Breath Control
One of the most important elements of harmonica playing is a consistent and relaxed approach to breathing and breath control. A good player always produces a strong, even tone and sounds relaxed regardless of the difficulty of the music being played.
Outlined below are some breathing exercises which will help you gain more control over the way you breathe when playing and give you a solid consistent approach which will eventually become automatic, enabling you to forget about breathing and concentrate totally on the music you are making.
A good way of developing your breathing technique is the use of visualisation. When you breathe in, think of an inflatable life raft which fills automatically when you pull out the plug. This will help you equate breathing in with relaxation. When you breathe out, think of a tube of toothpaste being slowly squeezed from the end (not the middle). This will help you use your breath economically in a controlled manner.
It is important to develop the habit of controlling your breathing from your diaphragm muscle (shown in the diagram below). As you breathe in, let the diaphragm relax downwards and allow the lungs to fill with air right to the bottom. Then breathe out slowly, squeezing gently from the diaphragm (like the tube of toothpaste) and see how long you can sustain your outgoing breath. The more control you have of your diaphragm, the easier you will find breathing when you play.
Other Useful Exercises
When playing wind instruments, it is common to use more air, movement and muscle activity than necessary. There are two common exercises which are useful for learning to use less force and less air when playing.
The first of these is to slowly blow up a balloon, using slow sustained breaths controlled from the diaphragm. The idea is to take a comfortable breath using the technique described earlier and then breathe into the balloon using an even sustained amount of air pressure. Repeat this until the balloon is full.
The second exercise is to sing a melody in front of a lighted candle. This requires a more subtle release of air than blowing up a balloon, as the idea is to sing with as little effect on the flame of the candle as possible. Once you can sustain a note without moving the flame much, try beginning the note softly and gradually increasing the volume, then reverse the process. You could also try singing a whole verse from a song. As with all aspects of musicianship, be patient and you will see great improvement as long as you continue to practice.
