Lung capacity, not enough?
- Black Mage
- Posts: 180
- Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2005 10:08 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Ogden, Utah
Lung capacity, not enough?
I've been playing my Clarke Original D for about four months now. I'm progressing, but there is one thing that I've been having a few problems with, lung capacity. I always seem to run out of air before I get to a point in the song where I can take a breath without interupting the flow of the music, especially when I'm playing the second octive. Are there any exercizes that I can do to increase my lung capacity?
Thanks,
BM
Thanks,
BM
"Playing the whistle is nothing impressive. All one has to do is cover the right holes at the right time, and the instrument plays itself."
- OnTheMoor
- Posts: 1409
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:40 pm
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Ottawa, Canada
I doubt your lung capacity is an issue mage. It is probably a matter of timing, you aren't breathing in the right spots. As for how you can fix that, I'd say listen listen listen, but there are others more qualified than me to offer advice. But unless you're a chipmunk, lung capacity is not your problem.
- Screeeech!!!
- Posts: 415
- Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2005 2:15 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Out on the patio, sunbathing... ...i wish!
Who, me?
A Casey Burns Rudall (least) and a McGee 5088, also a conical, (slightly more), but both are still less than the whistle. A Cox D cylindrical bamboo takes about the same to a little more.
You can huff and puff on them, but if you're focused the air requirement isn't that bad.
Really, I find whistles in general to require a lot of air. Of course, I have asthma, so it may just be me.
I have a virtually untouched Water Weasel, a low G, that I should sell because it's just impossible. And it's not nearly the size of a D flute. And my fingers hardly cover the holes. Well, not hardly--they don't cover them. The poor thing is languishing here.
A Casey Burns Rudall (least) and a McGee 5088, also a conical, (slightly more), but both are still less than the whistle. A Cox D cylindrical bamboo takes about the same to a little more.
You can huff and puff on them, but if you're focused the air requirement isn't that bad.
Really, I find whistles in general to require a lot of air. Of course, I have asthma, so it may just be me.
I have a virtually untouched Water Weasel, a low G, that I should sell because it's just impossible. And it's not nearly the size of a D flute. And my fingers hardly cover the holes. Well, not hardly--they don't cover them. The poor thing is languishing here.
Cotelette d'Agneau
- Pete D
- Posts: 111
- Joined: Wed May 11, 2005 11:02 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: NYC
I think you ask a good question.
1st of all Clarkes originals are difficult to play (IMHO) because they take a lot of air to play…but if you do learn to play it well, when you pick up a whistle with a plastic fipple, you’ll feel like super(whistle)man.
But probably more importantly…IMHO, it’s more than SIMPLY improving lung capacity. It’s more about proper phrasing. That's the difficult part.
1st of all Clarkes originals are difficult to play (IMHO) because they take a lot of air to play…but if you do learn to play it well, when you pick up a whistle with a plastic fipple, you’ll feel like super(whistle)man.
But probably more importantly…IMHO, it’s more than SIMPLY improving lung capacity. It’s more about proper phrasing. That's the difficult part.
Re: Lung capacity, not enough?
Yes...Black Mage wrote:Are there any exercizes that I can do to increase my lung capacity?
Google: breath exercises
I had some good links but I can not find them right now. I'll poke around when I get the time.
-
- Posts: 138
- Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 3:23 pm
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: boca raton fl
gasp
i have a mack hoover brass d that takes very little air its great for learning new tunes you can play as slow as you want and not have to think much about breathing i hear the narrow bore takes even less air not to mention the sound is grrrreat!
- Caru
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2001 6:00 pm
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin
A whistle with a bit more backpressure might be easier for you. Next time you have a few different whistles available, try holding a G note (or whatever) as long as you can and time it, to get a feel for how long a phrase you'll be able to play in one breath. There's a lot of variation between whistles.
- Unseen122
- Posts: 3542
- Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 7:21 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Of course I'm not a bot; I've been here for years... Apparently that isn't enough to pass muster though!
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Contact:
Yes, you. That is intresting I play a Geert Lejune 5088 (more) and an M&E R&R (less) I rarely pull out the Tipples anymore but they are in the middle, and I find that they take more air than most of my whistles. I don't find Whistles to take a lot of air and I also have asthma so it probably could be just you, I have sold whistles because the air requirments were too low. Some times you have to interupt the flow listen to more trad to hear it though. I can play 4 lines on one breathLambchop wrote:Who, me?
A Casey Burns Rudall (least) and a McGee 5088, also a conical, (slightly more), but both are still less than the whistle. A Cox D cylindrical bamboo takes about the same to a little more.
Really, I find whistles in general to require a lot of air. Of course, I have asthma, so it may just be me.
- chas
- Posts: 7707
- Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2001 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: East Coast US
I find that flutes definitely take less air than a Clarke original or just about any low whistle, but more than most D whistles.
If breath is an issue, I'd definitely recommend a different whistle. For moderate breath requirements, try a Clare, for low, try an Oak. Most importantly, keep practicing (you'll get better at using your breath), and listen. Also, IIRC, Rob Greenway's flute site has a section on breathing that I found very useful when I was starting out on the whistle.
If breath is an issue, I'd definitely recommend a different whistle. For moderate breath requirements, try a Clare, for low, try an Oak. Most importantly, keep practicing (you'll get better at using your breath), and listen. Also, IIRC, Rob Greenway's flute site has a section on breathing that I found very useful when I was starting out on the whistle.
Charlie
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.