Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

As you know I’m a sax player myself. And one technique I’ve never tried out was circular breathing. Why? Because from the start of my saxophone career my approach to music was to play my horn naturally based on my own breathing rhythm. Especially from Kendo I adopted a breathing technique which didn’t allow circular breathing. Kendo taught me to breathe “naturally”, i.e. breath in and breath out as my body wants to do it. So it was unnatural for me to play very long tones.

I found already out during my first year playing the horn that when you stop breathing and playing at the same time, you are able to hear “silence.” Silence is then an “unheard space.” Thus creating and manipulating space between tones and when to stop playing became major issues in my music.

Developing my own sound on the horn was my priority and still is. Sound dynamics became also an important part of my music. Through Kendo and Zen practice I learned that extreme performances in general and in music, such as sustaining very long notes, executing very fast and complicated chord progressions, wouldn’t make me a “real” musician. A real musician just plays himself and would use a technique as a tool to express an idea. Nowadays musicians depend mostly only on technique without having any idea what they are doing. Circular breathing could be one of these dangerous techniques to lose yourself.

But all this said there are exceptions of great musicians who made circular breathing to an art and made music with this technique, such as Ian Anderson (Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work in Jethro Tull), Rahsaan Roland Kirk (jazz multi-instrumentalist), Evan Parker (free improvising saxophonist noted for his lengthy circular breathing excursions on soprano and tenor saxophones), John Surman (Jazz multi instrumentalist, mostly on saxes and clarinets, on “Cloud Line Blue” and other albums) and Anthony Braxton (American saxophonist and composer). I had known all these musicians before I started playing the saxophone. And it is used extensively in playing the Australian didgeridoo, the Sardinian launeddas and Egyptian arghul, as well as many traditional oboes and flutes of Asia and the Middle East.

(Speaking of circular breathing becoming a sport or competition: in 1997, a Guinness World Record was set for longest held musical note. Kenny G used circular breathing to sustain an E-flat on a saxophone for 45 minutes and 47 seconds.In February 2000, Vann Burchfield set a new Guinness world record for circular breathing, holding one continuous note for 47 minutes, 6 seconds, surpassing Kenny G’s record.)

And another BUT: while writing this intro I changed my mind and decided to start to learn the circular breathing from tomorrow and try to incorporate this breathing technique in my music. Maybe I can prove myself wrong and can use it to make silence “hearable.”

AJ Block, a music colleague of mine and a didgeridoo teacher is going to tell us how to learn it.

Text by AJ Block

Circular breathing is a wind instrument technique that allows the player to sustain a tone for an extended period of time. This is accomplished by storing air in the mouth (inflating the cheeks) and using this reservoir of air to inhale through the nose while air is still coming out the mouth. People always ask me if it is difficult to circular breathe and I usually reply that it is just a slight variation on normal breathing. Circular breathing is key to didgeridoo playing because it allows for the continuous drone to remain unbroken, forming a strong foundation for the complete sound. Learning to circular breathe is like going to the gym in that you are working to develop muscle tone, flexibility and control. While it may seem challenging, practice of the following exercises you will give you an understanding of how the mechanics work and how to successfully master the art.  Some people find it easier to learn circular breathing by playing the didgeridoo but you do not need an instrument to practice these exercises.