***How to play harmonica: Circular Breathing

[KuvaPefo]

How the #%$ Yes it is a hard thing to do! XD

[o0Panpoo0o]

This is like the French inhale or waterfall inhale, if anyone here smoke...

[redrum427]

check out trombone shorty

[gugusfu]

I have a friend who has the world record of this tecnique... he did it on a sax

[bilvis48]

pretty informative...but i cant help thinking im talking to chevy chase

[redgecko13]

Can this process be reversed? I want to draw in for 32 consequtive notes. Can I breathe out through my nose at the same time to get rid of all that air?

[TERIN9567]

ur a gud man

thanq 4 ur helpz

[billpuka]

This is so great, I'm going from nowhere to just not-so-great-yet but very motivated harp player. Thanks man

[pazzmanmusic]

@billpuka Awesome man! ! Just stick with it... motivated is the ONLY thing that matters... Everything else, with time, will come.

[alepipo]

seth rogen?

[akathasamurai]

This is awesome thank you for posting.

[AuntieN2]

Thank you for your post! Having been a Respiratory Therapist in Pulmonary Rehab I know how important controlled breathing is! Hope to stay with this! (Giving away your "secreats" could help other's with breathing problems too!)

Thank you!

[HKAKoolAid]

im an oboe player.. and i do this on oboe.. i needed some extra trixs. so thanks. im lerning harmonica too

[Svegi53689312]

aahhhhh, I'm not getting it. I suck at circular breathing haha

[themark3000]

hey pazz!!! thanks for the lessons.. jus started playing.. i got a harmonica with o lotta holes in em...

wats the diff??

i think its got 24!!

[hawaii45oH63]

woah....im starting to aactually get it!!! thanks!!!

[KillaTemplar]

I tried it and mucus came out of my nose xD

[CoolPolar]

Arrgh! I've been trying this for days, but when I start breathing in, the note just gets cut off!!!!!!

[pazzmanmusic]

@CoolPolar try the milkshake exercise :)

[bigbone38]

I think the best way to practice this is by ripping on the hookah and french inhaling, so you can actually see if your doing it

[pumukellll]

hey pazz! at first i love your heeeello youtube :D

and second. a can do your first exercice, but when i go on the harp, im only getting a very short sound, any tips?

[pazzmanmusic]

@pumukellll keep at it and practice on making the fluid transition... it is tricky, but keep at it.. try to use ea note that makes the most sound for the least amount of air

[MrNick2D]

This is a common technique of pipers as well.

[MrNikcccc]

@MrNick2D YOU TOOK MY NAME!!!... kindof

[MrNick2D]

@MrNikcccc No mrnick took our name...

[MrNikcccc]

@MrNick2D THAT BASTARD!

[Seekari]

help, i can breath tru my nose while i am blowing the air out, but the air in my mouth is out in a few seconds, how do i remain the air keep coming in my mouth, without stopping to blow. pls respond

[pazzmanmusic]

@Seekari you need to kinda push it out with your cheeks... Practice this, fill your mouth with a gulp of water... Now breath normally out of our nose... while you are breathing normally out of your nose, start spitting out a small stream of water (in the shower or sink or something)... That is the same idea... but instead of water, it is air.. The trick is that you need to get a sound out of a very light stream of air... it is easier on certain notes... Let me know if that helps!

[icerise]

2:48 aww you're still cool!

[pazzmanmusic]

@icerise hahha... thanks mang.

[LaFrae]

thankyou for your cogent lack of pontification. I get tired of hearing blowhards blow. Viva Rashaan

[pazzmanmusic]

@LaFrae thanks for enjoing the lessons man.. i think straight forward and direct is the best way to go at it.

[LaFrae]

thankyou for your cogent lack of pontification. I get tired of hearing blowhards blow. Viva Rashaan

[kittypaws765]

my god. you have amazing oral skills, i want to meet yo fine ass. BLOW ME

[Josue166]

thanx

[bowrooco]

2 questions .. how do you just blow one note or inhale just one hole?

and How do you play " shine down" by god smack .. intro and middle part? thx! great videos!!

