Circular breathing: Encyclopedia II - Circular breathing - Rehearsing circular breathing

Circular breathing - Rehearsing circular breathing

The following steps can be used to learn the first steps of circular breathing:

1. Fill the cheeks with air. Breathe in and out through the nose.
2. While the cheeks are still filled with air, slowly squeeze out the air by pushing the cheeks with the fingers. Keep breathing through the nose.
3. In a similar fashion, try to slowly squeeze out the air without the fingers, using only the cheek muscles.

Repeat each step until mastery is attained.

To improve skills, a common practice technique by didgeridoo players requires the use of a partially full glass or cup of water and a straw. In a nutshell, one simply tries to continuously blow bubbles into the glass. The liquid helps to simulate the backpressure of an actual instrument. Using water also helps overcome the psychological blockage to circular breathing, as the body will instinctively try to avoid breathing water. Because the glass is not full to the brim, water will not spill over and make a mess. This technique also helps to build up strength in the necessary muscles.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Rehearsing circular breathing", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki