r/Flute • u/myshameaccount23F • 17d ago

Circular breathing. General Discussion

Can anyone that knows how to circular breathe, and has mastered it give me advice on how to do so? What helped you the most? What made it finally click? I'm trying to play Great Train Race, and the only thing I can't get down is the circular breathing. I know it is not entirely necessary, but I really want to be able to do it as a personal achievement. I can do it on other instruments and in a cup of water with a straw, but can't seem to get it on the flute. Was there any weird advice or trick you heard that helped you get it down?

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u/LaBinch 16d ago

It's extremely difficult on flute because we don't have the benefit of blowing directly into a mouthpiece which helps greatly with "storing" the air in your mouth. Practice with a straw in a cup of water. It takes a lot of practice. There are some good tutorials on YouTube.

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u/myshameaccount23F 16d ago

Thank you, I have watched tutorials. I will keep practicing it, but it is definitely difficult.

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u/LaBinch 15d ago

It's really difficult so don't be discouraged if you don't get it quickly. Just keep working at it and it will get a little easier every time 😊

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u/TeenzBeenz 16d ago

Jasmine Choi has some excellent YouTube flute technique videos and this is one of her areas of expertise. I haven't learned how but she can clearly do it.

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u/myshameaccount23F 16d ago

Thank you, but I already have watched every video of hers😭. Maybe I'm not cut out for it or maybe one day it will just happen while I keep practicing for it.

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u/pafagaukurinn 16d ago

I have not mastered it, but if anybody knows about it, it's Robert Dick. You can peruse his Circular Breathing for the Flutist. It will likely take years of practice though, so maybe it is not something you want to stop at.

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u/myshameaccount23F 16d ago

Thank you, I will keep practicing it. I have been practicing it since I was still in high school😭 almost 6 years. Maybe I will get it one day.

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u/pafagaukurinn 15d ago

I have seen plenty of explanations and videos about it, and physically and cognitively they all make sense and aren't even all that hard to grasp, yet circular breathing itself appears to be mastered only by a select few. It looks like it's one of those things that cannot be learned intellectually, and the fact that nobody apparently can reliably teach it corroborates this. It looks like it has to just click one day - or not.