On the Use of the Word “Breath Support”

In a recent article a colleague used the phrase "breath support" as a desirable thing to practice. I have heard this phrase so often from students and professionals alike, but am never convinced that everyone means the same thing by it. Is this a subject for discussion by this group (trying to change the subject from flute material?).

Support as a general word suggests to me holding up. How does this transfer to breathing? Do people mean pressure - as in abdominal? The act of blowing involves such pressure, so, if that is support, you can't play without it. When people say "more support" do they mean more pressure? A lot of this would seem to me to relate to the containment of the embouchure hole. If your lips create a small hole, x amount of pressure will create a certain speed of airstream. If the hole is a little larger the pressure needs to be more to maintain the same speed of air going into the flute. Of course there is only so much air that can go into the flute, and I sometimes wonder if over-"pushing" and over-"embouchuring" don't cancel each other out - somewhat like an isometric exercise. I tend to think that the pressure needed to play a flute is rather more like the act of fogging up a mirror. A beginner on the flute will use up a lungful of air in no time, so the skill we learn is how to not use air. Does this mean then that breath support is controlling the way the lungs contract so that the process is prolonged - using the rib and abdominal muscles to keep the lung area larger longer? Then does "more support" mean less pressure?

I'm sorry I used the phrase "breath support" as the subject of my comments, as it seems to be "supporting" its propagation. So here are some comments on "breath control" prompted by contributions to this list.

It seems that when some people talk about "bs" they end up talking about "bc". Is that correct? If you mean that, is "bc" not a better description? Some others of you seem to be saying that "bs" is somehow the way you control the breath, as in using a particular type or degree of pressure as a desirable. If this is true, does "more" or "better" support imply a change to more pressure or less pressure?

Alexa says that "students often go through patches of being "lazy" in the support department, and over "embouchuring" to compensate."

Does she just mean that they don't inhale very much air and are conserving it by using a small lip opening, or that they are using a lot of pressure on the lungs and holding the lips tight against that pressure - quite a different scenario? From her description of the sounds I think the latter, in which case is she saying that good "bs" relates to less pressure on the lungs? I think that with the difficulty of this subject clear definitions might help.

Larry talks of "keeping the rib cage up". I would say that the rib cage is expanded or contracted, and that the one happens when you inhale and the other when you exhale. When you expand your ribs, your lungs have to fill with air; as you exhale your ribs have to contract.You can use, and develop, muscles to increase your ability to expand the ribs, thereby being able to inhale more air (and more quickly). These same muscles can be used to keep the ribs from contracting so quickly, thereby slowing the rate of exhalation.

John Z quotes Sam Baron, "when you're about half full, the diaphragm is still extended and is easier to control. When you're nearly empty the diaphragm is much harder to control."

The diaphragm, as its name implies, is the seal between the lungs and the lower body cavity, attaching around the chest's perimeter at the bottom of the ribs. When the ribs are contracted it relaxes into a dome shape; when the ribs expand it flattens out to encompass the larger required area. Despite what so many of us were (are?) taught, I know of no evidence that this is a muscle that can be controlled.

(I don't mean by this to dispute Sam Baron's great skill as a teacher. I find that at both the lungs' fullest and emptiest the breath is harder to control and avoid both where possible.)

The abdominal muscles can be used to apply upward pressure on the lungs (against the diaphragm), either sustained (as in holding your lips closed and blowing your cheeks out) or pulsed (as in panting).

When a child is breathing while lying down the abdomen rises as the lungs fill. This would seem to be a normal sight to see in a flutist breathing in a relaxed manner. But I see so much movement of abdominal muscles amongst some flutists during the course of a phrase that I wonder how this activity relates to the gentle art of breathing into a flute.

Finally, Alexa says, "the sound difference is incredibly dramatic when comparing an "unsupported" sound to a "supported" one. Why is a very good question!"

Perhaps the answer still lies in defining what is meant by "bs". Larry has some wonderful images and descriptions to bring to the discussion of breathing but am I being difficult if I feel that he still hasn't defined it? Until there is a consensus on that my vote is for a ban on the phrase! Is there a second?