Breathing

[kaiwin]

Hey

Breath through nose? or mouth?


I preferably breath through nose *nice pace*

[ted]

At the piano and generally, always through the nose. The only exception is during athletic activity. If my nose is blocked because of allergy or illness I usually clear it with a spray because I do not like the sensation of having blocked nasal passages.

It is possible to get into a habit of holding your breath during playing. This I have found to be destructive and these days I never find myself doing it.

[lau]

I wish I could breath through my nose more often! It's always clogged up and i blow so hard into a kleenex, but it doesn't do anything. My mom bought some oil of some type, i don't think it was peppermint, but it totally relieved me of my sick clog.

[m]

Breath through nose? or mouth?

What does it matter? Just think about music.

[arensky]

I wish I could breath through my nose more often! It's always clogged up and i blow so hard into a kleenex, but it doesn't do anything. My mom bought some oil of some type, i don't think it was peppermint, but it totally relieved me of my sick clog.

barf 

[pianistimo]

sometimes, if i am nervous - i forget to breath completely.  i've almost  passed out from this phenomenon.  deep concentration has to be moderated with interspersed pragmatism.

my dad used to tell me when he'd walk by me practicing, 'keep your mouth shut, or you'll catch flies.'  (he never said anything about the music).  at least i have a tape of murray perahia with the same problem.  i learned to shut my mouth and breath through my nose - but then - now i have this problem of not breathing in difficult passages.

it's only when i'm relaxed that i breath properly.

[quantum]

I breathe through my mouth most of the time I believe.  A vocalist, woodwind or brass player uses the breath as a means to shape phrasing - so I take after that somewhat because I also play clarinet. 

I find this usefull during lyrical passages.  It gives more perspective to the passage, so one does not linger on endlessly - you have to remember a vocalist does not have the capacity to sustain a legato line for an infinate amount of time. 

[letters]

i breath through the mouth because i find it difficult to breath through my nose for some reason, i start to feel faint after a while! sometimes when i am concentrating hard while playing i stick my tongue out for some reason....

[nervous_wreck]

i find if y ou keep yourself breathing evenly, you can destroy your phrazing. you should breath between your phrazes and where you have slight breaks, eveyrwhere else hold your breath, kind of like a singer or a wind player would do. i find this really helps me with my phrazing.

[frombachtobarber]

Nose, definitely. Unless I have a cold, in that case, my playing suffers as well. 

[jas]

I have no idea. Nose, probably, since that's what I do as a matter of course and I don't snore (I'm told). But I don't know if that changes when I'm playing something quite athletic or not... I've never noticed.

I suppose breathing might be more important when accompanying a singer, since you have to be aware of their breathing.

Jas

[bennom]

Hey

Breath through nose? or mouth?


I preferably breath through nose *nice pace*

Breathe through your nose! In extreme fortissimo passages, you might try breathing out through your mouth, it gives strength, or "Force" as Darth Vader would put it.

Always try to keep your breathing steady and calm. To "follow" the phrasing with your breathing might seem a good idea in calm, singing music. But as soon as the sh*t starts to hit the fan, you're likelly to be exhausted. Just imagine trying to "breathe with" a Liszt prestissimo. Your octaves would get very tense.