1. Composers sometimes write long phrases of music for the flutist to cope with, and unless the flutist knows how to budget the outgoing supply of air, he/she is going to run out of it quickly and be forced to break a long phrase which should be played in one breath.
2. When you are playing a fairly long phrase, the pressure which forces the air to escape through the throat space must be sustained, otherwise your flute will sound as though you are running out of breath. It will sound weak or airy, and may have a ‘wobble’.
At any point while sustaining a phrase, you must be using the minimum of breath necessary and you must also support the pressure of its escape.
As a matter of interest, and to help you to understand what happens during inhale and exhale, here is a simple description of respiration.
The lungs are encased by the ribs. Underneath the lungs is the diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle – rather like half a grapefruit, but much bigger – which forms a kind of floor to the lungs and divides the chest from the tummy area. As you breathe in, the lungs and ribs expand, the diaphragm is flattened and pushed downwards, and the abdominal muscles are pressed down and out. In breathing out the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm soon return to their original positions, the ribcage contracts back to its original position, and between them they squeeze out most of the air.
The direction of the movement when inhaling is outwards and downwards and the direction of movement when exhaling is inwards and upwards. The ribs and the diaphragm will not stay in the expanded position for long. Their natural elasticity will quickly return them to the position of rest. When this happens, there is a rush of breath, as in a sigh, too much air escapes for comfortable playing and within a few seconds it has all escaped. Just what the flutist does not want to happen.
What we have to do, therefore, is to prevent the chest and the diaphragm from their usual quick return to their relaxed position, so that WE control the amount of air escaping. You must determine how much air will be used, and how long it will last. You ration the supply.
Compare this process with holding an inflated balloon. Your index finger and thumb correspond to your lips – a sort of ‘valve’ - and the balloon represents your lungs. If your finger pressure is just right, the air will escape at a steady rate, but without help from you the balloon will expire itself quickly. This is similar to what happens when playing the flute.
Breath control, then is about two things: CONTROLLING THE ESCAPE OF AIR, AND SUPPORTING ITS PRESSURE OF ESCAPE.
Almost as soon as you start to play a long phrase, the diaphragm should gradually, not suddenly, raise itself to give support underneath the lungs. This keeps constant the pressure of escaping air, and must be continued until you have finished playing. By the middle of the long phrase, you may feel that you are running out of breath, but you are not. There is plenty of air still in the lungs and there is a way of making it work for you to give the sound a new lease on life.
The support given to the lungs by the upward movement of the diaphragm can be reinforced by slowly pulling in the abdominal muscles below the diaphragm. By doing so, you can guarantee a strong and steady sound right up to the end of the longest phrase. This pulling in of the abdomen also happens when you cough, but the best way to feel it is by blowing up the balloon again.
That is all there is to breath control. It is awkward to describe, but easy to do. Re-read this section and feel your breathing movements until you think you understand.
Here are two other exercises that are fun to try:
CANDLE TRICK: Light a candle and blow slowly at it to bend the flame. Blow a steady enough air stream to keep the candle flame at the same angle. Wind players need this steady air flow to get a good, consistent sound.
PAPER TRICK: Put a piece of paper against the wall. Let go and blow hard enough to keep that paper against the wall but soft enough that the paper stays as long as possible. A hard quick puff of air will hold the paper but it will fall immediately.