Well, I've noticed I seem to take a lot of breaths playing a piece of music, almost every 2 bars or so if not sooner I'm getting worried.

However there are times I can play for longer durations than others....whats wrong?!

One flute student at university suggested it's because of your posture when you hold the flute, it's more twisted than other wind instruments.

Damn you're right! Must improve posture!

Sadly it's a fact of playing the flute. Holding the arms to the side effects how you breathe.

I'm sure more expreienced players will have some clearer answers.

It is possible to adjust your posture/position of the head etc so that the "sideways-ness" is minimised, and you give yourself more room to breathe. One thing I notice when teaching is the tendency to look straight forward and then bring the flute up to meet your mouth which means your arms are scrunched right across your body and your chest is constricted: it doesn't work! It also makes hand position really weird. You need to adjust the position of the flute so that you can actually breathe and move your hands freely or you make everything more difficult! Without a specialised mouthpiece like the Drelinger one or that chap from holland (whose name I always forget) the side held nature of the flute will always make life more difficult, I guess, but there are ways to minimise the problems & have as natural a posture as possible!

The other thing to do is to check you are breathing properly and deeply, and supporting the sound, and practice long notes/developing your ability to use your breath efficiently.

Try not to raise your shoulders when you breathe in...

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head one good book on the subject is the Trevor Wye volume on breathing. (I think it's breathing and something, but forget what the "something" is!)

There are many experienced flute teachers on here who will probably be able to give more help.

Unless I'm very mistaken you play the recorder, and I think (more qualified members may contradict me immediately) that you might be used to recorder breathing i.e. not so much air. How often do you play the flute and how long have you been playing? (Sorry, it doesn't say in your signature!). I myself find the transfer from flute to recorder almost painful for breathing cos I'm used to breathing more! My flute teacher is even worse - her fingers start shaking because of the pent-up air inside her. I agree with the others that it probably has something to do with your posture and using the diaphragm etc. But maybe you need to revert back into 'flute mode' as well!

Hope this helps! And hope I'm not offending you if you're a grade 8 player or something!

Charlotte has a good point: use of air is completely different on the recorder, I find that on the recorder I either have to play very very long phrases and try not to black out, or breathe out spare air before I can breathe in again: it was one of the things that got less than positive remarks in my recorder exam! So I can imagine that making the switch the other way is even more difficult as the recorder uses so little air, but the flute uses masses because so much is "wasted". I recall someone saying a long time ago that they'd read it uses more than the tuba! So I don't know if it could be something to do with your problem, but I can easily believe it.

I take it you don't have asthma or a cold at the moment?? Do you have a teacher that could take a look at you? Although I am only at grade 4, I can hold my breathe for ages, and so dont't need to breathe like you are. Can you take a very deep beathe and hold it for say 30 seconds??
Beverley.

I got told I'm breathing wrong today in my lesson. I practice longtones with a very deep breath through an open mouth - but apparantly when I'm playing I often snatch a very small shallow breath through my nose instead. When I do this I run out of breath way too fast. So sometimes I can play 4 bars and other times I run out after just 2 bars (sometimes even less). Do you think you might be doing something similar?

Oooo...yes... flute to recorder could be another problem. Neil was definately onto something about posture.

I've been playing flute (self taught) for 2 years.

TOL, I CAN do at times, but not all the time (on flute)

snuglilvixen, that is exactly my error, lasting no more than 2 bars etc.

Sometimes it's appropriate to snatch a breath to top yourself up, but only if you've already got your nice deep breath in.

Try taking longer to breathe, if you have it: sometimes it helps to use the whole two beats or whatever to take your nice big lungful of air, rather than just breathing in quickly because you can and snatching it when you don't have to. If that makes any sense?

edit: almost had a stray apostrophe joining the fun!

I've got big writing on my practice book now to remind me

ALWAYS BREATH IN THROUGH THE MOUTH - it's a much bigger hole so breath goes in faster and deeper.

I've been set breathing exercise to do too. To expand my lungs capacity.

(To be honest I hadn't even realised I was sometimes nose breathing. )