[pazzmanmusic]

@bowrooco check out the harp group i have. and the specific lesson on that topic

[neeraj12462]

thnx

[tigermaster10]

wat the wat is he talking about this is so crazy not the good way the bad way

[pazzmanmusic]

@tigermaster10 hhhaaa... awwww... crazy bad..

[dawlinoide]

hi, i know now very well inglesh, so i dont understand some thigs that you said, so, i like learn this thing, because i thing is great can do that!!! and i have a harmonica and i realy liked learn, so , why dont put some subtitulos, in this video!!! please!!! thanks!!!

[pazzmanmusic]

@dawlinoide what dont you understand here? you should ask a question in the harmonica group i have linked from my page

[ReakeiC]

LOL@lmlmml

[signorh]

what are you talking about..anyone can find hundreads of videos about it

[Drewfanator]

You are my new best friend!!! Keep up the great work!!

[jarelleventura]

I wish I can do this..

[jenster505uk]

Thanks

[zacdamaster141]

your videos are awesome dude. thanks much

P.S. -¿Hay un gato en sus pantalones?

[DharmaPet]

Very Nice

[proudfootz]

Thanx for sharing your knowledge!

[DaneUni]

Wow that's pretty awesome man, I can already kind of do it. I always thought it would be impossible to even get anywhere close to circular breathing. Very cool man. I'm just making a small noise out of my mouth with my lips in general harmonica position and breathing in through my nose. Good on yah man.

[casahilo]

Good info man.

So you're making your mouth like a bagpipe, is how I think of it.

[TreeGuy1227]

Easy practice for this is full your mouth up with water..spit it out in a fine stream while breathing thru your nose at the same time.Sounds crazy..not that hard once you get the jist of it...

[swissmartini92]

OMG! I didn't even know anyone could do that! ;-)

[thebossman75]

This is mad hard!!!

[timickan]

the aboriginals have been using this technique on the digeridoo for thousands of years. great video, thanks for posting.

[sublimemota]

wtf, i thought you just pick the dam thing up and play it.

[gungnir2357]

Holy crap. This is going to take a lot of practice.

[Mistroman19]

Wow i didnt even know people could do that ...

[kjeldvontijn]

Oh jezus christ this is so hard

[ImImmI]

that's what she said.

[pazzmanmusic]

haaa

[DanielmonteirodeCast]

I don't really get it, but I'll try.

I have plenty of time to kill anyways, every day I walk to school.

[mycahman]

0:35 kenny G?

[casu3]

thanks nice tip its a little hard and takes time but i dont have anything else to do jaja

[casu3]

is this about gettin air while you still blow?

[pazzmanmusic]

yes. :)

[TowellJack]

I can just about do this now. i can hold a straight note for a while; my only problem is that, i cant help but exale quite hard when i get to breathing out, and you can hear it in the music. its like it get suddenly louder everytime i breath out. any tips?

[pazzmanmusic]

It is just practice at this point man... try different key harmonicas, and different notes

[thegamerman7]

Ive neer been able to do this. I cannot breath and play at the same time. Is it like inhaling through your nose nd exhaling from yur mouth at the same time? and Idk how the pocket of air in yor mouth thing comes into this. Im cnfused. Can anyone explain it better?

[pazzmanmusic]

hey man..thanks for the other comments, and answering (or adding color) on that other guys question...

think of it this way... try to get a thick milkshake, and try to blow bubbles into it with a straw. at the same time as you are blowing the bubbles, you are breathing regular out through your nose... well the hamonica allows air much quicker then the straw, but it is the same idea... graduate to a slushie next... till you get the idea.. then just PRACTICE! :)

happy harping :)

[mikeydreadyouth]

i got a stuffed nose and i cant do that right now but i think its like making circles with smoke at least thats what it looks like.. great tips they help a lot :)

[mulamoney]

Omg, this is soooo hard

[iJason111]

very very nice video, thankyou:)

[MrDidjcripey]

Circular breathing is essential technique for didjeridoo, but as a harp player, most of the emphasis is on the draw notes and the problem is getting enough air out, rather than being able to sustain an out breath. What is the application of this?

