I was thinking of which topic to primarily focus on for the relationship between science and music when I had the realization that I can talk about one of my teaching strategies that I am most passionate about. A lot of the explanations I use in this post are explanations I use with my students to help them understand proper breathing, which of course relates to the anatomy of the respiratory system.
One of the most important skills you can pass on to your band, regardless of age or ability level, is proper breathing habits. It is far too common amongst students of every age to be weak breathers, leading to improper sound production on the instrument. Many students (and some educators) aren’t aware that the breathing used when playing an instrument is drastically different from breathing used sitting on the couch watching television. I believe this to be one of the best ways to get your band playing with a fuller, more resonant sound!
The number one resource for implementing breathing in your band is The Breathing Gym by Sam Pilafian and Patrick Sheridan. Do yourself a favor and purchase this book & DVD set for your own collection; it is a tremendous reference and will help fill in the details for what I will explain. I start each class with exercises from The Breathing Gym. At first, my students were resistant to the idea; some still are, but the majority of them have bought into the idea. Once you can get them in the habit and past the “I already know how to breathe” stage, you’re on your way to a better band.
The key to proper breathing is to stay relaxed. As a musician, you shouldn’t feel tension in any part of your body, especially in the muscles used to play your instrument. A well-respected teacher and colleague of mine uses the mantra “tension kills sound” with his students to serve as a reminder to keep the muscles relaxed and airway open.
There are two types of breathing: clavicular and diaphragmatic. Clavicular breathing uses the muscles around the clavicle and shoulders to assist in getting oxygen into the lungs; this is the breathing your body uses when it needs to get oxygen quicker (e.g. just finished 100m dash), so the shoulders and upper chest help the lungs expand. Clavicular breathing involves quick shallow breaths and can lead to tension in the throat. Diaphragmatic breathing use the diaphragm as the primary muscle to help the lungs expand. Diaphragmatic breathing is what your students needs to use to take deep and relaxed breaths.
So we want our students to use diaphragmatic breathing. Great! The only question lingering in everyone’s mind is “how the heck do we explain diaphragmatic breathing to 11-year-olds?” The easiest method to physically feel (and visually see!) diaphragmatic breathing is to lie on your back, taking deep breaths. From this position, it is impossible for your shoulders to assist in the breathing (unless you consciously think it, but don’t mention that to your students); you should see your stomach rise and fall with each breath you take. When the diaphragm contracts, your intestines, stomach, etc. (i.e. your guts) get pushed out to make room. This serves as a visual cue for proper diaphragmatic breathing. The best way to encourage a student to use the diaphragm is to place your fist on his or her stomach just below the lungs and ask the student to take a deep breath and push your fist out. Unfortunately, this method doesn’t really work for a full band rehearsal setting, so it is best used during private lessons. In a full band setting, have the students place one hand on their stomach, and the other on the small of their back. When the students inhale, they should feel both hands push out from their lungs expands.
Let’s take a moment and talk about proper oral shape when breathing. It is imperative to have proper shape with your mouth to ensure you are maximizing your intake, as well as staying relaxed and tension-free. Start by saying “whoa” and holding the shape of your mouth; it should be a open “O” shape. Next, take one of your hands like you are about to karate chop something and gently place it on your lips. As you take in a deep breath, you should hear a deep whooshing sound. I tell my students the goal is to sound like Darth Vader. If you get a high-pitched sound, your mouth is not opened and relaxed enough; it is common for beginners to start with this sound. I call this sound “sucking in through a straw.” Some groups use breathing tubes to help get the proper shape; this is a 1-2” PVC tube placed in the mouth to teach proper oral shape. I have never used breathing tubes as a musician or a teacher, so I cannot give a proper opinion on them.
Now you should know proper oral shape and how to use diaphragmatic breathing. Let me explain the typical flow of breathing exercises when we use The Breathing Gym. In addition to stretching, my students and I do on average 3 breathing exercises at the start of each class; each exercise works to improve a different aspect of their breathing, improving their overall breathing when they go to play an instrument. The exercises fall into categories based on what purpose they seek to achieve: strength building, therapy, and flow studies. Every exercise ends with a big sigh; students lift their arms up while taking a huge breath in, then relax everything in one big relaxed sigh. It is important to note that students may become lightheaded during these exercises. If this occurs, it’s okay to lay out, take a seat, and breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Lightheadedness means the student is moving lots of air, and the oxygen levels are a little out of whack. If they feel lightheaded, they are doing things correctly (this does not mean you are doing it wrong if you don’t feel lightheaded); don’t let it discourage them from trying.
We start each class with basic stretching. The purpose of this is to get some blood flowing and loosen up muscles used in breathing. My go-to stretch with the students is trunk twists, with the arms out to the side, up above the head, and down low. It is important that students keep breathing during all of the stretching to allow oxygen and blood to flow to the important muscles. More examples of stretches can be found in The Breathing Gym book.
