Practice How You Play

Well, that post title could suggest a number of things, but here is how I mean it today: if your performance environment involves a chair, so should your practice environment; if there is usually a lack of chair, so should your practice session.

Yes, as a musician you need to be flexible, but a lot of your playing has to do with muscle and mental memory.  This is why writing in functional and musical breaths as soon as you can is a good idea.  The breaths will become less awkward and become more part of the music as time goes on.  Also, your breathes will become more efficient fuller breaths.

Conveniently enough, the reason I bring this post topic up is related to breathing.  I find it useful to practice my ensemble music sitting in a chair and my duet, solo, and competition/audition music standing.  Why?  Because while breathing seems obvious, it's not.  If I practice my ensemble music standing, when I get to rehearsal I find that I am not breathing as efficiently as I did practicing.  If I practice a solo piece sitting, when I play it for someone else standing (to mimic the logical performance environment) it doesn't go nearly as well.

Why is this?  I am not completely sure, maybe I am just crazy.  But it seems like breathing would be different sitting versus standing.  I don't mean that the way you do it is different.  No, that is standard.  But the muscles involved must work slightly differently or require different amounts of strength.  Think about it, your posture isn't the same standing and sitting.  Yes, we want our feet firmly on the ground, our backs straight, head up, etc, but...sitting is, well, different.  (please don't count how many times I used that word in this paragraph)

Regardless of whether it is a mental or physical thing, practicing in as close to a performance setting is ideal, right?  That is usually why your director or lesson teacher tells you to pretend that you are actually performing the piece.  They want you to practice being mentally and physically in that situation because performing is taxing and can be stressful.  The more you prepare the better off you are.

In conclusion, make an effort to practice in the same manner you will perform (this includes not swaying unnecessarily, standing on one foot, crossing legs, etc...).  Don't neglect standing or sitting postures.  Even if you mostly play sitting, practice a solo piece standing often so that when solo and ensemble contest comes around, you've already been practicing a key yet often forgotten part of the performance.  I promise it will actually help your breathing.

If you are interested in breathing exercises, here are a few of my favorites:

1) Take a big breath, then start counting as fast as you can (yes, 1 2 3 4...) in a whisper and randomly shout, very loudly, random numbers.  This should be done in one breath.  How far do you get?  Don't feel bad if it is not very far; the first time I did this, I got to 20...maybe.  For example: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17..... (the bold numbers are the random shouted numbers)

2) Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, bend over and take a big breath and put your flute up to your face, straighten back up, and play a note for as long as you can.  When you are bent over, it makes it easier for you to take in more air and you should, oddly, feel like the air is filling up your back area around the spine.  It is a super odd sensation, but once you become aware of it, you'll go for bigger breaths standing or sitting normally.  You can also practice excerpts like Afternoon of a faun or Midsummer Night's Dream this way and it can help you build endurance and confidence.  Tank up!

3) Play flute laying on your back.  It feels like it is hard, really it's just awkward to hold your flute properly laying down, but my sound and air support is always so much better when I play laying on my back,  Don't do this for a long time as you can easily become light headed...just experiment with it for fun.

4) You are going to feel ridiculous doing this, but it will build up some much needed breathing muscles.  It is fondly known as the dog pant.  Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like, you pant like a dog.  Pant as fast, as loud, and as longs as you can bending only slightly over (somewhere in the middle of standing up straight and making a flat back like a table).  This is harder and more tiring than you think.

Feel free to comment on this post offering up your own breathing exercises!  They are humiliating and fun! :)