, one must examine the qualities of a good breath. According to Dr. Eric Swisher, professor at Murray State University, a good breath will move a "large quantity of air, with little or no resistance." Students should be using about 80-85% of their lung capacity, which seems a lot compared to a normal "talking breath" of approximately 33% of their total capacity.
Next, the issue of making sure the student is not restricting the flow of the air must be addressed. The most common area of tension is the gut. The student in this instance will be attempting to use his or her abdominal muscles to "push" the air through the horn. This also causes the rest of the upper body, including the throat, to become tense as well. This leads to serious constriction of the airways. Simply asking the student to relax his muscles will not be very effective. Instead, remind the student to focus on the motion of the air flow. The body will do what it needs to do to create that large flow on its own. The student should be producing a "soft oh" sound if using a proper breath.
Additionally, remind the student to breathe up until the point of the attack. This is of course, not possible, but having this mental concept allows the breath to be taken in for its full value, not being chopped off before the point of exhalation. This "hitch breath" inherently causes the player to create tension while holding and pressurizing the breath. Thinking of breathing up until the attack will remedy this problem. It is also an important part of this solution to give the player a good aural model. The breath that the player reciprocates should not be making "hissing", constricted, or other sounds of the sort.
Lastly, a pinwheel can visually show the student the effect of their air flow. If a large quantity of air is being moved, with direction, the pinwheel (held at arm's length) will turn at a good pace. If there is a large quantity of air being used, but with no direction (i.e.-motion or flow), the pinwheel will barely move at all. The visual part of this exercise can also allow the student to see by how much they need to speed up or slow down the air. You will be amazed at how much more power you band's sound will seem to have after these exercises. That power is all thanks to a good breath.
 | Nick Calcamuggio frequently writes articles and teaches clinics on marching, movement, brass, and visual instruction. For a more complete bio please visit our consultants and clnicians page here. |