LESSON 3: TIN WHISTLE BREATHING
The tin whistle and flute are the only Irish traditional instruments that are not suited to non-stop playing. We play the same tunes as fiddles, accordions, pipes etc.... and the tunes have no built-in breathing places. We must create our own by leaving out or shortening notes. The trick is to decide to take a breath somewhere it will enhance the tune instead of taking away from it.
Breathing in Irish traditional music can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. Many tunes are very fast and it can be confusing where to take a breath. So in most cases it will be up to you to decided where you can take a breath without it ruining the effect of the tune. You must learn which notes to leave out or shorten so that it doesn't ruin the tune. This is simple in Slow Airs, but its very difficult in faster tunes such as jigs and reels.
Breathing in Irish traditional music can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. Many tunes are very fast and it can be confusing where to take a breath. So in most cases it will be up to you to decided where you can take a breath without it ruining the effect of the tune. You must learn which notes to leave out or shorten so that it doesn't ruin the tune. This is simple in Slow Airs, but its very difficult in faster tunes such as jigs and reels.
Good Breathing techniques and exercise:
- When inhaling use your mouth not your nose (you can inhale much faster through your mouth then your nose.)
- Your bottom lip should stay in contact with whistle when taking a breath.
- Don't allow air to be released through nose while playing.
- Take a breath and play a steady low G and time yourself. Work on seeing how long you can hold the note using proper breathing techniques. i.e.. when inhaling use your mouth not your nose, keep bottom lip on whistle and don't let any air come out your nose. My best time is 31seconds. Try and beat me.
Where to take breaths in tunes?
Here are some general rules about where to breath in tunes:
- Do not take a breath between short notes.
- Take breaths during long notes or at the end of a parts.
- Breaths should never be on the beat.
Below is a Jig written out normally on the top and below I have notated where a whistle player might take breaths in the tune. The big green breath marks that look like commas are where you could possibly take a breath. That doesn't mean you should take a breath everywhere you see a big green comma, there are way more spots you could take a breath then you will need. Choose which ever ones you like best. Its good practice to vary where you take breaths so your playing stays interesting to the listener and doesn't sound mechanical. i.e. you might decide to take a breath in the second bar the second time you play the tune but not the first. Listen to other tin whistle players and you will start to notice how important breath placement is and how you should go about it.
The trick is learning which notes are indispensable and which you can leave out or shorten without affecting the flow of the tune. Note omission and note shortening will eventually become second nature to you, when you are approaching low air supply you will feel it in your body and you will improvise on where to take a breath in a musically tasteful way. This is something very hard to teach but as you improve and play tunes more you will just kind of figure it out.
