Circular breathing
Encyclopedia
Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. This is accomplished by breathing in through the nose
while simultaneously pushing air out through the mouth using air stored in the cheek
s.
It is used extensively in playing the Australian didgeridoo
, the Sardinian launeddas
and Egyptian arghul
, as well as many traditional oboe
s and flute
s of Asia and the Middle East. A few jazz
and classical wind and brass players also utilize some form of circular breathing.
Although many professional wind players find circular breathing highly useful, few pieces of European orchestral music composed before the 20th century actually require its use. However, the advent of circular breathing among professional wind players has allowed for the transcription of pieces originally composed for string instruments which would be unperformable on a wind instrument without the aid of circular breathing. A notable example of this phenomenon is "Moto Perpetuo", transcribed for trumpet by Rafael Méndez
from the original work for violin by Paganini
.
The current record for continuous playing is 1 hour 30 minutes and 45 seconds, held by saxophonist Geovanny Escalante.
helped reduce snoring
and obstructive sleep apnea
by strengthening muscles in the upper airway, thus reducing their tendency to collapse during sleep.[18] This strengthening occurs after the player has mastered the circular breathing technique.
Human nose
The visible part of the human nose is the protruding part of the face that bears the nostrils. The shape of the nose is determined by the ethmoid bone and the nasal septum, which consists mostly of cartilage and which separates the nostrils...
while simultaneously pushing air out through the mouth using air stored in the cheek
Cheek
Cheeks constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. They may also be referred to as jowls. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve...
s.
It is used extensively in playing the Australian didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
, the Sardinian launeddas
Launeddas
The launeddas is a typical Sardinian woodwind instrument, consisting of three pipes. It is polyphonic and played using circular breathing. An ancient instrument, dating back to at least the 8th century BC, launeddas are still played during religious ceremonies and dances...
and Egyptian arghul
Arghul
The arghul , also spelled argul, arghoul, arghool, argol, or yarghul , is a traditional Arabic musical instrument...
, as well as many traditional oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s and flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s of Asia and the Middle East. A few jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and classical wind and brass players also utilize some form of circular breathing.
Although many professional wind players find circular breathing highly useful, few pieces of European orchestral music composed before the 20th century actually require its use. However, the advent of circular breathing among professional wind players has allowed for the transcription of pieces originally composed for string instruments which would be unperformable on a wind instrument without the aid of circular breathing. A notable example of this phenomenon is "Moto Perpetuo", transcribed for trumpet by Rafael Méndez
Rafael Méndez
Rafael Méndez was a popular Mexican virtuoso solo trumpeter.Méndez was born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, Mexico...
from the original work for violin by Paganini
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
.
The current record for continuous playing is 1 hour 30 minutes and 45 seconds, held by saxophonist Geovanny Escalante.
Method
The person inhales fully and begins to exhale and blow. When the lungs are nearly empty, the last volume of air is blown into the mouth, and the cheeks are inflated with this air. Then, while still blowing this last bit of air out by squeezing the cheeks, the person must very quickly fill the lungs by inhaling through the nose prior to running out of the air in the mouth. If done correctly, by the time the air in the mouth is nearly exhausted the person can begin to exhale from the lungs once more, ready to repeat the process again. Essentially, circular breathing bridges the gap between breaths. The air stored in your cheeks is used as an extra air reserve to play with while you sneak in a breath through your nose.Health benefits
A 2005 study in the British Medical Journal found that learning and practicing the didgeridooDidgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
helped reduce snoring
Snoring
Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound, due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. In some cases the sound may be soft, but in other cases, it can be loud and unpleasant...
and obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea or obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is the most common type of sleep apnea and is caused by obstruction of the upper airway. It is characterized by repetitive pauses in breathing during sleep, despite the effort to breathe, and is usually associated with a reduction in...
by strengthening muscles in the upper airway, thus reducing their tendency to collapse during sleep.[18] This strengthening occurs after the player has mastered the circular breathing technique.
Instruments with circular breathing integral to technique
- AlbokaAlbokaThe alboka is a double hornpipe or clarinet native to the Basque Country.Although the alboka is a woodwind instrument, its name is derived from the Arabic "al-bûq"...
