Does anyone else have major problems with this? I can only do it for bout 45 seconds to a minute and then its like "dear god im dying!" i always feel really light headed and sick afterwards. anyone else get that?

I`m totally incapable of it. I just don`t seem to have the knack. I`m guessing though that I will never need it, so have given up even trying.

I heard this was possible but since I`m self-taught I had no idea how to do it.

I talked to a guy that played digeridoo to see if I could pick up any tips, but he said most of it comes from the pressure of pressing into the instrument. This didn`t seem appropriate to flute somehow since you blow across it rather than into it.

As a listener, I find circular breating much more of a distraction than traditional breathing in a flute performance. Just listen to some of Sharon Bezaly`s recordings and you`ll hear what I`m talking about. She has one of my favorite flute sounds, but I find myself paying more attention to that recreational-drug-usage-like sniffing.

Maybe it works better for reed and brass players.

I agree with you on that Tim, I also own one of her CD`s. She plays on a gold Muramatsu and has a very dark and beautiful sound. I always felt that circular breathing was a bit unnatural sounding. You don`t hear opera singers or others for that matter doing this or it would sound kind of strange. I have never learned how to do it or tried because of this reason.

Uh...i have no clue what`s going on. circular breathing?? someone want to tell me what this is? or do i want to know?

Schoolgirl, check this out: http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Study/CircularBreathing.html

I never managed to get the hang of it, either on flute or oboe which one would assume would be easier because it uses so much less air than does the flute. I too have quit trying.

I also suspect that the ability to flutter tongue is a genetically-inherited trait (sort of like being able to curl your tongue) that was not passed on to me. Never have been able to do that either. The closest I can get is a sort of growl which I can`t sustain for long passages.

I circular breathe in a lot of pieces I play. The only thing is...you use it as a usage to get through difficult passages where there are no breath marks or ways to breathe. I don`t think anyone is meant to play a flute like Kenny g plays a sax. I do it quite often on my clarinet also along with my sax. It`s very natural sounding when you get the hang of it.

-Dennis

You can do it on reed instruments too... go figure!

I can`t believe while I was being taught Clarinet and Sax upto grade 7/8 that my teacher never mentioned it and I never came across it. But then again he never mentioned that you gliss/slide all the way up on a Clarinet. I worked that out myself after hearing Rhapsody in Blue.

There`s something to practise in the car on those long drives to and from work then. Thanks to whoever supplied the link to th tutorial.

why would anyone want to circular breathe? Breath is part of the music

I always knew that circular breathing existed, but never had any idea how to do it until yesterday (coincidentally) when an RAF band came to my school and ther was an amazing saxophonist who played the solo part in riverdance without taking a breath for ages. Afterwards he showed me how to do it. I was very impressed, but I wish I had found out a few years ago when I first started playing clarinet because it would be very useful in some of my pieces!

I find this technique fascinating. I wish I could do it. Will try in a few years... My teacher cannot do it, so she cannot help; no doubt it`s not easy.

Aurele Nicolet can play a Vivaldy Largo for say, 40 seconds and I cannot hear the minimum clue that he is breathing circularly.. or in any ther way. That was magically perfect.

For me, circular breathing with the flute is... very tough... very tough. I play 6 wind instruments, flute, picoolo, oboe, bassoon, french horn, clarinet, and the easiest for me was the bassoon. On the flute, there`s almost no pressure so it`s hard to keep the air in your cheecks, on the oboe the tuning goes... wack, the french horn and clarinet, my embouchure messes up.

Re: "I don`t think anyone is meant to play a flute like Kenny g plays a sax."

Yeah, well, no one what is meant to play a soprano saxophone as G does either. Ask Wayne Shorter.

Many, many years ago I used to play in a rock group with an alto saxophone player who could breathe circular-ly. It was a stunt, a circus trick, and he performed it just once each night. More than that would have been overkill. (The saxophonist in question also played flute and clarinet, but never attempted the circular breathing stunt on these instruments in my presence.)

Hey now! Don`t be cutting down Kenny G. Just because you have a favorite sax player who likes to cut others down, don`t get in on their bad habits. God people on this forum really tick me off about this. Try not being an ***hole sometimes. I only made a reference to his circular breathing and crossed the reference to the flute. You had to go and cut him down like he doesn`t deserve to be where he is. I have never heard of who you just mentioned, so I am guessing he hasn`t got the rep. of being the all-time greatest selling instrumentalist. My bad! I must have confused Kenny G with him. Next time bring up an artist that actually gets publicity. Well, at least more than he is getting!

-Dennis

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P.S. It's not a stunt. People (like I) actually use it to get through very long passages without gasping for air.