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goldy
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Apr-29-04, 03:22 PM (PDT)
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"breathing"
 
   I am an absolute beginner, and I am obsessed with breathing correctly. I keep hearing things about not sucking and blowing, and breathing with your gut - since I cant find a teacher I dont know if I am doing it right or not. Are there any tests to ensure that you are breathing correctly?


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shaggy
Member since Jan-28-03
215 posts
Apr-29-04, 06:16 PM (PDT)
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1. "RE: breathing"
In response to message #0
 
Get into the habbit of diaphragmatic breathing in your every day life. Then, when you come to play the harp, it will be very natural.

Start by just doing a simple breathing exercise for a few minutes several times a day. Just sit (or stand or lie) quietly and breathe deeply, rhythmically. Draw breath in from your diaphragm, deep down in your belly, not high up in your chest. The ideal is to achieve a "circular" breathing pattern; breath deep down until the lower part of your lungs is filled and then continue breathing until the upper part of your lungs fills up (only then move your chest), then breathe out from the lower part of your lungs then continue until the upper part empties too. Visualise the breath filling you and leaving you, unblocked, unhindered, not choked or impeded in any way. This will help. Practice this exercise until it becomes second nature to you, and eventually you will find that you breathe that way all the time.

When you play the harp, you should breathe the same way. Draw breath in to the deep recesses of your lungs first and only let the upper parts of your lungs fill when the lower parts are full; and blow air out the same way, starting with the lowest reaches and then emptying the upper parts. Open and relax your airways to let the air flow freely. It may help to visualise.

Shaggy


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goldy
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May-05-04, 10:17 AM (PDT)
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4. "RE: breathing"
In response to message #1
 
   Thanks Shaggy,
I noticed that the higher notes are often out of tune - I don't think there is anything wrong with my harmonica - Is this because I am breathing wrong???


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shaggy
Member since Jan-28-03
215 posts
May-06-04, 05:46 PM (PDT)
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5. "RE: breathing"
In response to message #4
 
Yes. You're constricting your airway and inadvertantly causing the notes to bend. Relaxing and letting the air flow through, rather than into, the harp should relieve the problem.

Shaggy


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Jervis
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May-01-04, 01:32 PM (PDT)
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2. "RE: breathing"
In response to message #0
 
  
Quote
I am an absolute beginner, and I am obsessed with breathing correctly. I keep hearing things about not sucking and blowing, and breathing with your gut - since I cant find a teacher I dont know if I am doing it right or not. Are there any tests to ensure that you are breathing correctly?


Shaggy is absolutely right. To find out if you breathe in/out from your belly: lie on the floor, a book on your bellybutton. make the book go up and down.
You can also do it standing up. Don't stumble over the book. Hold a hand on your belly. If you don't have a Brad-Pitt-washboard-belly, this is the time to really let it all hang out!

Another "exercise" I read somewhere on the Internet (from some harpteacher, don't remember who but it was a great tip): stick that harp in your mouth and hold it with your teeth. No hands! Just breathe in and out for 30 seconds or so and notice that you breathe in&out instead of sucking&blowing.


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shaggy
Member since Jan-28-03
215 posts
May-01-04, 07:50 PM (PDT)
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3. "RE: breathing"
In response to message #2
 
Right, exactly; it's just breathing, not blowing and sucking. That's the key. That's what makes all the difference, really.

Shaggy


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CyberBobCity
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Sep-28-04, 08:40 PM (PDT)
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6. "RE: breathing"
In response to message #2
 
   But one thing that it seemed to me back when I first tried the harmonica is that the on the blow holes you breath out, draw holes you breath in. It's not like you can take hole breathes. If you play more blow holes then draw holes, you are going to run out of breath. How does this work???


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Jervis
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Sep-29-04, 01:03 AM (PDT)
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7. "RE: breathing"
In response to message #6
 
  
Quote
If you play more blow holes then draw holes, you are going to run out of breath. How does this work???


There are a couple of obvious tricks here. Since most people play the harp in 2nd position (with the emphasis on the draw notes), they will probably have the opposite problem: instead of running out of breath, their lungs get filled with too much air. The tricks are:
- don't inhale too much (play softly, with big tone)
- incorporate blow notes in the melodies your playing (nice rhythmic patterns on 2 Draw, 2 Blow, 1 Draw, 2 Blow and so on work great for this)
- "pause" on the 6 Blow instead of the 2 Draw (an octave on 3/6 Blow will even get rid of more air)
- lose air through your mouth and your nose as you're exhaling (and to take that one a great step further....some players play 2 harps at the same time using mouth and nose...yechhhh!)
- DON'T PLAY ALL THE TIME but take time&pause to breathe (your band will be grateful)

In the end you'll develop your own style of efficient playing.
Greetings from Holland,
Jervis


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shaggy
Member since Jan-28-03
215 posts
Sep-30-04, 08:13 PM (PDT)
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8. "RE: breathing"
In response to message #7
 
All good advice. Also, playing rhythmically can help equalise the intake and output of air, especially when "chugging" on the out breaths. Also, "snorting" or breathing out through the nose on the out breaths can help.

Shaggy


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