Chapter 3

Learning the inhalation

           Learning to combine nasal and oral inhalation is much easier than it sounds. The central idea to achieving this is breathing in through the nose and the imagination of the breath going ‘up into the head’. This encourages an ‘open’ feeling in the head, which correlates to the enlargement of the airways in the head. These airways play a crucial part in determining the overall resonance in the sound. The following exercises are from Willem, of which not much documentation of them exists. The exercises below are reproduced with his permission, and further complemented with my personal commentaries on them based on my experience of doing them.

Simultaneously breathing in through nose and mouth

           One of the most efficient ways to learn to inhale simultaneously through the nose and the mouth is as follows:

           Exercise 1.0

1. 1. Stick the tip of the tongue out of the mouth and place it on the upper vermillion border, or the junction where the red area of the upper lip meets the surrounding skin of the mouth.
   2. Feel the jaw – wriggle it about to find more possibilities for it to loosen up.
   3. From this position, breathe in through the nose, up into the head.
   4. There are physical sensations to take note of. When done properly, you can feel air passing through the nostrils and the lips. There is also a feeling of ‘stretch’ in the tongue and at the back of the mouth. It could be that some sensations are stronger than others, or some are non-existent at the moment.

           The exercise above is the basic form of learning this way of inhalation. However, there is a danger of becoming too reliant on the physical sensations brought about from this experience. The human body adapts very quickly to these physical feelings, and after some time the body gets used to them. This causes these feelings to become diminished and the learner’s body could interfere incorrectly with the breath subconsciously to have a stronger ‘grasp’ on these feelings.

           The study of the breath is a paradox. It must be remembered that physical feelings are a kind of ‘side-effect’ of the process of inhalation, and the concentration should be given only to the breathing process. But at the same time, these physical feelings are a form of indication that the breath is ‘complete’. Therefore, there is a need to vary the breathing exercise to monitor that the exercise is being carried out properly and to deal with the intervention of the subconscious. An example is listed below.

           Exercise 1.1

1. 1. Put the index finger vertically against the center of the lips, touching both upper and lower lips.
   2. Stick the tongue out to touch the upper lip and index finger.
   3. From this position, breathe in through the nose, up into the head.

           The presence of the finger creates a different balance of physical feelings and reaction, and is also a good way of starting to feel how this inhalation method would work with the trumpet. The finger can be substituted with a trumpet mouthpiece, and subsequently the trumpet.

           Exercise 2

1. 1. For this exercise, a pipe of ±20mm in diameter and ±50mm is required.
   2. Put the pipe in the mouth, until only the end is barely sticking out. The pipe should be held in place by the upper lip and upper teeth above the pipe, and by the tongue and lower lip below the pipe. The tongue should be extended over the lower teeth and its tip should touch the lower lip.
   3. Breathe in through the nose, up into the head.

           Naturally for Exercise 2, a huge airflow activity could be felt from the pipe. The pipe helps to direct airflow to the back of the mouth, and enhancing the sensation of the breath ‘going up into the head’. Furthermore, the wide diameter or ‘openness’ of the pipe stimulates a certain balance of ‘openness’ in all the airways in the head and neck, especially in the throat.

           Exercise 3

1. 1. Stick the tongue out and stretch the tip downward towards the ground. The back of the tongue should be in contact with the chin as much as possible. The tongue should also be kept as broad as possible.
   2. Gently bite down on the tongue with the upper teeth.
   3. Breath in through the nose, up into the head.
   4. Maintain the contact points mentioned in steps 1 and 2. Feel how the back of the mouth and tongue stretches.

           The purpose of Exercise 3 is to increase the flexibility of the tongue and also the muscles at the back of the mouth. The increased flexibility allows for more ‘stretch’ during inhalation, which increases the oral cavity and improves the potential resonance related to it.

Incorporating the nose-mouth inhalation into trumpet playing

           The following exercise provides a context in which the nose-mouth inhalation works with the trumpet.

