Have you ever felt nervous just before a very important performance? Have you ever felt so anxious that you literally couldn’t catch your breath as you started to play? It’s so tough to stop that “fight or flight” breathing once it’s started, because it’s a natural biological response. It also makes it harder to play a brass instrument.
Sometimes taking a few deep breaths can do the trick, but it can help to “trick” your body into resetting your breathing patterns. I’ll sometimes do this short exercise just before stepping out on stage and have given it to a lot of my students who get nervous just before performances or juries.
- Stand comfortably straight and take a comfortably full breath.
- As you exhale, slouch forward letting your arms dangle down towards your toes. No need to keep your knees straight. Exhale as much as you can.
- Stand up straight without inhaling. Hold off inhaling as long as you can. Some people are surprised how long they can go. Wait for it.
That’s it. Something about this short exercise reboots your breathing patterns so that you can relax again and breathe the way you want to play.
I found this page here that has this exercise, but I’m sure I’ve also read it elsewhere. What other breathing exercises have you found helpful?
I have found using a “large” tube has helped me to relax the throat and other elements. The Army has a good treatment of this topic on one of their “trumpet lesson” youtube posts. Thank you for the posts on air direction and movement. Some good things to ponder and explore…