What is circular and sniff breathing?
On Sun Jan 5 23:34:53 1997, Les Benedict ag799@lafn.org wrote the following in the message entitled "Re: Numerous Questions":
It [circular breathing] is the act of gathering air in the mouth by puffing the cheeks, sealing off the throat with the back of the tongue, and pushing air through the lips with the cheek muscles while simultaneously inhaling through the nose (although I once worked with a trumpet player who did it without any noticeable expansion of the cheeks). It can be practiced/learned with a soda straw and a glass of water; try and keep the flow of bubbles constant. When applying it to brass playing, learn to breathe quickly so as to minimize the reduction in the amount of sound, hopefully to none at all. Loud "sniffing" sounds are frowned upon, especially in a recording situation, so try to keep those at a minimum as well.
On Mon Jan 6 06:57:14 1997, Doug Yeo yeo@yeodoug.com wrote the following in the message entitled "Re: Sniff and Circular breathing":
Below are a few paragraphs from my new book on the subjects - obviously I can't reproduce the musical examples on the web and I can't give away the whole store (I do that on my web site :-) but perhaps if you're interested you'll get the book when it comes out. You can get a few more details about the book on my web site at:
http://www.yeodoug.com/mastering.html
Perhaps this will be helpful to those interested in learning these skills.
Doug Yeo
From "Mastering the Trombone" by Edward Kleinhammer with
Douglas Yeo
Published by Edition Piccolo, Hannover, Germany
Copyright 1997 Edition Piccolo
Chapter 1 - Breathing" (excerpt)
After carefully working on these fundamentals of breathing, a player may wish to practice and utilize two important tools in the breathing arsenal - "sniff" and circular breathing.
Composers often call trombonists to do two things that are physical impossibilities - play long, extended passages of moving notes that do not allow any place to breathe (such as the bass trombone part to Number 26 of Haydn's The Creation) and hold long, sustained chords that are tied together with no breathing space (as in the symphonies of Bruckner and Sibelius). While taking quick, relaxed breaths in these circumstances can provide excellent results, the development of the "sniff" and circular breathing techniques can give greater physical and musical satisfaction in these instances.
"Sniff" breathing is the process by which short bursts of air are inhaled through the nose without removing the mouthpiece from the embouchure. One of the biggest problems when attempting to "sneak" short breaths through the mouth is the fact that the embouchure must always be reset. By "sniffing" through the nose, the embouchure remains intact.
The key to successful "sniff" breathing is to take in very small amounts of air through the nose before your lungs are depleted and to take them very frequently (rather like people used to vote in old Chicago: early and often!). These small "sniffs" take up just a fraction of a second and the air taken in can be measured in milliliters, not liters. The simple exercise below can be useful in developing this skill.
At a modest tempo, play four notes on a breath and then sniff after the fourth note and the succeeding groups of two. Follow the indications of where to take a normal breath and when to sniff. Remember to take just a small amount of air in through the nose and be careful not to engage the "cough" muscles ("sniff" breathing becomes more difficult when your sinuses are not clear, so this tool is not particularly useful when one has a cold!). Gradually increase the tempo and begin adding in "sniffs" at various and random spots. Using exercises such as those found in the Kopprasch 60 Studies will be useful in fine-tuning "sniff" breathing after which time practice of orchestral and solo material such as "The Creation" can be undertaken.
Circular breathing is equally as useful as "sniff" breathing but requires somewhat more practice to perfect the skill. This technique consists of the ability to inhale through the nose while simultaneously expelling air into the instrument through the mouth.
Most players have attempted circular breathing at one time or another but have given up, having determined that it is simply "impossible." This conclusion usually comes from approaching the technique in a haphazard manner; frustration takes over when it does not come easily. The following suggestions should help in understanding the basics of circular breathing and therefore move the player from frustration to fruition.
It must be understood that circular breathing, like "sniff" breathing, will only be successful when the player understands that only small amounts of air will be taken in through the nose at any given time. For this reason it is recommended to master "sniff" breathing first before attempting circular breathing so the motion of inhaling through the nose in short bursts is fully developed and controlled. Many players have failed at circular breathing because they attempt to bring in a large quantity of air through the nose, a procedure that dooms the process to failure.
Secondly, one must realize that in order to expel air into the instrument while inhaling through nose, it is necessary to store a "reserve" of air in one's mouth that will be used to produce the tone for a split second until using air from the lungs again becomes possible. By relaxing the cheek muscles, air can be stored in the mouth; quickly firming the same muscles will result in the air being expelled through the lips.
Finally, circular breathing must be practiced diligently in order to develop a smooth flow of air both in and out.
To develop this technique, begin first to develop "sniff" breathing. Next, utilizing the mouthpiece alone, practice filling the cheeks with air and then expelling the air into the mouthpiece, creating a "buzz." Take a deep breath through the mouth, set the embouchure, allow air from
the lungs to fill the mouth and expand the cheeks, and then expel air only from the oral cavity into the mouthpiece. Take care to keep the "corners" of the embouchure firm - puffing the cheeks will naturally cause a collapsing of the corners of the embouchure (thereby pushing too much lip into the mouthpiece and causing a poor tone quality), so one must be aware of this tendency.
Next, practice the smooth movement of air in and out. This can be done without the aid of any special equipment - what is important is to develop good coordination between filling the cheeks with air, inhalation through the nose and expelling air stored in the cheeks through the lips - all within a period of less than one second. Remember, it is most important to only take in a very small amount of air - really only a "sniff" of air rather than a long "draw" of air. Some people utilize a straw with a glass of water to help this process; the object of that exercise is to constantly keep bubbles forming in the glass with a constant flow of air through the straw. However, this usually results in poor
posture and a false sense of the amount of force required to produce a musical tone. The same effect can be achieved with the trombone by simply trying to hold a steady middle f with circular breathing.
As with "sniff" breathing, care should be taken not to allow the lungs to become too depleted with air before beginning circular breathing. The process should begin early in a note or phrase when a good reserve of "support" is still available in the lungs.
Players will find that circular breathing comes easiest in the middle register and at soft to medium dynamics. In time, however, and with diligent practice, the skill can be expertly developed in all registers and dynamics, and there is no reason any player could not master this useful breathing technique. Used judiciously, both "sniff" and circular breathing become useful tools in our breathing toolbox that can help us confront and overcome obstacles that composers often put in our way.
