Breathing tips for trumpet and how to avoid negative air.

[@garymarquardt1661]

Very helpful. Love the reference to mental distraction of neg. Air. I do try to exhale what's left in my air tanks quickly to get rid of stale air. Good video Josh.

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Thanks! Glad you found it helpful. Yes, that's another great breathing strategy. I've got a video in the works on breathing in tempo, and that's one part of it.

[@douglasmooney3726]

Very Nice like the concept of negative air...

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Thanks! I made this video some time ago, but I’m sure I mentioned that I got it from Charles Schlueter. I only had a handful of lessons with him, but he has incredible air control and awareness.

[@wanouwir66]

verry clear thank you

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Sure thing, thanks for watching!!

[@colinmonk8002]

Great advice

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Thanks, Colin! 🙏🙏

[@johncahalan7590]

Needed this in a big way. Love the videos man!

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Thank you!! 🙏🙏 Glad you found it helpful!

[@megandobos253]

Thanks! This certainly reminded me to be more mindful of breathing!

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Great! It’s something we all need to be reminded of. I’ve been thinking if making a video with some warm-up breathing exercises, maybe in the next month or two ... I think it would be fun.

[@megandobos253]

@@JoshRzepkaMusic Cool

[@nancyvizza4967]

Thank you Josh; this is so helpful to me as a French Horn player!

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Glad to hear it, thanks!!

[@jeremyrhoads6899]

Great video!

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@junsukim8971]

Some people says that we have to use our breath as much as we could,to the point where we feel our abs is empty. if we don’t, if we breath more when we already have enough air in our body, that makes notes out of tune. But for me, as you make a story of gas tank, i really agree with and feel more comfortable when i use this method that you said. If this method working well for me, is it right to follow this?

[@MikeM91320]

Breathing is a big problem for me so I really like the idea of going back a measure or two to find a place to take a breath. Another big issue is getting rid of what air is left before taking a new breath -- I can't ever stay on time with music...any tips there? BTW, I am just an amatuer and play for my own enjoyment. Thanks.

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Thanks for checking out the vid and commenting! If you've got leftover air, then try and focus on breathing a bit more often, but smaller breaths each time. Then you shouldn't get overfilled and have the need to exhale the leftover air. But definitely planning things out in advance will help. Perhaps work on practicing some quick breaths where you exhale and then inhale, it can be a good habit to do in time and with practice it can be done very quickly.

[@lefterislef5630]

I came here to write the exact same comment. I find most times I have the need to exhale before inhaling and there is not enough time in a pause for that. I get a bit disappointed because I have asthma and I feel my breaths are very weak sometimes and it's hard for me to manage them properly. Have you found any improvement since you commmented?

[@emale606]

leftover air gets in the way when i take a breath. and i then im tense.

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

If you've consistently got leftover air, then you may be taking too large of a breath to begin with. Try: 1, 2, 3 (exhale), 4 (inhale). That should get you in the habit of exhaling the excess air, and then try incorporating slightly smaller breaths. Let me know if that helps!!

[@emale606]

Thank you so much.

[@diz7595]

What type of mouthpiece are you using? The rim looks wide.

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

It's a Denis Wick MM4C , there's a link in the description!

[@diz7595]

@@JoshRzepkaMusic thank you.

[@robertgreen3702]

I'm guilty😮. Thanks Josh👍

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

We all do that from time to time ... so much of the daily struggle is to try and do as little that's counter productive as possible. The trumpet isn't specifically natural to the human experience, so it's a constant battle to nurture good habits and eliminate bad habits.

[@darryljones9208]

Breathing, including while playing, must manage oxygen and CO2 exchange. The low air flow required to play makes running low of air a rare occurrence for most music. You are also confusing tension and effort. The additional effort required to maintain air pressure for the lowest lung volume can easily be managed without any "tension". Also, beginning a breath from "negative" region gives better gas exchange and has a pleasing "rebound" effect. Such that, if rhe music allows, one should continue the exhalation during a rest , that is, expell the air, before inhalation. Not simply "top-off".

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Thanks for giving some of your thoughts! For many players who've been at it for a long time, sure this may be a rare occurrence. But I've worked with countless young students who do it all the time. If you're a younger player with less developed air control/capacity, then you'll run out of air rather quickly and find yourself in this situation fairly frequently (think middle school/high school). Developing players often play in a far less efficient manner, and their "air flow" is often wasted and/or not optimized. Oh, I was not confusing tension and effort. Sure, an increase in effort is also happening (as I described/demonstrated in the video), but the aspect that I was discussing ( 1:11 ) is when we are really running out. Again, for developing players, my experience from teaching countless students over the last 15+ years is that nearly all of them add "tension" when they start playing on negative air as I described. Yes, it's a great exercise to exhale before inhaling. I often have my students breathe out for a full breath (in tempo) before they breathe in (in tempo) when practicing and performing. However, in the middle of a phrase you often don't have time for that.

[@darryljones9208]

@@JoshRzepkaMusic but young players are inefficient because of popular teaching methods ( like buzzing the mouthpiece first), so encouraging more air just reinforces the habits of inefficiency. Young players also are often on mouthpieces that are too large. Which, along with the buzzing approach, breeds inefficiency. Even young players have a surprisingly good air capacity. It's some of the poor approaches that are the problem, they breed inefficiency.

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Well, I imagine we just won't agree on a lot of things then. I am a student coming from the stamp method, and a very big advocate of the buzzing and believe that it can greatly help with efficiency, air control, and ear training, so I guess we've just got different approaches. Nothing works for everyone, which is fine, that's why there are so many different ways to teach the same idea.

[@darryljones9208]

A way is not always the best way.

[@leemarcummusic1445]

this is exactly what happens to me - ugh

[@JoshRzepkaMusic]

Well, hopefully this has helped you get some new ideas that will help you out!