- Algozay
- ArghulArghulThe arghul , also spelled argul, arghoul, arghool, argol, or yarghul , is a traditional Arabic musical instrument...
- DidgeridooDidgeridooThe didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
- Dizi
- DudukDudukThe duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
- HornpipeHornpipe (musical instrument)The hornpipe can refer to a specific instrument or a class of woodwind instruments consisting of a single reed, a small diameter melody pipe with finger holes and a bell traditionally made from animal horn...
- Hom-Pax
- KavalKavalThe kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout Azerbaijan, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, southern Serbia , northern Greece , Romania , and Armenia...
- Kèn bầu
- KhluiKhluiThe khlui is a vertical duct flute from Thailand. It is generally made of bamboo, though instruments are also made from hardwood or plastic...
- LauneddasLauneddasThe launeddas is a typical Sardinian woodwind instrument, consisting of three pipes. It is polyphonic and played using circular breathing. An ancient instrument, dating back to at least the 8th century BC, launeddas are still played during religious ceremonies and dances...
- Limbe
- MijwizMijwizThe mijwiz is a traditional musical instrument of Jordan, Syria and the Druze. Its name in Arabic means "dual," or "married" because of its consisting of two, short, bamboo reed pipes put together, making the mijwiz a double-pipe, single-reed woodwind instrument...
- Mizmar
- PiPi (instrument)Pi is the generic term for any of a variety of quadruple reed oboes used in the traditional music of Thailand. It is very similar in construction and playing technique to the Cambodian sralai.-Varieties:*Pi chawa *Pi klang...
- Practice chanterPractice chanterThe bagpipe practice chanter is a double reed woodwind instrument whose main function is as an adjunct to the Great Highland Bagpipe. In this respect, its purpose is twofold. First, it is the instrument used to learn how to play the Great Highland Bagpipes before taking up the bagpipes themselves...
- PungiPungiThe pungi, also called the been, or bin is a wind instrument played by snake charmers in India. The pungi is similar to the Chinese Hulusi but has only two reed pipes, known as the "jivala". The pungi was improved to produce the Shehnai. The pungi originated in India and is still played by snake...
- ShawmShawmThe shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...
- SipsiSipsiThe sipsi is a Turkish woodwind instrument. It is a clarinet-like, single-reed instrument used mainly in folk music. The word "sipsi" is probably onomatopoeic, and is related to "zıpçi" meaning "whistle," or comes from the word meaning small. It can be made of bone, wood, or reed, though the reed...
- SralaiSralaiThe sralai is a wind instrument used in the pinpeat of Cambodia. Its quadruple reed is made of palm leaf, and its body has a slightly conical bore. Its cousin, the Western oboe, has a double reed and a conical bore. The pinpeat instruments tune to the sralai's pitch, and the player must learn...
- SulingSulingA suling or Seruling is an Indonesian bamboo ring flute. It is used in gamelan ensembles.Depending on the regional genre, a suling can be tuned into different scales...
- SuonaSuonaThe suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...
- ZurnaZurnaThe zurna , is a multinational outdoor wind instrument, usually accompanied by a davul in Anatolian folk music. The name is from Turkish zurna, itself derived from Persian سرنای surnāy, composed of sūr “banquet, feast” and nāy “reed, pipe”...
Musicians known for circular breathing
Some musicians who do not play the instruments mentioned above are known for using circular breathing.- Ian AndersonIan Anderson (musician)Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
- Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work in Jethro TullJethro Tull (band)Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with... - Harry CarneyHarry CarneyHarry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...
, baritone saxophonist and clarinetist, prominent member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra - Anthony BraxtonAnthony BraxtonAnthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
- American saxophonist and composer - Merlon Devine - Urban/Gospel Jazz saxophonist
- Herbie FlowersHerbie FlowersHerbie Flowers is an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double-bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T...
- Tuba - former member of Sky - Martin FröstMartin FröstMartin Fröst is a Swedish clarinetist, born in Sundsvall in the north of Sweden in 1970. He first started playing the violin at the age of six, but he found playing soccer and basketball were more interesting. When he was nine, he started playing the clarinet, and when he was 15, he moved to...
