[Harp-L] Breath control advice?

[Chris Talbot]

Thanks for the advice from everyone. I'll have to work on closing off my
nasal passage, but I'll also keep an eye on my breathing to make sure it's
coming from my diaphragm.

Chris


On Sun, Nov 6, 2016 at 3:16 PM, Richard Hunter <rhunter377 at xxxxx> wrote:

> Chris Talbot wrote:
> "I'm looking for advice on improving my breath control. Simply put, I tend
> to fill up on air a little too quickly."
>
> In many cases, problems with breath control are the result of breathing
> from the wrong place--from your chest, as opposed to your diaphragm.  You
> can make a diagnosis yourself by standing in front of a mirror and playing
> a long draw note.  Are your shoulders rising up and your chest expanding as
> you breathe in?  If so, you need to start using your diaphragm, not your
> chest muscles, to control your breathing.  Doing so will improve your tone
> enormously in addition to giving you more control over your air.
>
> See this post on my site for instructions on how to develop proper
> breathing:
> http://www.hunterharp.com/breathex1/
>
> In short: control the air with your gut = good; control the air with your
> chest = bad.  Controlling breath with your chest tightens your chest and
> neck muscles, constricting your sound and making it sound thin and whiny.
> Controlling breath with your diaphragm makes your tone big and wide,
> because you now have a column of air vibrating all the way from your lips
> to your gut.  Better.
>
> Regards, Richard Hunter
> --
> "The Lucky One" 21st century rock harmonica project at
> https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/richard-hunter-s-the-
> lucky-one/x/5259889#/
> Author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
> Latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
> Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
> Twitter: @lightninrick­­­‪­‪­­­‪‪­­‪­‪­‪­­­­‪­­‪‪‪­‪‪­­­‪­‪­­­­‪‪­­‪­‪­­­­
>



-- 
Chris Talbot
Phone: 867-872-0822
Twitter: @NorthernTalbot
Skype: christalbot