[pazzmanmusic]

There are times in playing, especially I find in straight harp, where it is beneficial to be able to have a perpetual exhale. Even if it isn't used to its logical conclusion (extreme long notes). Playing in more of a jazz style, it is very useful for well timed longer stanzas. Also I feel that it is just good mouth technique and will make you a more expressive player all around and resonate on other aspects of your playing.

[MrDidjcripey]

Fair call.

I almost always play second position so it doesn't factor much more me. I can also sustain a strong blow note without circular breathing for about thirty seconds which is about fifteen bars worth and more than plenty.

I play didj, so I know the technique and have no trouble with it and agree that it is a great exercise. I suggest that if you don't already play it you should have a go (a piece of PVC pipe with blu tack mouthpiece works fine!)

Best regards

[pazzmanmusic]

Other thing to note is, you can sustain that strong blow note for 30seconds off the bat, but how about in the middle of a random solo, given you dont know what your breathing will be like?

...and also the 'shock value' times of OMG, how can he do that? (which is cheap yes, but sometimes and for the right audience, very cool)

[jpsilveira]

damn that's hard

[Danvzla]

thanx great post!

[CallumB311]

OMG ITS SETH ROGAN

[thumper3662]

oooh, so it's just like beatboxing then? many thanks, sir! i shall try this out once i get to buy a harmonica. hahaha

[vientinho]

you are amazing!

please make a tutorial with the song

Devisl and Dust - Bruce Springsteen

please!!!

I know you can!!!!

[TheEuroRabbit]

OK mate, I will give it a try. In case it doesn't work I can still go and learn keyboard (hehe) no abdominal and circular breathing required :-D

[johnstanley73]

nice lesson.. the key is making sure people understand you are exhaling normally until it is time to take a breath, and that's when you basically fill your mouth with air (like a reserve) and push it out with your tongue (the pffft motion) while inhaling through your nose, then back to exhaling normally.. lol.. or at least that's how I do it. :)

[Govner2]

The "pffft-pffft-" explanation doesn't equate with the sound you're making. The pftt-pfft has a beginning and ending sound, but the harmonica tone is continuous and totally interrupted. If the mouth chamber is refilled, there has to be a microsec gap in there someplace... there's more to this technique than just that, wouldn't you agree?

[pazzmanmusic]

The idea is this is how you are able to get an inhale while exhaling.. you are not actually exhalling, just using the mouth muscles as if making that "pfft pfft " sound... so while that is going on, you SMOOTHLY inhale air, and then back to regular exhale on the harmonica... and it takes MUCH PRACTICE...

[thomasstuiver91]

how much practise does this normally take?

[pazzmanmusic]

a crap ton

[BiGBo5050]

how da crap

[pazzmanmusic]

indeed

[Greeceisme1]

Thanks very much sweetheart & good luck with your gigs

[pazzmanmusic]

yous a doll...

[detroitbluesguy]

I like your style and teaching..harps good too.JC

[pazzmanmusic]

Danka!

[detroitbluesguy]

I think i got already..people say i blow

[pazzmanmusic]

hahha

[unionfallen]

I already know how to circular breath and I just started playing harmonica - but I can't seem to get it to sound

[AlexIsonSanders]

I kinda upgraded to a 10hole harmonica as opposed to a 24 hole. its a llittle harder to hit each individual note now, any suggestions?? tongue blocking perhaps???

[CrimsonDrift16]

maan...thank u so much..i got it quickly..ur the best...

[AaronHollinsworthKC]

You made my brain hurt! But I'm grateful for the info. I'm gonna try this out....

[RandomHistoryTube]

I got instantly

Thanks man

This is such a great trick that all wind instrument players should know

[rossta24]

this is frustrating.. i cant get it at all

[pazzmanmusic]

it takes a lot of practice... Try getting a mouthful of water, and then spit out a stream of it while you are breathing normally. thats the same idea as you need to do here.

[rossta24]

i can spit out the water and blow some air out but just from my mouth not my lungs so it doesnt make any noise.

are you sure this is possible?

