I've been practicing circular breathing on the harmonica. Not sure if I'll ever use it - maybe as a gimmicky thing at a gig sometime.
My goal is a consistent air stream but I haven't gotten there yet so my breath goes up and down some.
I've noticed it's much easier to do on a customized harp than one out of the box. Why is that? What part of the customizing process makes it easier to sustain a note using less breath? Is it embossing, overall air tightness, reed sanding or something else? Or all of the above?
I'm just curious.
Last Edited by Tom585 on Jun 18, 2017 7:44 AM
Rahassan roland Kirk was a master of circular breathing and it was all blowing, I saw him blow on a harp for a few min.than switch to a sax and blow on a note a few min.Though he had both wavering the note.....
Folks I've seen do circular breathing on the harmonica go for that 9 hole exhale note. Custom harmonicas are generally more efficient with air tightness around that vibrating reed, but most OOTHB harmonicas usually have a decent enough 9 hole for this technique.
It also depends on which OOTHB harmonica....they are not as consistent in regulation as custom ones.
Some folks practice circular breathing on a large straw in water, trying to keep the bubbles created consistent. ---------- The Iceman
Sonny Boy I used to do a trick of holding a Draw 4 for two or three choruses of uptempo 12-bar. Don't know whether he used circular breathing but it seems a likely candidate. I've heard Annie Raines do the same.
Cricular breathing is easier to control when there is resistance to airflow. Trumpets and trombones resist airflow at the lips, while saxophones and clarinet reeds beat against their mouthpieces and this resist airflow. Free reeds in harmonicas don't resist the airflow, so the air passes through more quickly, making circular breathing harder.
Not sure about flute, though Rahsaan, once again, shows the possibility (while also, giving the context, raises the memory of Sonny Boy, from 1:59 to 2:48).
Sonny Boy may have circular breathed on a draw note! I didn't realize that was even possible. I just do it on a blow note, usually the 6 or 9 blow, i.e., the second position root.
Winslow, I don't feel so bad about struggling with it on the harp after reading it is more difficult than on other instruments.
Personal note for SPAH this year: "learn how to circular breathe." My go to is Octavia, but I'll take hints from anyone willing to spend the time with me.
I have seen Trombone shorty do circular breathing on the trumpet, and I found that quite impressive because for me, it takes a lot more airflow to get a good sound out of a trumpet than a harmonica, but perhaps that is just my poor trumpet technique.
Trumpet may take more air, but that higher air flow can help mask the transition between mouth air flow and lung air flow. That switch can be more audible at the lower airflow used in harmonica playing. =========== Winslow
"What part of the customizing process makes it easier to sustain a note using less breath? Is it embossing, overall air tightness, reed sanding or something else? Or all of the above?"
It's more than all of the above. And if any one of the elements is flawed, it can ruin everything. It's all the details put together in the right way.
For example, maybe 90 per cent of the time you think a reed feels "stiff" the real problem has nothing to do with the reed.
The reality is there is no silver bullet. There is not one single thing you can do to make your harp perfect every time. You need to carefully look at ALL the details EVERY time.
Thanks, Andrew. I'm a believer. I take an out-of-the-box harp and a customized harp in the same key and I circular breath on each, and the customized harp requires less air to keep sounding the note.
Another plus for customizing - not that circular breathing is a game changer!