Following stretching, I have my students perform strength building and therapy exercises to help better understand their vital capacity. These exercises are designed to push the students to experience what it actually means to have full lungs as well as completely empty lungs. One of my favorite exercises for this is titled In, Sip, Sip - Out, Push, Push. There are four parts to the exercise: (1) “In” - inhale to maximum capacity in one count while lift arms above head, (2) “Sip” - lift arms higher while sipping in even more air, (3) “Out” - exhale completely in one while pushing arms downward, and (4) “Push” - force the last bit of air out. The exercise is then repeated 4-8 times consecutively. It’s important to notice in the explanation that there are arm movements with the exercise; all of the exercises found in The Breathing Gym utilize arm or hand movements to help visualize what is happening in your lungs. It is extremely important to use them to get the full effect of the exercises.
I always use a transitional exercise between therapy and flow study breathing. It does wonders to help the students prepare and relax the throat for breathing, and they get to look ridiculous while doing it! The exercise is called E-to-O. Students start with clenched fist and tight jaw; essentially everything that is wrong about breathing. While shaking their fists back and forth, students rapidly inhale and exhale while gradually relax the jaw, throat, and fist until the proper oral shape is formed. As with the other exercises, students end with a big sigh.
Lastly, we do flow study exercises. These exercises are designed to smooth out the air flow and emphasize staying relaxed while breathing. I purposely put these exercises last so it is fresh in the students’ minds when they go to play their instruments; we want the students to stay relaxed when playing, and these exercises work to help them stay relaxed. A good exercise to use is called 6-7-8-9-10. This exercise works to monitor inhaling and exhaling by using an increasing number of counts; students will inhale for 6 counts, exhale for 6 counts, inhale for 7 counts, exhale for 7 counts, etc. While performing this exercise, students will use their arms to monitor how full their lungs are at any given moment. When the lungs are half-full, arms should be out in a “T” shape; when the lungs are completely full, arms should be up above the head. These positions are the same on the exhale as well, in the “T” when half-empty and down at the side when completely empty. You can also have the students snap their fingers at the halfway point (count 3, & of 3, 4, etc.), but it is not required.
Most of my classes can get through all of the stretching and breathing exercises in under five minutes. It will take longer at first because you will have to explain everything to them; use those patience skills you have been developing since you first set foot in a classroom until your students get the hang of it. Immediately following breathing exercises, we jump into playing long tones, as I’m sure most bands start each rehearsal. Long tones are excellent for utilizing the skills we just worked on with breathing, as long as you are checking to make sure the students use the deep relaxed breathing when they play too!
On YouTube, I was able to find a video that demonstrates some of The Breathing Gym exercises. The video was ripped from the DVD, so it will give you insight on what the actual DVD is like. I strongly recommend purchasing the book and DVD for your own reference. It is one of the best purchases you will make in your teaching career!
The downside to these exercises are that they take time to get through; with your average middle school attention span, it can take up to 10 minutes to make it all the way through a therapy, transition, and flow exercise. I am very fortunate to have 80 minutes with both my 7th & 8th grade bands every day, allowing me to spend a good deal of time on fundamentals. My 6th grade classes last about 40 minutes, so I need to make every minute count to ensure they have good habits early.
The Breathing Gym is not something I do every single day with all of my students. I think the benefits of the exercises are unparalleled by any other breathing techniques, but there are days that I know the students won't be focused enough to actually take the care of performing the exercises. When I first introduced my students to these exercises, we did them every day, and I'm sure many high schools ensembles are capable of doing these exercises before each rehearsal. I teach middle school, and they are among the most volatile substances in the universe when you think of their mood and behaviors. Being flexible is an absolute necessity, so I have a few back up breathing exercises prepared. These exercises also work to show exactly how to breath when playing an instrument.
In my auxiliary exercises, the students remain seated, but sit up straight with good posture (as if they are playing their instruments). I try to stress the importance of straightening their spines and getting their backs off of the chair to allow their lungs to expand. I want my students to think about filling their lungs from the bottom to the top, similar to filling a pitcher of water. We do things such as moving our hands up our lungs while inhaling to visualize the air flowing and taking three breaths in, labeling them by the order they fill the lungs: bottom, middle, and top. During these exercises, I have the students monitor their inhaling with the techniques from The Breathing Gym. We will typically only do things like "in for 4, out for 4," sometimes increasing the exhale to improve control. Occasionally, I will have the students to E-to-O in their seats as well.
Regardless of what you choose to use, I believe it to be your duty as a band director to incorporate breathing exercises into your daily regiment of warm ups. Breath control is one of the most important skills a musician can learn, and they are fully capable of developing the skill early in their careers. As I stated earlier, there are nothing but benefits from starting these exercises early. Don't sell your young students short; they are smart and capable enough to understand and execute these exercises!
If you are a reader from outside the Band world, hopefully this gave you some insight on the relation between science and music through anatomy. Through the use of breathing exercises, my students develop a better understanding of how the respiratory system works and how it can directly apply to making music in Band!
Comments