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Breathe-Dah


What is "breathe-dah" technique?  

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  1. 1. Inquiring minds what to know. What is "breathe-dah" technique?

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It may sound simple and too easy to worry about but it was the whole center of our approach and what we spent all winter and summer trying to perfect each and every year.

Even finals week we were working on the technique so I guess we were a bunch of novice brass players that could not think for ourselves.

I liked our results though.

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Breathe Dah is good for glaucoma too!

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More air = more vibration = better sound [more or less]

No, more air does not mean more vibration.

More vibration is a result of more resistance or friction. With more friction, the pitch of a given note would raise. You can have more air without more vibration--playing down into the pedal range is a great example. With slowly moving air there is much less resistance. This is the reason why it is more difficult to sustain pedal tones for long periods of time compared to notes in the upper register (at least in terms of air flow, not muscle tension).

Actually, more vibration by a group doesn't mean better sound either. The concept of playing as a whole unit means elminiating all inconsistencies of sound out of each individual (extraneous vibrations) so that the group can blend as a homogenous unit.

A quick read through any of the Arnold Jacob's materials will present these ideas in a clearer fashion.

Elmo Blatch

Edited by Elmo Blatch
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More air = more amplitude = louder sound (decibels)

Less tension = more vibration = fatter sound (timbre)

Trying to force more air than necessary through any instrument forces the lips to constrict in order to resist the amount of air passing through. Constriction in the lips is tension, and will make one's sound thin, dull, "dark", BORING.

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sometimes breath-dah = Jim Ott

AMEN BROTHER!

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Once you get to a certain level, the last thing you're thinking about is the breath. If you practice correctly and have been taught the right things, if you aren't taking good breaths, you're probably just stupid.

Anyway, as far as breath-dah, it's a pretty important facet when it comes to an ensemble such as drum corps hornlines who NEED to be very tight and uniform. But really, it's just an extension of proper brass playing. Infact, very elementary techniques as far as brass playing.

Umm actually no. You should always be thinking about your breath. Without the proper fuel, the best sound won't be made. The breath is one of the most important parts of playing as well as one of the most over looked parts of playing. You wouldn't drive a car without the proper amount of fuel would you?

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Um. Who cares? Breathe-moo.

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Umm actually no. You should always be thinking about your breath. Without the proper fuel, the best sound won't be made. The breath is one of the most important parts of playing as well as one of the most over looked parts of playing. You wouldn't drive a car without the proper amount of fuel would you?

lol. That analogy is always used for attacks, breathe-dah, and whatever other word or phase applies. The truth is, once one gets becomes proficient at something the less conscious one has to be about the mechanics. Things do become more or less automatic. I think it kind of follows with muscle memory.

What kills me about brass players is that they have all these absolute mentalities. All the real world uses are theories and methods. Everyone likes the method that he likes best. What's funny is when two people are arguing about something but describing the same thing only with different words. IMO, this absolute mentality is the only thing bad about drum corps. Drum corps re-enforces absolutes.

Edited by ravedodger
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