panflute in different sizes

I wanted to create this post to share the stuff about a good tone on the panflute, also breathing in an easy proper manner.
At first in my early twenties when I began to practice, I would run out of breath as quick as if I was smoking a cigar at the same time, it was frustrating at times I must admit, I knew I was doing something wrong!.
Then I noticed the same feeling when you get nervous or worried about something, your stomach contracting and your breathing blocked, I think this is exactly what it happens when you practice and you don’t realize it.
That’s why there is always been methods and teachings about how to breathe for all woodwinds.
First of all, when we normally breath, we breath in we exhale out, ok, but when you’re playing a woodwind instrument you do exactly the opposite and this is where the learning comes, you draw air in, and you blow it pushing the muscles of your diaphagram out, so as to force the airstream to resonate, like a jet of air, in this way, the instrument gets the proper vibration because pipes are tubes, and the sound is produced when the vibration resonates along the hollowness of the walls inside, for that, you need to give the right amount of air to every pipe, so the vibrations runs all along, this is applied in the same way to flute, clarinet, sax, any woodwind, specially the big ones where big amounts of air are needed for a rich deep bass sound.
I want to share some tips I have collected, not only about breathing, but about how to shape the back of your throat to play in a more relaxed way, and the tone of if you get, it’s far more pleasant and smooth than the one you do without a cushion of air.

1. 1. There’s the timing in the music score, and there’s the timing for breathing as well, this two should work together, that’s why you can see commas at the end of some bars sometimes. It’s a good idea too, to mark down where you draw air in at the end of the phrase so you can work ahead.
2. 2. Don’t breath in the middle of a phrase or at the end of certain bars if that means altering the overall rhythm, remember in every song there are times where you naturally breathe without upsetting the flow of the rhythm.
3. 3. Doing Yoga breathing exercises, it’s not only healthy and great but extremely helpful to this, it’s called pranayama
4. 4. Shaping your mouth and throat as open as you can while you blow will help to achieve a round good tone, the sound starts in the pipe, but it is in the mouth when the articulation comes and that’s reflected in your music.
5. 5. Practice long sustained notes and slurred intervals before any playing, it’s a good warm up and it doesn’t take long.
6. 6. And finally if you include dynamics (dynamics is the name to refer to the technique involved in the volume of the notes, sometimes you play soft and sweet, sometimes you play loud and bold, sometimes you gradually go softer or louder… these are indicated by text in the music score)to your playing you’re not only practicing your breathing patterns but also adding expression and grace to your overall playing which will make you sound beautiful

Practice this, play note starting as normal, either saying ta or pa, the tongue touching the gum or the back of the front teeth and then move the tongue backwards and feel the roof of your mouth and the cavity opening, imagine it’s a big cave and a massive current of air is blowing through..
Think of hot air, like when you warm up your hands, so you kind of say “haaaaa”, for playing soft you leave your oral cavity too, but just a little push from the abdominal muscles.

Now back to the breathing topic, I always take a big amount of air be it in a fast gasp or a slow one, but coming from a yoga background allows me a good knowledge about this,

-When you take air in , open your mouth cavity as if imitating a snore, and feel your lungs filling like a ballon, you actually feel filled.

Then blow, blow slowly, and pushing with the muscles of your stomach, try to push as slow as you can while retaining the flow.

With practice and including THIS in your daily practice, you will definitely see a huge progress in your overall panflute experience.