Chiff and Fipple Forums

bradhurley wrote:Matt Molloy just recorded a solo album at age 70.

Terry McGee wrote:Oh wow, PB+J

You are exactly the kind of player I enjoy hearing from. Anyone can pick up an instrument in their youth. But life isn't always that simple, is it. And, as you get a bit older, it's more and more important that life is fulfilling.

And I'm so enjoying hearing the encouraging noises from our friends here on C&F. All on your side. Thank you, good people!

Now many years ago, I wrote this stuff on breathing, and maybe, just maybe, there'll be something in there that will talk to you, or will prompt someone smarter to reinterpret. (Feel free, someone smarter!)

Breathing

There is a great temptation, especially among music notation readers, to breathe only at the end of parts of the tune. This usually means that a lot of the tune is played weakly for want of air, that breaths are long and loud and that parts of the tune get lost. Experienced players find smart places to breathe often, and turn the pauses for breath into punctuation. Smart places include long notes, which might otherwise be rolled. So, for example, a long G might be played as G......G, or rolled as GBGF#GGG, or used as a place to breathe as GslurpG. In this way the need to breathe is turned into a virtue and the breath, instead of becoming a hole in the tune, becomes a statement, a rhythmical variation. Varying where the breath is taken can also add variety.

A good tune to try out some of these tricks is The Leitrim Fancy. Keep in mind that jigs should have a happy skipping rhythm (each bar will sound "tick-e-ty, tick-e-ty"). Rendered into "FluteSpeak", the Leitrim Fancy might sound like this:

G roll, F# roll | E slurp B, B cut A B |
G roll, F# roll | D slurp A, A cut F# D |
G roll, F# roll | E slurp B, B cut A B |
G cut B, d B G | A cut B G, F# cut E D |

(repeat first part)


G cut B , d B d | e roll , d B A |
G cut B , d B G | A cut B G , F# cut E D |
G cut B , d B d | E roll , d e f# |
g cut f# e, d B G | A B G , F# cut E D |

(repeat second part)

(Heh heh, I realise, to my embarrassment, that I've completely forgotten to suggest breathing opportunities in the second part! But, let's see if the first part works for PB&J, or if others would like to take over and suggest a better slurping pattern for both parts.)

Now rolls and cuts may mean nothing to you if you're a beginner, but I'm sure you can find out about them on the web (on YouTube hopefully so you get to hear how they sound). But the real point about what I write above is how to sneak little snatches of breath into your playing so that you never get low on oxygen. People have often asked me if I ever breathe. I take that as a compliment!

I'm almost 71, you young whipper snapper! But I did have the benefit of starting in my early twenties. But I reckon that isn't a knockout blow.

PB+J wrote: If I sit down to play "Garrett Barry's jig," one of my favorites, on the low D whistle I can get through the whole A section once, in one breath. On the flute I can't get through the first two measures.

I do notice that if I'm wearing short sleeves (it's cold here right now) I can feel my own breath on my arm as I play the flute, so I'm clearly wasting a lot of air on arm hairs, and as somebody mentioned there should not be THAT big a difference between a low whistle and a flute.

Hi4head wrote:
On the “belly breathing”, we were taught to breath from the belly rather than the upper chest. I’m wondering if the more seasoned players would chime in on this point for playing the faster tempo ITM that I(we) am attempting to play.
Thanks,
Chris