Proper Breathing is Essential For Musicians
It has been 37 days since I am on my journey to restore my health. You can discover what I have been doing on my 60-day cleanse through these blog posts. For the last few days, we have been talking about breathing. Yesterday, we learned about Dr. Andrew Weill’s amazing 4-7-8 breathing pattern, to relax in 60 seconds. Today, I’ll introduce you to another extraordinary person I know, Les Wise, a renowned musician, teacher, author, and creator of The Deliberate Musician. You can see us talking about the best breathing practices for musicians in this video on Facebook.
You’ve Got The Power
As I said on day 35, breathing is an automatic process that continues even if we don’t pay attention to it. The way you breathe reflects your state of being that is fluid and dynamic and can be manipulated for your own benefit. Unconsciously, the breath supports your life functions and is an integral component of our stress mechanism. The stress mechanism is activated all the time when you play an instrument. It’s vital to observe your breath and take control because your breath will either diminish or ignite your power. It is quite natural to hold your breath when stress arises both in practice and in performance. The first step to bring on the power is to become aware of the breath and observe. Through observation just let the breath flow without holding it.
Let Your Breath Flow Freely!
As a musician, if you are not mindful of your breath, it will be held in stressful playing situations. We encourage you to see how your playing sounds and how you feel with a relaxed breath flowing free. This advice is suited more for musicians not playing horns or woodwinds. As the topic of breath control comes up, there’s not just one way to do it. No matter what, awareness and observation is the very first step to relax the breath and play with more comfort and power.
Electrify Music with Breath Control
Breath patterns can be used when playing your instrument. Les has some great suggestions for musicians. When you come across a long string of notes while playing, try a prolonged exhale. Watch the video below to get the full meaning of his lesson on breathing technique for the musician.
When you practice this technique for four or five days, you will begin breathing in first and then letting it go. It trains you not to hold your breath as you play a group of notes. Eventually, after consistent practice, you will breathe in a flowing rhythm, no matter how complex you play.
