BREATHING
Breathing
for playing.
Active where necessary.
Passive where possible.
Breathing is often taught through visible actions: expanding the chest, lifting the rib cage or consciously taking a particularly “deep” breath. For me, the starting point is different.The diaphragm provides the primary movement of inspiration. As it contracts and moves downward, the volume of the thoracic cavity increases and air flows into the lungs. The upper body does not need to manufacture this movement.This distinction between necessary activity and unnecessary effort is fundamental to the way I think about breathing for bassoon playing.
01
Diaphragm
The diaphragm contracts during inspiration and moves downward, increasing the space available to the lungs.
02
Rib cage
The ribs and intercostal muscles participate in the changing dimensions of the thorax, allowing the chest to respond to the movement of breathing.
03
Abdomen
As the diaphragm descends, the abdominal contents are displaced. The visible movement of the abdomen is therefore largely a consequence of diaphragmatic movement rather than something that needs to be actively pushed outward.
04
Exhalation
At rest, expiration is largely passive. Playing changes this: the outgoing air must be controlled according to resistance, dynamics, register and musical phrase.
05
Coordination
Efficient breathing is therefore less about activating everything at once and more about coordinating the structures that actually need to work.
APPLICATION
The breath changes
when sound begins.
Playing the bassoon is not the same as breathing at rest. The instrument introduces resistance, and the musical phrase determines how the outgoing air must be managed.The important transition happens between inhalation and sound. Ideally, this does not become a moment in which the entire upper body suddenly stiffens. The inhalation prepares the body; the exhalation becomes the controlled airflow that produces the sound.Different registers, dynamics and articulations require different air conditions. The goal is therefore not to reproduce one fixed sensation of “support”, but to develop a flexible coordination that responds to the musical situation.
Listen before
you correct.
I often use the resulting sound as the first diagnostic tool. A free, resonant sound can indicate that breathing, embouchure and instrument are working together efficiently.When the sound becomes narrow, unstable or difficult to sustain, adding more muscular effort is not automatically the answer. I first look for unnecessary activity: raised shoulders, excessive movement in the upper chest, a rigid throat or tension introduced at the moment of starting the sound.The question is not simply, “Am I using enough air?” but rather: “Is the air able to do what the music requires without the rest of the body getting in the way?”