Which spots of a melody are the best places to breathe during harmonica playing?
I'm practicing the song below:
But when I reach the middle of the 6th bar, there's almost no air remaining in my lungs (right after E-C). The problem is that I need to breathe, say, inhale, somewhere at the end of the 5th bar, but the successive G-A-G-F quarter notes don't let me do that since any breathing interrupts the correct tempo of my performance (maybe it's possible and it's just my weakness!).
Is there any rule-of-thumb to determine the spots of a melody at which a performer needs to breathe without interrupting the temporal flow of the melody?
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With a piece like this which is a song, then there are natural places to pause guided by the punctuation marks in the lyrics. Unfortunately the example is missing a lot. So I reproduce it here with "proper" punctuation (IMO):
Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines. Sonnez les matines!
Din Dan Don. Din Dan Don.
All of the commas ,, question marks ?, periods ., and exclamation points ! are good candidates for a spot to steal a breath.
[Incidentally, I hadn't noticed until now that 'sonnez les matines' is an imperative verb, ie. a command. "Sound the bells!" This is very different than the usual rendering in English "Morning bells are ringing".]
Singers are usually trained to expel the remainder of their air and inhale during longer notes. You've got a couple half notes there. If the tune is fast you've got your work cut out for you. But what makes sense is to not disrupt the musical continuity. So pick the end of a musical phrase to breath.
Also, if your have a well developed core you can exhale slowly and extend the amount of music you play in a breath. But this takes time and practice.
I don't play harmonica but in singing or playing wind instruments, I'd try to grab a quick breath after the second "vous." It's best to grab a breath on long notes at ends of phrases.
Consider a singer, singing this. For them, every single note is during exhalation. They have the same to deliver, but at least you have the opportunity at several points to inhale, while continuing to play.
Inhaling can occur through mouth and/or nose. Use the draw notes to suck more air into your lungs through your nose at the same time.
The other factor, as stated by ttw, is to take a breath in (like a singer would) at the end of a phrase. It means cutting a note off a little short, but we're back to what a vocal line would need. Also, try to keep more air in your lungs than you do normally, as a bit of a reserve. Sax, trumpet, trombone, etc., players all learn how necessary this is too.
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