           Exercise 4

1. 1. Inhale in the manner as detailed in Exercise 1.1, but with the trumpet in hand, and with the intention of playing a C in the third space of the treble staff.
   2. When the inhalation is complete, the facial muscles, supported by the intention of playing the C, form an embouchure naturally. The tongue is brought back into the mouth at the same time.
   3. Air pressure can be felt behind the tongue. Releasing the tongue lets the air pass through the embouchure and creates the intended sound with the help of the resistance of the instrument.

           The potentially difficult aspect of Exercise 4 is to find the correct timing or rhythm, especially in steps 2 and 3. Experimentation is highly recommended, and the aim of experimenting is to find out, at which point the body feels ready to play. However, the danger of the body getting used to physical feelings is ever present, and the learner must constantly remind themselves that constant vigilance is required when studying the breath.

           It must also be noted that what is described in Exercise 4, in some ways, is an extension beyond the scope of this paper. Before, only the inhalation has been discussed in great detail. However, inhalation is only a part of the breath; the other parts – each of them of equal importance to warrant a dedicated research study on their own – are: the exhalation process, the transition from inhalation to exhalation, and the transition from the exhalation to inhalation. Each part influence each other in profound ways; if the learner is serious about mastering the breath, they should also seek for ways to gain knowledge and experience also in the other three aspects of the breath.

Further study

           As the learner advances in the process, there are ‘deeper’ developments in the body and mind to take note of. The approach of inhaling ‘into the head’ takes away excessive physical attention to the rest of the body, and is focused on allowing it to find its own ‘form’. Willem uses an analogy of holding up a cloth to describe this process (see Fig 3.1). The point into where the inhalation is concentrated on is similar to the point at the top where the cloth is being held up. The sides of the cloth find their own places in the air, balanced between the force that holds the cloth up and gravity, and that is the ideal concept that the body should feel.

Fig. 3.1. Three Hanging Cloth Sculptures. Projects & Collections by Harry Roseman, 1991-1992. faculty2.vassar.edu/haroseman/?p=2356, last accessed 1 Apr. 2017.

           Learning to breathe well also requires developing control and awareness of the body.^[1] A good guideline of how the body should develop could be found in The Yogi Complete Breath sections in Ramacharaka’s book (pp. 27-31). Miller also describes something similar called the Appoggio, which is a term used to encapsulate the breathing technique employed by the Italian [singing] School back in the 1970s (pp. 41-42). To summarize it briefly, these are the key points, which could be used alone to check the inhalation process:

1. 1. Area under the collarbone expands up- and outwards.^[2]
   2. Intercostal muscles directly underneath the armpits pull the ribcage towards the sides. This applies to the area around the floating ribs as well. (Ramacharaka pp. 28)
   3. The abdomen or the area around the belly button is drawn inwards towards the spine, and the region where the celiac or solar plexus is located expands out to the front, which raises the sternum (Ramacharaka pp. 30, Miller pp. 42). This creates a sense of support to the whole breathing mechanism.

           And once again, it must be brought to attention that these physical reactions are the result of the inhalation process, and should not be sought after actively. How these muscles react to the inhalation process each time differs in many different ways on many different levels, and these differences could add up to give a completely different sensation in the body. Again the analogy of the hanging cloth is helpful – the sides of the cloth always fall to form a certain shape, but the way they fall differs every time the cloth is picked up.

           Over time, in studying and developing control over the breath and body, all the physical sensations can be ‘forgotten’,^[3] and the body and mind gain metaphysical sensations or indications that they can rely on to recognize when the inhalation is performed well or not. At that stage, there is no need to physically fill up the lungs completely with air to achieve a good inhalation (Ramacharaka pp. 29). The inhalation required to play the trumpet can be achieved by simply ‘wishing’ for it.

           Finally, to be able to reach that stage of ‘doing by not doing’,^[4] it cannot be emphasized enough the importance of daily practice. The Murshid of Hazrat Inayat Khan instructs that the only sin is “To let one breath go without being conscious of it.” If the learner adopts the attitude of studying the breath only during trumpet practice, it will not be enough. The breath and body should be studied and developed at every moment. As Miyamoto Musashi says, “… make the everyday body for the martial arts, and the body for the martial arts the everyday body.” (pp. 77)

                                 < Back                                                                                              Next >