Waiting to Exhale: Bonus Videos

Below are more examples of how to apply the breath in different musical settings. In all the clips, I’m intentionally breathing louder than normal, often vocalizing the release as a “huh,” for demonstration purposes. In performance these would be much more subtle!

Rebecca Clarke: Viola Sonata: Mvmt I, Opening

In the opening of this Sonata I imagine a young and bold Rebecca Clarke crossing the Atlantic on her way to make a life for herself in the US.  So I asked myself how to inhabit this boldness with both the body and the breath. 

A strong exhale before starting helps my bow arm sink into the string with the powerful sound needed to capture the bold opening. For this to work my exhale has to happen BEFORE I move the bow, not AS I move the bow. The timing is crucial, so my breath must be framed by my musical pulse (isn't it so natural that our breath and our pulse work together?). 

I set up the pulse in my mind, breathe in for the first three beats, breathe out strongly on count 4, and then it's off to the races! You’ll notice I release through the tied notes, and that the intensity of those releases decreases as the energy of the phrase changes.

Rebecca Clarke: Viola Sonata: Mvmt I, Page 2

The character of this phrase is very different from that of the opening, with a dreamy and relaxed feel, so my breathing reflects that change. The rest at rehearsal 5 marks a change in character (con calore, meaning “with warmth or heat”). Changing my exhale here helps me make that character change.

Beethoven: 7 Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” - Variation VI

Karen Tuttle, by way of Marcel Tabuteau, talked about how the dot in a dotted note (or end of a tied note) should have the most musical energy and direction. This beautiful Adagio, from Beethoven’s 7 Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen,” shows how a release in the middle of a note can function both to help spin the sound through the middle of the bow, but also aid rhythmic direction and flow by ensuring you feel of the middle of the beat.