John EricsonOne consequence of the pandemic has been practice has not been great, for a while. A consequence of that is our breathing has certainly become less than optimal.
In my own case, I also started some physical therapy and it is clear my body, due to horn playing, is not very balanced. The most surprising thing related that was that I hardly use my right lung! This must be common in horn playing, as our left side tends to be up (due to holding the horn) and the right side is down (also due to holding the horn!). Related to that, I barely raise my right shoulder. I think I’m raising it, but reality is it is not going up much at all due to deep habits.
What is interesting here also is that these are the sort of thing I would probably notice in a student, but you don’t notice them in yourself as easily.
How about you? This is an excellent time to work on breathing, Very likely you will get the most out of doing this by yourself, unless. you can do it with a group outdoors. Don’t assume your breathing is OK, as it probably is not as good as you think.
As to how to practice, The Breathing Gym Daily Workouts would be excellent. This is a DVD product that you buy, but some content is on YouTube. The below is a great introduction.
As of right now the below routine from the DVD is also online. While it is still there try doing this one every day, I believe it will pay off.