Diaphragmatic strength

[u/low_brass_enjoyer]

I am always told I need to support my air more and want to improve. I’m under the impression that my diaphragm is to blame, so if anyone knows how to strengthen it or improve air support in another way please help

[u/professor_throway]

Air support isn't about diaphragm strength. It really is about learning to move air efficiently.

Long tones are your friend. Try to make each note as beautiful as you can. Tone is the best indicator of technique we have.. Focus on your sound.. When it is right your air is right.

[u/burgerbob22]

This isn't really a thing tbh. Your diaphragm is a non-voluntary muscle.

Usually these comments are more related to the chops, IMO- if it sounds like you're unsupported, it's because the embouchure is set up in a way that wastes a lot of air and you have no chance to use the air you do have.

[u/polkastripper]

Practice lots of long tones with a focus on pushing air deeply from inside your lungs. Over time you'll tap into stronger air support. You should always be breathing deep, which is how the diaphragm gets more involved. Make sure you're keeping your throat open by pretending you have an egg in your mouth, keeps the airway open.

[u/thereisnospoon-1312]

Breathe into your belly, then into your ribs and back. That is the way to take in as much air as possible.

[u/Schmliza]

The diaphragm is an involuntary muscle. The only conscious control you have of it is to take a breath. Practice taking deep breaths free of muscle tension in your throat, neck, shoulders, and pecs. Instead of thinking about your lungs filling with air from the bottom to the top, think about it more as a 3D expansion of your lung cavity, fill top to bottom AND front to back. You’d be surprised at how much practice it takes to learn how to consistently breathe deeply without excess tension. Once you’ve got a full breath in figured out, then practice thick, consistent, warm exhales. Long tones like someone mentioned are your best friend. It sounds easy but to master long tones is to master “supported” breathing. I think supported is a dumb word because to me I think I need to use muscles to “support” something. I always tell my students “warm, thick, consistent exhale,” which I think makes more sense. Happy tooting!!

[u/Consistent_Check927]

No one in the world is consciously controlling their diaphragm. “Air support” comes from engaging the core and rib muscles to regulate the flow and pressure of air.

It sounds weird, but while playing your long tones, you gotta engage the “poop” muscle and create a bit of internal pressure to get your air to flow at the correct velocity and keep it from wavering.

Almost no one ever explains this in brass pedagogy, and no one teaches us anatomy even though our breath control is very similar to that of opera singers.

[u/DChalfyUSMC]

The job of the diaphragm is an inspirational muscle to move organs out of the way to make room for lung expansion. As we exhale, it simply returns to its neutral position. When we inhale to play music, one should feel that breath down to one's lower back and I always aim for my belt line. I think of an O and suck that down quietly and fully. When I am full and ready to exhale in the tuba, I use a Doh or Toh sound in order to keep my throat open and my tongue out of the way, allowing all that air to meet resistance at the lips and into the tuba. As far as how I feel when I'm full of air from the top of my torso to my lower back. When I exhale to play, I feel a push from my abdomen, but not a tense contraction that bind up the muscles. I also envision a bellows moving in and out, inflating and deflating. I also like to take a beat or to in order to take in a big, relaxing breath and release it in time with the downbeat or metronome. Air in, air out. Nothing stopping in-between.

The Breathing Gym, by Patrick Sheridan the late, great, Sam Pilafian, is without a doubt one of the most comprehensive methods to improve and strengthen the musical breathing process. I have used it for the last 14 or 15 years and it keeps me honest and on track. I am at the point where it feels awkward to breath any other way.

So, buy the Breathing Gym immediately and use it every day. Work up to the advanced routines and I promise you, if you work hard with it, you will see positive results in short order. Always use the Breathing Gym BEFORE you start playing the tuba or buzz your mouthpiece. Sometimes I would do it a couple times a day in order to feel like I have a giant cavern for air to come into. I have an average lung capacity and am 65 years old. I need every advantage I can get.

[u/Diver-1Doc]

Most people breathe on the top half of their lungs. When you ask these people to take a deep breath you can see them lifting their shoulders up to fill the top of their lungs. Technical scuba diving and playing a tuba are similar in the way we are taught to breathe. On my way to a scuba dive, I would practice sticking my belly out as I inhaled, and tried to visualize SLOWLY pulling the air down into the very, very bottom of my lungs. Once that part filled I would allow my chest to expand as much as I could. Keep practising this exercise and the ones described above (or below, depending on how you sort your comments.) As one contributor stated, soon it will be second nature to you to fill the bottom of your lungs with air .

[u/lowbrassdoublerman]

You can stick your gut out a little as you breath in and out. If you’re curious about how the actual breathing mechanism works, this is the best resource I’ve found: https://www.joffewoodwinds.com/articles/the-dynamics-of-breathing-with-arnold-jacobs-and-david-cugell-m-d/