I am always amazed at how things appear static and yet they all move eventually. Whether it’s your view of yourself or someone else. Internal or external. I’ve been observing and learning how the outside world is what it is but, the inner world…that is where it all begins. Invisible to visible. This old fact that everything we see and touch began as an internalized thought…I don’t know, to me this is real dough to work with. Enough headiness. 3 Part Breathing Exercise.
As drummers we develop independence with our four limbs. In this article I want to focus on our breathing, sometimes referred to as the fifth limb, introduce a simple three part breathing technique and discuss the benefits of while we drum. This technique is very helpful to center us, focus our concentration and deepen our rhythmic awareness in the moment.
The breath, an intimate rhythmic cycle, happens mostly unnoticed. Generally it is common to breathe in only a small portion or about 1/3 our capacity By applying a basic three part deep breathing technique as we drum we can achieve a deeper sense of relaxation and focused attention as we play. The mind likes to wander and the moment it does so goes our attention, which can have detrimental effects on our playing. For example, loss of the deep pocket, an inability to see ahead and a somewhat off balance out of sync feeling. We may begin to hold our breath, our breathing becomes short and shallow and tension and anxiety creep in, this is one vicious cycle we don’t want to be in. Deeper breathing is a powerful tool to help us stay free and clear of this and other negative cycles, making it easier to enter a healthy mind space with ease of concentration releasing any tension we are holding in our body. This in turn helps develop equilibrium in us, a balance that lets us play whatever tempo and dynamic level is needed with no strain or undo effort. We begin to become more aware of our limbs and use the exact amount of energy required to fulfill any playing requirement. By utilizing this three-part technique we will also notice an increase in energy that is available for any task. For fast tempos we learn to release tension instead of hold it in our body. A major footnote here is that of course you must possess the required technical proficiency on your instrument for the task your want to accomplish. This breathing should happen “in the background” helping us stay in the now of our playing.
The Three Part Breathing technique:
Begin by bringing your awareness to your breath. Sit with your back in a comfortable seated position with both feet on the pedals. Finding a comfortable position on your drum throne at the right height is as important as the distance you are seated from the kit, both worth fine tuning for an optimum setting.
First, exhale completely. Then breathe into your lower abdomen, then your rib cage and finally your upper chest. Then reverse the process exhaling the upper chest then the rib cage and then abdomen. A mental image would be water going down a drain and descending into your abdomen, rib cage and upper chest. Placing your hand on your stomach area you can feel the in breath as your diaphragm expands. The goal is to breathe deep in your own natural smooth rhythm. An increase in energy is a common benefit from this deeper breathing. At no time while practicing this technique should you make any effort to control the breath. Let it flow naturally.
It’s important to note we want to focus on the natural in and out breath without forcing or holding, just a natural in breath and out breath when we need it. We want to focus and observe the breathing process without getting in the way of it. The more you practice this technique the more it starts happening on its own.
By becoming aware of your breath, you can monitor how you are breathing, allow you to see if you are indeed breathing deeply or just shallow breathing. If you notice you are shallow breathing you can very easily return to this deeper breathing.
The depth of the rhythmic” pocket” we are able to obtain, how relaxed we are when we’re in it and how long we can sustain that level of playing are all connected to how we are breathing. Common problem areas are intros when the tempo needs to be established, during the bars leading up to a fill, the fill itself and then nailing the pocket immediately after. Holding our breath, erratic breathing tensing up during any of the above causes imbalances to that golden thread of deep pocket playing that we all strive for. There is a pocket to our breathing that we can find, taking nice long comfortable breaths in and out in a natural rhythm while we play our instrument. The word “practice” or “technique” can have an academic quality that is not meant to be any part of this three part breathing. Also, this breathing practice can be done anytime of the day to helping us regain center and balance and bringing our awareness back to the present moment.
This is a powerful practice and personally feeling the results is the best proof of its effectiveness not the words written about them. Hopefully these serve as a signpost to a road worth exploring. An excellent addition to this practice would to try some Yoga postures before we drum. The gentle stretching that Yoga offers can be very helpful to release tension in our body, before we begin to play. Taken a class is a great way to experience yoga. A wealth of information on yoga is availonline. http://www.iyiny.org/, (selection of Yoga Books, video’s coming soon) . I hope you put this breathing practice to the test and discover a deeper sense of awareness, balance and focus to keep you groovin deep.
Michael D’Agostino is a Drummer/Composer and avid Yoga practitioner. He is currently recording/performing with bass virtuoso Mark Egan in the quartet Wildlife.