- Swedish clarinetist - Kenny GKenny GKenneth Bruce Gorelick , better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American, adult contemporary and smooth jazz saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986...
- American smooth jazz saxophonist - Daniel GoodeDaniel GoodeDaniel Goode is an American composer and clarinetist.Daniel Goode was born in New York City. After graduating in 1957 from Oberlin College, he studied composition at Columbia University with Henry Cowell and Otto Luening, receiving an MA 1962...
– avant-garde clarinetist - Vladimir Kachmarchik - flute
- Jaap Stotijn - Dutch musician; solo oboeist with the Residentie OrchestraResidentie OrchestraHet Residentie Orkest is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. Its primary venue is the Dr. Anton Philipszaal....
in The Hague and with the French Opera in Paris - Rahsaan Roland KirkRahsaan Roland KirkRahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments...
– jazz multi-instrumentalist - Wynton MarsalisWynton MarsalisWynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
- classical and jazz trumpeter from New Orleans. - Irvin MayfieldIrvin MayfieldIrvin Mayfield, Jr. is an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He has been serving as Cultural Ambassador of the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana since 2003. He co-founded and has co-led the Afro-Cuban jazz group Los Hombres Calientes since 1998. Their debut album won Billboard's 2000...
– Grammy Award-nominated jazz trumpeter, composer and cultural ambassador to New Orleans - Rafael MéndezRafael MéndezRafael Méndez was a popular Mexican virtuoso solo trumpeter.Méndez was born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, Mexico...
- Mexican virtuoso solo trumpeter - Roscoe MitchellRoscoe MitchellRoscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...
– jazz multi-instrumentalist - David MurrayDavid Murray (jazz musician)David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
- Plays tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and, on occasion, bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet... - Sergei NakariakovSergei NakariakovSergei Mikhailovich Nakariakov is a Russian virtuoso trumpeter who came to prominence in the late 1990s. He released his first CD recording in 1992 at the age of 15.-Recordings:...
- classical trumpeter - Quinn Pariseau- Trumpeter and composer
- Evan ParkerEvan ParkerEvan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
- free improvising saxophonist noted for his lengthy circular breathing excursions on soprano and tenor saxophones - Eugene RousseauEugene Rousseau (saxophonist)Eugene Rousseau is an American classical saxophonist. He plays mainly the alto and soprano saxophones....
– classical saxophonist - Xavier RuddXavier RuddXavier Rudd is an Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in 1978 and grew up in Torquay, Victoria. He attended St. Joseph's College, Geelong....
- modern one-man band - Andy SheppardAndy SheppardAndy Sheppard is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, George Russell and Steve Swallow.-Biography:Sheppard was born in Warminster,...
- jazz saxophonist from Bristol England. - Colin StetsonColin StetsonColin Stetson, born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and currently based in Montreal, Quebec, is a bass saxophone player and touring member of Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre and Bon Iver...
- saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist - Clark TerryClark TerryClark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
- Jazz Trumpet and Fluglehorn player and educator. Author of Clark Terry's System of Circular Breathing. - Ken VandermarkKen VandermarkKen Vandermark is an American jazz composer and saxophone and clarinet player.A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compositions, which typically balance intricate orchestration with passionate...
– American saxophonist, improviser and composer - Bora DugicBora DugicBora Dugić is a Serbian musician and flautist having released a number of CD's and records as well as having performed at countless concerts.- Early and professional life :...
- Serbian flautist and composer - Trombone Shorty (Troy Anderson) - Tromboner and Trumpeter from New Orleans
- Travis LaPlante - Avant Garde musician
- Kim WilsonKim WilsonKim Wilson is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s; "Tuff Enuff", and "Wrap It Up."-Career:...
- American blues harmonica player - Tanel Koho - Estonian saxophonist
- CanibusCanibusGermaine Williams , better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties...
(Germaine Williams) - Jamaican-American rapper
External links
- iDIDJ Australia: Australian Didgeridoo Cultural Hub
- Circular breathing for harmonica
- Learning circular breathing
- The Circular Breathing - Launeddas
- How to do circular breathing on saxophone
- Kenny G Circular Breathing Lesson at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Young woman demostrating circular breathing technique while playing didgeridoo in Carcassonne France at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
in HD