RODDY o-iii<O
Wanna read the book MF used for his breathing technique that he recommended to Bobby Shew??
)))))))))))))MF first learned about Yoga breathing from trumpeter Benny Baker when he took lessons from him in New York back in the 1940s.
Then, MF read a book titled Science of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka Copyright 1904 by the Yogi Publication Society.
The book has been reprinted in 1969 by Health Research 70 Lafayette Street Moklelumne Hill, California 95245. info from Tom LeMay
email: tlemay@starpower.net
It is also available here....
http://www.alibris.com/
I believe the following book to be the source book for the above rewrite.
NATURE'S FINER FORCES by RAMA PRASAD (1894)
The Science of Breath & The Philosophy of the Tattvas. Translated from Sanskrit into English. __________________________________________________________ TAI CHI BREATHING (an article by Richard Hedges) __________________________________________________________ COMPLETE BREATHING (an excerpt)from an article by Rich Szabo __________________________________________________________ ABDOMINAL SUPPORT OF AIR (an excerpt) from an article by Bobby Shew
This is one of the areas of brass playing that causes a great deal of confusion.
The Tattvas are the five modifications of the Great Breath or the central impulse which keeps matter in a certain vibratory state.
The book was translated from the Sanskrit in 1894, showing the religion of ancient India had a scientific basis.
Contents include:
The Tattvas; Evolution; The Mutual Relation of the Tattvas & of the Principles; Prana; The Mind; The Cosmic Picture - Gallery; The Manifestations of Psychic Force; Yoga - The Soul; The Spirit; The Science of Breath; Glossary.
251 pages
ISBN 0-7873-1031-X
Price: $23.00 from
Health Research books
I have been involved in Tai Chi
for a little more than a year and can relate what I
have learned and the benefit for playing trumpet.
Let me start by saying that my initial motivation in
studying Tai Chi was for the benefit that it would
give my trumpet playing.
At my first class, my
teacher asked why each of us was interested, and to
the best of my recollection my answer was "I think
that the "conscientious breathing" that is a part of
Tai Chi will benefit my trumpet playing."
After
studying it for a year, I can say that I am very
impressed with the results, although they are nothing
like what I expected.
Generally speaking (and from my perception), Tai Chi
is a sort of moving meditation/exercise where motions
of the body and breathing are coordinated with a
martial arts focus.
For example: there may be a
technique focused on pushing an attacker away that
would indeed depend on coordination of the breathing
to achieve full power and energy.
Thinking back to a
year ago, I was hoping to achieve great power in my
breath and hence improve my range.
The first time that I saw a definite effect of the Tai
Chi breathing on my playing was last spring. I would
notice that some days my chops were shot before I even
got warmed up, so I was struggling to improve my
warmup routine.
I noticed that after a Tai Chi class
my endurance and tone was noticeably better, and
pondered why that might be.
I incorporated a
breathing exercise (called "gathering Chi") as a
precursor to my trumpet warmup and never had those
days where my chops were shot so quickly.
My
conclusion was that the problem was not chops, but
air: the breathing warmup got my air going and set
the stage for a good practice session.
As I said, I thought that I could increase the power
of my breath for trumpet playing, but I would say that
what has happened is that I am now much more able to
breath and blow without tension in my body and breath.
Since you are familiar with the Adam routine, I can
relate all this to some of the descriptions there. In
the 1975 Clinic Address, Bill Adam repeated mentions
some counterproductive tension(s).
In particular,
recall the quotation "What we're trying to do is to
get the air through that horn with the least amount of
tension and the least amount of muscle". It is in
this area that I have found the discipline of "Tai Chi
breathing" to be most beneficial.
By watching my
breathing, I find that I can tune in to tensions (in
my body or performance anxiousness, too) and "let go"
of them, resulting in more relaxed (and powerful
breathing) and hence better tone, endurance, etc.
So for me, the outcome of my study of Tai Chi as far
as breathing has been subtle yet powerful. In this
year I have become my more full acquainted with my
breathing, and have been surprised at how much there
is to it.
- Richard (richard_hedges@yahoo.com)
P.S. There is a book by Nancy Zi called "The Art of
Breathing" which looks good if you are just interested
in the breathing (and not martial arts) parts.
Before we can improve our breathing we must remember
that the process existed long before we did - we have nothing to teach it.
What we have to do is to prepare ourselves to receive its revitalizing strength
by removing any obstacles that might hinder its good effects.
Proper breathing depends on our eliminating tension,
correcting bad habits, wrong mental and physical attitudes; the moment we
get rid of these obstacles it will come into its own and bring us vitality
and good health.
See the whole article at http://www.richszabo.com
Much discussion about the importance of the diaphragm has sent many a player down the road to confusion, inability, and bleeding lips.
The upper part of the torso contains a large FAMILY of muscles that all have been designed to function in a teamwork fashion specially when we do something requiring FORCED EXHALATION,
i.e., blowing out candles, spitting something out of our mouth.....
..... OR BLOWING ON A WIND INSTRUMENT.
See the whole article at http://www.bobbyshew.com
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