Breathing too hard?

Recorder Forum Home Page Forum Teaching and Learning Breathing too hard?

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  • #275
    Bethany Lander
    Participant

    I am slowly starting to get the hang of my recorder but all my notes are loud and very sharp. Is it my breathing? I can’t make the notes soft like I am trying to. How do I know how to control my breathing? I have watched videos but it’s not helping.

    I just am so frustrated with it. I don’t understand why I can’t do it.

    #277
    Norman Waksler
    Participant

    Perhaps you’re blowing into the recorder on each note. Try just easy exhaling, just breathing out normally.

    #278
    Norman Waksler
    Participant

    so that you create a stream of air for your fingering and tonguing of the notes.

    #303

    Perhaps you might like to try the larger recorders? If you still want to play descant fingerings, maybe get a tenor? I come to recorder from a fairly hard set up on clarinet, soI know what you are going through on descant and alto. But now that I’m pretty much exclusive playing record, those air pressure problems are sorting themselves out. Also, you can practice air speed even without the record, imagining yourself exhaling ‘warm air’ like you were making smoke rings from an invisible cigarette. So a hoo or doo sound not tu

    #306
    recorderoz
    Participant

    I love the smoke rings analogy. Also try blowing into your recorder so softly that there is no sound. Then ever so gradually build up the pressure until it sounds, then increase it further until the sound it unpleasant. Do this a few times, you’ll get a better feel for the breath pressure that make the instrument sound nice.

    Mostly alto, plays with Balmain Baroque

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