Breathing exercises for woodwind players

Every woodwind sound starts with air. A full, relaxed breath and a steady stream of air give you a clearer tone, steadier pitch, and longer phrases. These exercises take a few minutes a day and work for flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon. Most of them don't need your instrument at all.

Why breathing matters for your sound

Your air does more than make the sound. It holds the pitch steady, shapes your tone, and decides how long you can play before the next breath. When the air is weak or uneven, notes go flat at the ends of phrases, the sound gets thin, flute notes turn airy, and clarinets and saxophones squeak more easily.

Good breathing isn't about taking in as much air as you can. It's a relaxed breath in, then a steady, controlled breath out.

How to take a full breath

• Breathe low. Your belly, sides, and lower back grow. Your shoulders stay where they are.
• Open your mouth and throat, like a relaxed yawn or saying "oh." Breathe through your mouth, not your nose.
• Quiet is good. A loud, gasping breath means your throat is tight, so less air gets in.
• Fill up, don't stuff. Breathe until you feel full, not until it hurts. Too much air makes you tense.
• Sit tall. Sit near the front of your chair with both feet flat. Slouching squeezes the room your air needs.

Try it with one hand on your belly and one on your chest. The bottom hand should move first, and the most.

Steady air on the way out

Blow the air out at an even speed, like one long, smooth line. It shouldn't burst at the start or fade at the end.

• Let your body do the work. Your belly and sides move slowly back in as you blow. Keep your throat open and relaxed.
• Stay steady to the very end. Most notes sag at the end, when you're running low. Blow the last count as steadily as the first.
• Breathe before you're empty. Squeezing out the last bit of air makes the sound thin and the pitch go flat.

Flute vs. reed instruments

Every woodwind needs a full breath, but they use it in different ways.

Everyone should do the first exercise below. After that, pick the ones for your instrument.

Exercise: in for 4, out for 8

This is the basic breathing exercise, and it doesn't need an instrument. Breathe in for 4 counts, then blow out for 8 in one smooth stream, with your lips shaped like you're blowing through a straw.

• Do it 4 times, then rest. If you feel dizzy, stop and breathe normally for a minute.
• Make the out longer. When 8 is easy, blow out for 12, then 16. Keep breathing in for 4.
• Then make the in shorter. Breathe in for 2, then for 1. Music rarely gives you 4 beats to breathe.
• For the longer patterns, count along with the metronome at 60.

Exercise: a steady hiss against resistance

Clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon all push air against a reed. A hiss gives you the same feeling of blowing against something.

• Make a long "sss," like a slow leak in a tire, with your teeth almost closed.
• Keep it the same volume from start to finish. If it fades, your air is letting go.
• Use the same counts: in for 4, hiss for 8. Then 12, then 16.
• Check with your hand. Hold it in front of your mouth. You should feel one steady stream, not puffs.
• Flute players: blow through a small opening in your lips instead, shaped like your flute embouchure. The flute has no reed, so there's less to push against.

Exercise: blow across a bottle (flute)

An empty bottle works like a flute headjoint. You blow across the opening, and the air splits on the far edge to make a note.

• Rest the opening against your bottom lip, where the lip plate sits.
• Aim a small stream across the top so it hits the far edge. Move your lips, not the bottle, until you get a clear hoot.
• Hold it for 8 counts, then 12, with no wobble. A steady hoot means steady air.
• Add a little water to raise the pitch. The higher note needs a faster, smaller stream, just like the flute's upper notes.

For more on aiming your air, see how to get a better sound on flute.

Exercise: breathe out stale air first (reeds)

Oboe and bassoon use so little air that you often still have some left when it's time to breathe. If you breathe in on top of it, the old air builds up, and you feel out of breath even with full lungs. Clarinet and saxophone players can feel this in long passages too. The fix is to breathe out first.

• Look for rests of 2 beats or more. Breathe out on the first part and in on the second.
• Short rest? Just breathe out. Sometimes letting air out is all you need, and you can breathe in at the next rest.
• Mark both in pencil, so you know where you'll breathe out and where you'll breathe in.

Exercise: quick breaths with your embouchure set

In music, most breaths are quick. Practice taking a full breath in one beat without losing your embouchure.

• Flute: keep your lips set, drop your jaw a little, and breathe through the corners of your mouth. The lip plate can stay on your chin.
• Clarinet and saxophone: keep your top teeth on the mouthpiece, drop your jaw, and breathe through the corners.
• Oboe and bassoon: breathe through the corners with the reed in, or take it out for a big breath and set it back the same way every time.
• Practice without the instrument first, then on your instrument, with a long tone on a comfortable note.

Exercise: long tones on the headjoint or mouthpiece

Play a long tone on just part of your instrument. With fewer pieces, it's easier to hear whether your air stays steady.

• Flute: the headjoint alone. Cover the open end with your palm for a lower note.
• Clarinet: the mouthpiece and barrel, the same as when you made your first sound.
• Saxophone: the mouthpiece and neck.
• Oboe and bassoon: the reed alone, which makes a "crow." Ask your teacher what yours should sound like.

Breathe in for 4 and hold the sound for 8, then 12. Listen for the same pitch and volume from start to finish. Then put your instrument together and play the same long tone on a comfortable note. If the headjoint sounds airy, go back over how to make your first sound on flute.

Planning breaths in music

Breathe where the music breathes: at the end of a phrase, at a rest, or after a long note. A comma above the staff is a breath mark. Your teacher may write them in, and you can add your own in pencil.

• Take the time from the note before the breath. Cut the long note a little short so the next phrase starts on time.
• Don't breathe in the middle of a slur or a tie, or in a run of fast notes.
• Breathe before you need to. Use the last good spot before you run out, not the first one after.
• Flutes breathe more often. In the same music, a flute player may need more breath marks than a clarinet player. That's normal, so mark them.

Common mistakes

A 5-minute breathing routine

• 1 minute: in for 4, out for 8, with the breathe-along clicks.
• 1 minute: the steady hiss (reeds) or the bottle (flute), out for 12 or 16.
• 1 minute: long tones on your headjoint, mouthpiece, or reed.
• 1 minute: quick breaths on a long tone with your instrument. Oboe and bassoon: breathe out first.
• 1 minute: a phrase from your music, with every breath marked and taken on time.

Do it before your regular practice, as a warm-up. Then hold long tones with the tuner: a steady needle means steady air. In Woodwind Trainer, Play the Note is a good place to practice a full breath and a clean start on every note. For a whole daily plan, see how to practice at home in 15 minutes.