THE COMPLETE BREATH

What is the Complete Breath?

The Complete Breath is a breath that is practiced in 3 steps filling the lower then the upper part of the lungs allowing the power of Natural Airflow (see the page on Natural Airflow) to fuel the instrument.

Developed from the breathing techniques of Hatha Yoga and the Feldenkrais breath, the Complete Breath is an essential and easy to learn way to fill your lungs.

The Complete Breath needs to be combined with a genuine understanding of the working of the aperture (check out the page on Aperture Posture) if you wish to develop a consistent and efficient 3 or more octave range.

How can I experience the Complete Breath?

The way to learn the Complete Breath is to experience the extremes of your lung capacity; full to completely empty.

Place your left palm against your abdomen just below your belly button and then the palm of your right hand below your left hand so both palms are pressing against your abdomen wall. Press and release your hands against your abdomen wall while you are breathing steadily.

You are about to discover the feeling of your abdomen as it moves during the breathing cycle.

Two things to do –

i) When you inhale, release the pressure from your hands and your abdominal wall will swell out. Don’t push it out, just relax the abdominal muscles and let it all relax. This often feels strange as we are used to wearing belts and holding the abdomen in.

ii) When you exhale, press your hands in firmly against your abdomen as the lungs empty. Allow 8 to 10 seconds for the lungs to empty completely. Once the air is ALL gone you will feel your abdominal muscles squeezing the lungs. Hold this for a further 4 seconds while you begin to recognize the feeling of the abdominal muscles working.

Experiencing this sensation does not mean that you should feel this when playing your instrument. We are training the body how to deep breathe.

Now release the pressure from your hands, relax your abdominal muscles completely and allow the abdomen wall to swell as the lower part of the lungs fills with air again. Allow 4 to 6 seconds for the lower lungs to fill and only inhale until the abdomen wall is stretched to its limit. (Note: do not push out your abdomen wall, just relax it and allow it to stretch until no more air can fit)

Do not breathe up into the chest yet, you are only working the lower part of the breath for now!

When you release your abdominal muscles and the wall of the abdomen swells, you are opening up a low pressure vacuum that instantly and effortlessly fills with air. Do this exercise using the WindBag for the best results.

Although at this stage the breath is very mechanical, regular practice makes it very easy and natural. Your aim is to make the release a subconscious act before you play a phrase on the instrument.

Repeat steps i) and ii) 10 times. Be sure to hold for 4 seconds at the end of each exhalation to allow your carbon dioxide levels to rise so as to avoid hyper-ventilation.

The release of the abdominal muscles is the first step in the 3 step Complete Breath. When you are completely comfortable with the press and release feeling, you are ready to move on. Now it is time to expand the breath up into the chest.

When your abdominal wall is fully stretched, continue the breath up into the chest. This is step 2 in the process. You will feel your rib cage expand as you fill with air and your abdomen wall will now be drawn back in. Be sure that your throat and shoulders remain relaxed. Your shoulders may rise slightly as your rib cage expands.

The whole breathing process should be relaxed and free. As you will see when you watch any of the great players, there is a subtle lift then drop of the shoulders. This lift is important as it allows you to expand and push out the top 5 or 6 pairs of ribs and the breast-plate just below the collar bones. Relax your shoulders and be sure that your throat stays completely relaxed. This is the challenge!

Once full, you will feel your abdominal muscles move in, up and under the bottom of the rib cage. DO NOT push your abdominal muscles now or you will close the throat and get a feeling of being over full causing strain throughout the body. You want to feel firmness around the bottom of the rib cage that remains while you exhale.

The only time the chest drops is when you release the abdominals and begin the breathing process again.

Practise these steps slowly and breath through the nose. Breathing through the mouth is quicker and more practical for trumpet playing but if you have time, breath through the nose. You are still filling your lungs!!

Although it may all seem a little mechanical at first, daily practise will turn this into a breathing practise that once learnt, will change your life forever!

Do not stop the air at the top of the breath when playing. The body can create incredible power quite effortlessly when you let the air turn around without restriction. If you stop the air, it is more than likely you will close your throat and lock your abdominal muscles. Would you ever sing like that? The lips are the vocal cords of the instrument so play as you would sing.

We are not making this up!! This is the breathing technique used by Maynard Ferguson, Bud Brisbois and Bobby Shew to name but a few. Check out The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath to really get a grasp of these concepts.

You are not really serious about getting good if you do not download, read and practice these techniques!

One day YOU WILL come back to it and wish you had learnt these practices when you first discovered them!!!!!!!!!

Listen to Maynard at a workshop talk about the use of the body, not the lips and arm pressure to play in the upper register. Maynard Clinic

If you cannot understand what he is saying, print this PDF. Maynard Clinic PDF