[pazzmanmusic]

spit out a stream of it while you are breathing normally,... in and out from your nose through your lungs.. your mouth muscles just spit the water.. your lungs breath as normal. Pretty sure the video of what I did is possible.

[Dirkdedroplul]

Heey man,

you wanned to know if some has special request for a number to learn so i got one, the beginning of the song Bruce Springsteen - The river.

i hope you try to explane the song on youtube.

Greetings Dirkdedroplul

[AlexIsonSanders]

Hey, Ur cool. Good vid. I thnk you should make more learning vids like this 1.

[themoolag]

IS NICE!

[LesYeuxDeDarius]

You can post something bout cross harp, It would be nice to have really good tutorial on that : D

[MICKEYMIN2]

This is GREAT! Thanks much - and no kidding - the first three songs ( of all the songs they could have been) that I attempted to hammer out on the harp were Low Rider, Amazing Grace (of course) and Auld Lang Syne It's just a little freaky that these were also your selections for "How to.." vLogs You must check out Yuri harp/beat box (if you haven't already) THx again

[dedunkdafunk]

circular breathing, it's hard to describe but is soo handy when you know how.

over here in scotland we never play bagpipes without doing it.

i think Sir Pazz' point is that instead of using ur lungs to blow air out you just push whats left in you'r mouth using muscle, i use my toung peasonaly but the spitting one dosnt seem to bad pazz ;-) whilst pushing the air out you can inhale through your nose 'cause you aint using your lungs to blow out. hope that heped anyone usnure of how to!

peacex

[athox]

i thought the bagpipe had a bag instead of having to circular breathe. but then again i'm not scottish so i guess i wouldn't know.

[unionfallen]

true, but when using a practice chanter (which is directly mouth blown) circular breathing is nice because the sound is continuous just like the bagpipe

[spartacsero]

H*ly shit was that i flyng eagle if you have then i know wich kind of hamonics i have

=D

[ezbon1]

Hey pazz, nova Scotia , Canada here, I've just bought my first harp, It's a special 20 (c). But holy sh*t , watching your techniques are very helpfull , and difficult! How long have you been playing, and where can I join this group? Is it for beginners? Thanks, your a mentor of harps! ....Ezbon

[gungnir2357]

Amazing!

[metalcrosss]

wait a second, your breathing out thru your mouth while at the same time breathing in thru your nose!?

[pazzmanmusic]

yup... but think of it like spitting out a stream of water while you are breathing in with your nose.. you use your mouth muscles.. not the air pasageway

[mashedash]

Thanks Sir Pazz, I'm a long way off being able to do it but you gotta start somewhere!

[mashedash]

Sir Pazz! When do you use this type of breathing? All the time? Or only at certain points in a solo? If you do a blues riff / run do you continue to circular breathe or breathe from the diaphram? Most people/books suggest getting lots of breath into harp from the diaphram and blowing from there, this way of breathing seems to just comes from the cheeks. I could see it being very useful but Its quite tricky to do at the mo!

[pazzmanmusic]

hey mr mash... i would say only at certain times.. once you get really good with it you can vary between that and full diaphram breathing and it affords you much more options with soloing (especially if you wanna sound like a sax or another instrument)

[arronporter1]

hey iv been learningb for just under a month iv made progress but other people on here has surpassed me so quickly and im not even sure im bending [properly..lol have u got any tips on how to play easy blues that sounds good?? and also im not sure if my 2 note is working is it meant to sound a little dull??

[ikechuku]

dude you rock... i'm thinking of starting to play harmonica for real now :D thanks a lot!

[jagnole]

I never wish i sounded like jon lovitz.!jk. im sorry. im still laughing ive got to restart the video!

[pazzmanmusic]

HAAHAH sorry for throwing you off!

[illuminol]

the grandaddIES of this were the aborigines in australia with the didgeridoo. thats how i learned.

[diabolic42090]

I was wondering if this is how circle breathing is done. Thanks for the vid!

[amitabdeb]

You look like Jim Halpert from the Office.

[kezkezkez1]

too advanced for me... lol

i really dont understand how to this..?!

