Better Breathing for Pianists
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- čas přidán 20. 07. 2024
- The way you breath affects the way you play piano. This video explains why.
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Video dialogue as text for online translation as requested:
Have you ever been rushing around, got flustered and a friend turns to you and says “Just take a deep breath”?
Singers and wind instrumentalists know all about taking deep breaths - they can’t make good music without being good at breathing.
Some get so good at it they can do something called “Circular Breathing” which enables them to create a continuous tone on their instrument by breathing in through their nose and pushing the air out stored in the cheeks.
Singers and wind instrumentalists have to strengthen their breath and lung capacity. They learn a technique called diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly breathing, abdominal breathing even yoga breathing. In essence belly breathing is when you take in breath and expand your belly like blowing up a ballon. When you exhale, the ballon deflates.
Anxiety can be brought on by poor breathing and also the other way round, anxiety creates poor breathing habits, which in turn can make you feel nervous.
In concert situations good breathing technique is extremely important because poor breathing can lead to a rapid heartbeat and anxiety attacks also known to musicians as stage fright.
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Many pianists involuntarily hold their breath when playing very tricky passages, they get through difficult pieces by shallow breathing without realizing it. They concentrate so much on what they’re playing they’re not even aware they aren’t breathing properly. Healthy breathing is calming to the mind which helps you memorize better and help the arms and fingers feel relaxed when playing piano, especially for extended periods. But why is this?
In simple terms, when playing piano the muscle cells respire more than they do at rest, which means oxygen and glucose must be delivered to them more quickly and this can be achieved by deep breathing. If we shallow breath due to the anxiety related to technical difficulty we are doing the exact opposite of what we need to do in order to meet the demands of our bodies mechanism.
For example, Chopin’s 1st Nocturne is for the best part, slow and comfortable to play:
(example)
but there are a few difficult runs …
(example)
… if you don’t breath properly, you can create or increase anxiety which leads to tension in your fingers and wrists which in turn make these runs prone to finger blocks or hesitations. As a tip, if these type of runs cause you problems, divert your concentration away from the notes themselves and over to your breathing and you’ll find you play the runs more instinctually, which is often the fix.
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Here’s a breathing exercise I recommend:
Get out your Mozart Sonatas and play through the slow movements. Set the tempo of the movement to suit your breathing, not the other way round.
Set your metronome to 40 beats a minute. Sit on the stool with your back straight and your hands resting on your legs. 4 beats of 40 BPM in 4/4 time will give you about 5 seconds to breath in each bar and 5 seconds to breath out. As an example here’s a few bars from the slow movement of Sonata in B KV 570. I will pronounce the sound of my breathing to illustrate the exercise.
Try Sonata in C KV 457. You can breath both in for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds each bar.
This is a breathing excise only to help become aware of breathing while playing and not meant to be illustrative of how you should breath in every piece as breathing can be associated closely with phrasing and expression, and is the subject of a separate tutorial.
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You don’t have to limit this exercise to the piano. You can listen to recorded music or recall music in your imagination and breath along with the phrases.
Once you get the hang of breathing properly when you play, it should lower your blood pressure and help your fingers, wrists and arms feel loose and relaxed. If you’ve set your sights on playing the more difficult piano works in the repertoire, as you practice the notes, don’t neglect to practice your breathing too. - Hudba
Very nice video Paul, I'll pay more attention to my breathing from now on ;)
Great to hear from your again. I love your version of La La Land.
A while ago i made a personal recording playing Chopin's c# minor nocturne and i noticed that I was holding my breath during the long trills. I didnt think it was a problem other than the mild annoyance of hearing it in the recording. its hard to overcome. it feels like my bad breathing habits are programed in my muscel memory. 👍
Jabril, you are quite right, exactly as you say, it's hard to overcome and bad breathing habits get programmed in the muscle memory. Sometimes it's hard to do two things at once, to play piano and to breath properly at the same time isn't straight forward. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone while you were playing piano? that's hard too. Once you become aware of the benefits of healthy breathing when practicing piano, especially as you're going to spend so much your time practicing during your life, you can program good breathing into your muscle memory along with the fingers, as you start to practice new pieces. You've end up playing demanding passages better without anxiety, even feel piano practice and playing is more enjoyable.
Yet another great tutorial. Keep them coming please :) Thank you :)
I play piano and I studied biology, I like the way you put it together. I had very poor breathing habits, I am working on that now. Thank you!
