appena potrò, scriverò due parole, ma intanto copincollo, sperando sia utile...
sullo scorso numero della rivista della BFS c'era questo interessante articolo
(non ho tempo di correggere gli errori di lettura dell'OCR, né di tradurlo -il che è cmq meglio per tutti
![[SM=g8226]](https://im0.freeforumzone.it/up/0/26/3208140.gif)
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Simple circular breathing
By Mike MacMahon
On thè web there are thousands of references to circular breathing. Not ali have to do with thè flute: many are concerned with didgeridoos, oboes, glass-blowing and so on.
A common view is that circular breathing is very difficult to learn. Robert Dick, for example, in his book Circular Breathing for thè Fiutisi (1987), warns that many months (two years even) of intensive practice may be needed before thè technique is acquired. I wish to show, by contrast, that thè basic principles are relatively easy to explain and learn. There is nothing mysterious about circular breathing.
Step 1:
In thè picture on thè next page, which shows a mid-line view of part of thè head, thè most important item as far as circular breathing is concerned is thè soft palate (also called thè velum). When you breathe in through thè nose, thè soft palate is lowered away from thè back wall of thè throat—as shown in thè diagram. (It is also lowered for speech sounds like 'm', 'n' and 'ng'.) When you breathe in only through your mouth, thè soft palate is raised and makes contact with thè back of thè throat. Look in a mirror and see thè different positions of thè soft palate when you make an 'ah' sound (it will be raised), and when you make a French sound like thè nasalized 'ah' in thè first syllable of 'Henri' (it will be lowered). When playing thè flute, you normally keep thè soft palate up, and only lower it to breathe in through thè nose. When circular breathing, thè soft palate has to be lowered. This may sound a difficult change to make. It isn't!
Step 2:
Without thè flute, close your mouth and draw air through thè nose and into thè lungs using your abdominal muscles. Make sure you really use thè abdominals and let thè area around your waist expand; don't just take a cautious breath. Now push thè air out—again through thè nose. Repeat this in and out action a number of times so that you become very aware of a cool patch at thè back of thè throat created by thè incoming air. (Your soft palate will automatically be down ali thè time you are doing this, of course.) You need to use this sensation of a cool patch as a guide when learning to circular-breathe.
Step 3:
Return to mouth breathing. Now imagine that you are quietly objecting to some-thing. or expressing dissatisfaction. Make a series of quiei 'tut-tut' sounds with thè tip of thè tongue on or close to thè upper front teeth. To do this, you use an 'air-sucking' mechanism, thè reverse of an 'air-pushing' mechanism in thè mouth (which is actually thè one needed for circular breathing).
Tlie reason for practising thè opposite of what you need for circular breathing is to become aware of how to manoeuvre a pocket of air around thè mouth \vithout thè air making contati with a second stream of air passing ihrough thè uose and throat. Gei used io thè sensations in thè mouth as you tut-tut. You will feci thè tip of thè tongue being pulled back slightly, and, critically, thè back pari of thè tongue moving in a rathcr vaglie way at thè back of thè mouth. (It is moving backwards sliglnly along thè roof of thè mouth, to help to suck thè air into thè mouth at thè front.)
Step 4:
Do lots of tut-tuts, but breathe in through thè nose and deep into thè lungs at thè same time. You are moving two air-streams: one to fili thè lungs, and thè other, quite independently, to create sounds in thè mouth.
Another technique to illustrate this dual action is to take a drink of water into your mouth, and then swill it round your mouth with your lips closed, whilst you breathe in and out through thè nose at thè same time.
Step 5:
Now think about how you probably finish brushing your teeth: you swill water round your mouth without letting it get into your throat, and then squirt it out. It is this squirting mechanism that you use when pushing air into thè flute during circular breathing. Think, too, of how as a child you may have made 'rhubarb' or 'farting' noises by putting your tongue between your teeth and pushing air out of thè mouth. Some sorts of 'rhubarbs' etc. are produced with thè circular breathing mechanism! Another example is removing a spot of food on thè tip of your tongue or on your lip with thè 'squirting' mechanism. In ali of these activities, thè air is pushed out of thè mouth by thè back of thè tongue.
Step 6:
Don't think about breathing in through thè nose. Instead, consciously bunch your tongue at thè back of your mouth, and then, with your lips slightly apart, push thè air, as for squirting water, out of your mouth. It is thè back of thè tongue that is pushing thè air as it moves forward along thè roof of thè mouth.
Air can't drift from thè mouth into thè throat, because part of thè back of thè tongue is in contaci with thè soft palate, and so thè mouth is blocked off from thè throat. At thè same time, thè soft palate, with part of thè back of thè tongue against it, has been lowered away from thè back of thè throat so that you can breathe in and out through thè nose.