[mjl549]

this suit is black not

[carbonese86]

:S :S thats really hard, and you make it look so simple.... i think its too early for me to try that! ahah

[ilovechugs]

easy my ass. lol

[TheBlueDuckMOE]

Chevy Chase look-a-like!

[DanC9189]

i started playing 15 minutes ago and i cant do this at all. Maybe i need to wait a while before trying to this.

[aboner352]

lol i just tried to do this with a stuffed up nose

oh and just to clarify i am in fact an idiot

[pazzmanmusic]

Hahhaah

[aball0519]

if you smoke its JUST like french inhaling haha

[thatguyoverthere45]

holy shit i think i have the same harmonica as you!

[curleykauper]

TOO MUCH TALKING

[pazzmanmusic]

would you prefer just to hear the constant note?

[clay645]

lol thatd be a great lesson XD

[Toza9]

when most people hear "breathing through your nose, exhaling through the mouth" that is not actually correct. It is more like "Breathing through your nose, pushing air out of your mouth". or something like that. hope you understood that, lol.

[pazzmanmusic]

Very true!

[supervixon]

D:

I don't think I can do it.

gahh.

[thadex]

Greetings for Chile...

Nice work

[pazzmanmusic]

thanks man... Always wanted to visit Chile

[youmilkpack]

IS NICE! ;)

[Well108]

Haha, cool. (looks like you're eating the harmonica. <:D)

[pazzmanmusic]

Haha.. it is delicious .. I like them medium-rare :)

[nfl191]

lol XD

[veggieburgerfish]

Low Gs are nice and meaty

[pazzmanmusic]

mmmmm  meeeaty

[marciocvalente]

Pazzman ! Thank you for your time teaching us these stuff, mate.

I just succeeded on doing the basic thing (like spitting the air out while inhaling through nose), but keeping the note on seems impossible, dude !

Congratulations for your work !

[ybova]

the didge players owns circular breathin records champ

[spikesdatsme]

could u teach how to play the juno song

"all i want is you" is the songs name

[vicfirth88]

yeah!

[hkpartyboy1]

the god farther of circular breathing is a didgeridoo play (unknown name this was 1000s of years ago!) but great tut I can do this on any brass or wood wind but now a harp yet :(

[mongooseatssnake]

to LehaLavr: Go to any music store in your area... don't get the 5$ one, get the 30$ one... As for which one he uses... doesn't matter ... yours doesn't sound like pazzmanmusic's( or as I perfer my Pop's) because you need practice... try "dad's" Low Rider one... no matter what key, once you can master it it sounds good. C, G, D, works best if jamming with other musicians... CIVIC DUTY PAZ, thanx a mil.

[pazzmanmusic]

RESPECT!

[LehaLavr]

hey! can u plz tell me wot typ of harmonica du u use? lyk C D Db Ab A cause my 1 is diferent sounds from yours 1, if u told me i will buy same az urs, ok? :)

[pazzmanmusic]

i use many different ones... mostly c not sure what i use here.. but the point is to get one note, so any harp will work

[RuthlessAssyrianThug]

LOL, Yu the man dawg

[mocoxflash]

nice

thanks dude for your tipps ;)

[jjredick123]

SO HARD

[snooziesmoocherz]

inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth at the same time?

[randomgillou]

Awesome, I didn't event start to think it could be possible before watching your video.

[dj219walk]

kenny G is the holder now

[pazzmanmusic]

Actually, it is no longer a category based on my correspondence with the guinness book several months ago... if that is what you were referring to

[ChrisF116]

Yeah almost. The only problem is I can't play with my mouth long enough to catch my breath.

[neurochris]

i didnt think it was possible to breathe out of the mouth while breathing in from nose or vise versa.

[nixyi]

Okay, I'm trying, I'm trying and...*gagcoughcough*...

[pazzmanmusic]

you will get it... try the 'thick milkshake' idea that someone posted... it really helps bring the technique home...

cheers!

[mallu000]

That`s really amazing. That feels impossible to me but I really want to learn that so I just keep practising.