Module 4: Breathing 101

Gas for the Engine

You can have a Ferrari engine (strong lips), but without gas (air), it goes nowhere. 90% of trumpet problems are air problems.

Rule #1: 90% of trumpet problems are actually air problems. Fuzzy tone? Not enough air. Can't play high? Air too slow. Out of tune? Unsteady air.

The Inhale: Fill the Bucket

Imagine your lungs are a bucket. You fill a bucket from the bottom up, not the top down.

Does your chest heave up when you breathe? That's panic breathing. Stop.

Whisper the word 'HOW' backwards. Feel your throat open and your belly expand outward. Your shoulders should remain dead still.

The Exhale: Compression

Now we have the air. We need to pressurize it. This is called 'Support'.

The Candle Viz: Imagine a candle flame 3 feet in front of you. You want to bend the flame over 45 degrees and KEEP IT THERE. You don't want to blow it out (too violent) and you don't want it to flicker (too weak).

The Paper Wall Test

Challenge: Take a sheet of printer paper. Hold it flat against a wall at mouth level. Take a huge breath.

Blow a focused stream of air right into the center of the paper and remove your hand. Can you restart gravity? Can you hold the paper up with just your Air Stream? If you can do this for 3 seconds, you have enough support to play trumpet.