In around 4 days i have my first jam/session,with a guitarist and myself on whistle performing 3 tunes. Im still having problems with breathing , especially if the tune is fast and full of quavers throughout, eg Drowsy Maggie. I run out of breathe or my notes are inconsistant. Can anyone suggest any way of working at this. I try to catch a breathe from my diaphram whenever i come across a crotchet or similar small note/rest.
I guess its a case of performance anxiety!!
Please help me!
first jam/session, help with breathing!
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StevieJ
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Breathing before you need to is very good advice. But knowing when to take that breath is a little more complicated. The first piece of advice is to listen - lots! - to traditional flute and whistle players, and see where they breathe. You'll gradually develop an instinct for what works.
That said, there are a few basic rules you can give yourself.
<ul><li>In dance music, you must never, ever hold up the beat while you take a breath. Which means that:</li>
<li>You must either shorten a note, or skip one entirely, in order to take a breath. In jigs, for example, you can often skip the second note in a group of three. You'll need to breathe fast!</li>
<li>Always breathe <b>after</b> a strong or important note in the tune, not before. Breathing before such a note will kill the flow of the tune.</li></ul>
There's more that could be said, but these are good points to start with. And listen carefully to figure out what good players do.
ATB with your performance,
Steve
PS: Ideas for the tune you mentioned, Drowsy Maggie: in the first part, there are a series of crotchet (quarter-note) Es beginning the bars. You can take a breath after any of these notes by converting them into a quaver, snatching a breath, and then continuing with the next note without missing a beat. It may seem surprising, but the way many traditional players would do this would be to breathe after the very first note in the tune - particularly on the 2nd and 3rd time through, etc. In the second part (in the most common version of this tune), the first bar begins with a crotchet D and has a crotchet C# on the 3rd beat. You can safely convert either of these into a quaver and grab a breath there.
HTH,
S
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: StevieJ on 2001-07-31 10:20 ]</font>
That said, there are a few basic rules you can give yourself.
<ul><li>In dance music, you must never, ever hold up the beat while you take a breath. Which means that:</li>
<li>You must either shorten a note, or skip one entirely, in order to take a breath. In jigs, for example, you can often skip the second note in a group of three. You'll need to breathe fast!</li>
<li>Always breathe <b>after</b> a strong or important note in the tune, not before. Breathing before such a note will kill the flow of the tune.</li></ul>
There's more that could be said, but these are good points to start with. And listen carefully to figure out what good players do.
ATB with your performance,
Steve
PS: Ideas for the tune you mentioned, Drowsy Maggie: in the first part, there are a series of crotchet (quarter-note) Es beginning the bars. You can take a breath after any of these notes by converting them into a quaver, snatching a breath, and then continuing with the next note without missing a beat. It may seem surprising, but the way many traditional players would do this would be to breathe after the very first note in the tune - particularly on the 2nd and 3rd time through, etc. In the second part (in the most common version of this tune), the first bar begins with a crotchet D and has a crotchet C# on the 3rd beat. You can safely convert either of these into a quaver and grab a breath there.
HTH,
S
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: StevieJ on 2001-07-31 10:20 ]</font>