{"id":65829,"date":"2019-11-15T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=65829"},"modified":"2024-07-22T23:23:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T06:23:55","slug":"breathing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/breathing\/","title":{"rendered":"Holding Your Breath? Should You Think About Breathing in Guitar Practice?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Many people tend to hold their breath when playing guitar. This is more common for beginners and intermediate players,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is this? And is it a problem? Should we try to fix it? Should we focus on breathing in our guitar practice? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"centerc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8vKp47pyHaM?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;autohide=1\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-why-do-we-hold-our-breath\">Why Do We Hold Our Breath?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Holding our breath a symptom and sign of excess tension. When we are calm and focused, we breathe naturally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we hold breath when we focus, it means that we are tensing our bodies. We restrict our breathing as we constrict our muscles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-should-we-focus-on-relaxation-for-guitar\">Should We Focus on Relaxation for Guitar?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us have limited <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"time (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/short-guitar-practices\/\" target=\"_blank\">time<\/a> on the guitar. If we focus our energy on breathing, we\u2019re not focusing on guitar. We do best to use our precious guitar time for those activities that will lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/constant-improvement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"improvement (opens in a new tab)\">improvement<\/a> and growth. Guitar time is best spent on guitar, at least in the early stages of learning the instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Playing guitar takes massive mental bandwidth. We track the notes, the rhythm, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/dynamics-phrasing-classical-guitar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"volume (opens in a new tab)\">volume<\/a>, the left hand fingers, the right hand fingers, our body position, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we opt to focus on breathing, something else will fall below the level of awareness. This generally means missed notes, poor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/how-to-hold-a-guitar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"form (opens in a new tab)\">form<\/a>, brittle tone quality, and possible even more tension (which defeats the point). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of breath, we can focus on correct placement of the fingers. We can focus on quality movements. We can use our minds to memorize and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/recall-memory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"recall  (opens in a new tab)\">recall <\/a>music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The facility we gain will help to reduce breath-holding and excess tension. But we can also train ourselves to play with more appropriate tension. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-practice-techniques-for-more-appropriate-tension\">Practice Techniques for More Appropriate Tension<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So while focusing on the breath in practice is a common recommendation. But there\u2019s a better way: to remove the blocks to natural breathing. Some of these blocks are habitual, others born of confusion (more on this below). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can use slow practice to train our hands and bodies to release tension after each note. We can use slow scales, exercises, or other technical practice. Or we can play through a section of music at very low speed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The main points of the exercise are\n(1) to remain aware of tension levels throughout, and keep them appropriate; and\n(2) to play each note with intention, with chosen form, position, and movement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Going slowly enough, we can experience a pause and release in the space between each note. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we play at full speed, we keep some of this ability to release between the notes. Our tension lessens, and we remain more aware at all times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-confusion-causes-tension\">Confusion causes tension<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One cause of tension is confusion. If we are unsure of the next notes, and\/or are playing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/dangers-speed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"too fast (opens in a new tab)\">too fast<\/a>, we lock up. Perhaps this tendency stems from some primal survival mechanism. Whatever the cause, confusion leads to excess tension. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To remove confusion-related tension, remove the confusion. Get completely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/solving-problems-polish-troubleshoot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"clear (opens in a new tab)\">clear<\/a> about each movement, each note, each musical moment. And play at a speed that allows for continuing awareness and control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-off-guitar-exercises-for-awareness-relaxation-and-ease\">Off-guitar Exercises for Awareness, Relaxation and Ease<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout daily life, we have many opportunities to improve our tension-levels. At any moment (even now), we can scan our bodies and notice any place we\u2019re holding unnecessary tension. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We often hold tension in our faces. We also may grip with our toes, ball our hands into fists, or raise our shoulders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over time, as we notice and release excess tension, we become quicker to notice. With practice, releasing becomes easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This transfers to the guitar as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-the-verdict-just-play-guitar-and-release-tension-throughout-your-day\">The Verdict: Just play guitar, and release tension throughout your day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So should we focus on breathing in practice? Probably not. There are more <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/how-to-learn-classical-guitar-arpeggios-right-hand-technique\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">constructive areas<\/a> on which to place our time and attention. Accuracy and <a aria-label=\"precision (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/speed-precision-exercise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">precision<\/a> are worthwhile pursuits that will also reduce excess tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With better technique and better bodily use, we are more likely to breath naturally. And we\u2019ll do it without thinking much of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can notice excess tension throughout our days, and release it. This practice may lead to lower stress, and more bodily awareness. And these will directly benefit our guitar-playing as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many people tend to hold their breath when playing guitar. This is more common for beginners and intermediate players, Why is this? And is it a problem? Should we try to fix it? Should we focus on breathing in our guitar practice? Why Do We Hold Our Breath? Holding our breath a symptom and sign of excess tension. When we &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/breathing\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,434,20],"tags":[58,59,353],"class_list":["post-65829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-main-content-parent","category-practicing","tag-bodily-use","tag-pain","tag-performance-anxiety"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Should You Think About Breathing in Guitar Practice?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is it bad to hold your breath when you play guitar? Can we improve it? 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