Step 7:
Stili without thè flute, do a series of 'squìrting' aìr-pushes with thè lips slightly apart— but then, stili squirting, breathe in through thè nose at thè same time. Remember to feel thè cool patch at thè back of thè throat: this tells you that air is definitely being drawn in through thè nose and is travelling down into thè lungs. You should practise this Step as much as possible, and wherever possible. (Going for a long walk to practise circular breathing seems like a good idea.)
Keep doing a series of 'squirts' as you breathe in through thè nose. The air going via thè nose to thè lungs will be a long continuous stream, and this is why you get time to focus on thè cool patch at thè back of thè throat. The reason you can make more than one 'squirt' without needing to take a normal breath is because thè tongue, when it moves backwards in thè mouth to prepare for thè next 'squirt', draws air into thè mouth. You have now done some circular breathing, but without a flute.
Step 8:
Now try some individuai sounds with either a headjoint, a complete flute, or, better stili if possible. with a piccolo. G in thè third octave on thè flute, or hoitom A on thè piccolo, is a good piace to start. Do three or four short squirts on thè same notu. Use only squirts lo begin with; don't try io breathe in ihrough thè nose at thè same time, and don't try to tongue thè note. Only when you're producing a reasonable set of sounds should you combine thè action of thè pushes with thè aaion of air heing drawn in via thè nose. Don't forget to feel for thè cool pai eh al thè back of thè throat. You will find that your lungs (ìli up as you make thè sounds. Don't overfill, otherwisc you may start to feel groggy.
Now that your lungs have filled up, you can return to 'standard' playing. using air from your lungs and normal tongue-articulaiion with thè flute. Don't introspect about thè change-over from air-pushes in thè mouth to air flow from i he lungs: it will ali happen instinctively and rapidly.
Step 9:
The resi is practice. For example, try a serics of circular-breathed arpeggios un E; major, starting in thè first octave and going up two octaves and then coming down again. Then, without stopping, swiich to air from thè lungs, and repeat thè arpeggios but tongue thè notes this time. Again, without stopping, switch back to circular breaihing (with no tonguing. of course); then back lo normal King air and tonguing; back to circular breathing; and so on. Simple arpeggios of this sort, where you alternate between circular breathing and normal breathing, can !«: recommended.
Next, lengthen each note in thè arpeggios. Then play more than one note (e.g-a minor or major second) on lile same 'squirt'. Try to reduce thè force wiih whk li you squirt thè air, so that thè overall aaion is more degant and gentle. This is tln--way to produce legato sounds when circular breathing. Perhaps cui down, too. on thè amount of air you are taking into thè lungs. Praaise circular breathing whilst sitting as well as standing. Try drcular breathing on an alto or a bass. Yet more' advanced examples. such as those that Robert Dick descrihes, can then be tacklcd.
In summary:
1. When circular breathing, you don't use thè tip or thè back of thè tongue as in single and doublé tonguing. Instead, you simply push thè air forward between ihc lips and imo thè fluic with thè lielp of thè back of thè tongue. With practice, you may find that your cheeks will cxpand lo allow evcn more air to be collected and squirted into i he flute.
2. Circular breathing is for playing a note or notes whilst simultaneously topping up thè air in che lunga. It ìs noi some dever stylistic device.
3. The expression 'circular breathing' is misleadmg. Ali that liappens is that you breathe in tlirough thè uose, as you probably do normali/ any way withom a flute. and pusli a separate stream of air out of thè mondi, not thè lungs, imo thè flute.
4. Heaven forbid that you would want to use a cigarette to practise drcular breathing. but smokers who blow smoke rings use a slow 'push-with-the-tongue* mechanism at thè same time as they shape thè smoke with their lips. (And of course they breathe in thè smoky air aromid them via thè nose.)
5. Expressed in thè terminology of phonctics. circular breathing uses simultaneously thè velaric egres.sive and pulmonic ingressive air-stream mecha-nisms. Pari of thè back of thè tongue creates an air-tight seal against thè underside of thè velimi, and thè velo-pharyngeal port is open to alJow air to flow into thè nasal cavities and thence to thè lungs (using thè pulmonic ingressive mechanism). The back of thè tongue moves forward along thè velum, siifficient to direct thè air forwards and out of thè mouth, hence compressing thè alr-siream. (Clicks. e.g. thè alveolar centrai click, use thè velarle ingressive mechanism, so thè air-strcam i-, rarefied, not compressed.) Only one language in thè world has been known to use thè velarle egres-sive mechanism for phonological purposes, and that is Damin, a near-extinct jAborighul language of northern Australia.
Mike MacMahon is Professor of Phonetics at thè University of Glasgow and principal flute -. of thè Glasgow Symphony Orchestra. He plays a Boehm-system flute (usually wood), but counts himself amongst thè few remaining supporters of thè 1867-system flute.