Really happy I found this great channel. Thank you so much!
ah dude, Cheers. I appreciate your clear and impassioned motivation and tips.
Great video. Thanks for the practical advice!
Thank you for uploading, I think that your videos are very helpful!
You are very correct sir, little things mean a lot.
Thank you so much for this video，I will have my very important exam（piano）in 5 days，it's my first time playing and exam before so many people 。I prepared for almost 10 monthes and I thought I was ready，But now I feel everything goes wrong，I can not play as good as last week（I practice everyday） all the practice has not work out，even my hairstyle my dress my everything is not good enough。I just want to run away，I try to tell myself I prepare enough and nobody is perfect I tell everyone I'm not nervous。But it's not that easy。I don't know how to and what to practice for the last 5 days
No wonder I flank all my turkish march performance I didn't know about this didn't expect that this trick can benefit ny performance thanks
Wonderful Tutorial;;-) Thank You so much ;-)
Good advice thank you man
Wow, great advice. :)
Nice tutorial!
this is gold...
Interesting, deep breathing as a means to stave off stress and to optimize concentration. This explains why I typically pause to take a deep breath to "marshal the troops" just before performing. Thank you sir!! :)
Truly it is easier to focus
And this goes for many things outside of music too
This is great! Where can we find the breathing for phrasing and expression tutorial that you mentioned?
Paul, great video! Could you make one about how to relax your hands better because I have a lot of trouble with that especially in fast songs
I belive better breathing is usually the answer for hands to relax better when playing. Before you play you can also shake them a while. To play very fast passages clearly we need to have a relaxed state of mind free of anxiety. In order to relax your mind you need to breath regularly and smoothly when you play. Have you ever looked at a pianist playing a very difficult piece and thought "they make that look easy or effortless". Of course nothing is easy on piano and there is no music that can be played without effort, it's just you need to relax when you play in order to play at your best, and you will find you enjoy playing more too. There are many channels that offer excellent advice about breathing and relaxation on CZcams so if you want to improve your playing, remember your hands are at the extremities of your body, what they end up by doing (or not doing) starts its journey in your mind.
Paul Barton Thank you very much. I'll check out other videos then. Thank you!
I agree, I think breathing control is very important when I play in some recitals.
I tend to breathe more frequently on difficult passages, which is bad because that way it will enable the sympathetic nerves on cardiopulmonary system and adrenal system; which leads to excitation of adrenalin, this causes us to get anxious and heart throbbing.
Proper breathe control means better coordination of your playing.
I had to breathe manually all along lel, nice vid
Hi Paul, I was wondering if you could play Chopin Scherzo op 31 no 2
Agamaz I think what he meant to say was if he could upload a video of him playing it :)
Hi Matthew -- the last time I played it I was 20, so a VERY long time ago. You really want me to try play it?
+Paul Barton It sure would be wonderful if you could! Thank you for responding aswell
Paul Barton we all want you to play the scherzo Paul !!!!
please can you do a shot tutorial video on chopin's etude op25 no5
Hi Paul !!
Do you mind if I ask you which mic you are using? Hope i can hear your reply :)
Can you play Turkish march from ruins of Athens
Hi Paul, first, you are an amazing pianist! Question: let's assume you get to the most difficult passage of a piece. Let's say you still manage to focus on your breathing while performing this passage flawlessly. Well, wouldn't this indicate, that you already master the passage incredibly well, because only then you could afford to divert attention away from playing and focusing on breathing instead? if this is the case though, you probably don't have to worry about breathing properly because you are most likely already in a good place mentally speaking. After all, when we play with confidence, we are more relaxed, and also breath better automatically. Controlling the breath would then be more in the way than helpful, wouldn't you agree?
I think paying attention to our breathing during practice is really a great idea.. And I will incorporate your breathing exercises in my practicing from now on. THANKS FOR YOUR AMAZING VIDEOS!
I am curious how many concert pianists control their breathing as demonstrated in this video. What you demonstrate here is how to breath properly, and why it is beneficial. But you did not talk about breathing with the music, the phrasing, etc. which is essential when talking about breathing from a pianist's perspective.
5'45
Indeed I have been looking for advise on breathing in relation with the phrasing, very hard to find!
I found this one useful: czcams.com/video/A5Wx5SH7yf4/video.html
Well, those 2 last minutes of black screen felt kinda awkward.
sorry for my careless video editing.
it's okay Mr. Barton. great video.
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