Ideally, any breath taken will not impede the flow of the music. Music is, like any conversation, divided into phrases. A phrase of music is like one musical sentence; it normally ends in a recognizable place before the next phrase begins. In many pieces of music, a rest will follow a phrase, which is the most ideal place to breathe.
But, if every phrase was followed by a rest, music through the ages would be pretty boring. So, many times some amount of detective work is necessary to find where to breathe without disrupting the music. Sometimes phrases blend into each other, with a longer note acting as the pivot point from one to the next. To breathe in this situation, it is necessary to cut the longer note just a little shorter, and sneak in as much air as possible.
Sometimes it is more difficult to determine where your phrase ends. I have played pieces where my instructor and I have discussed whether we are looking at two phrases or one. This is where your interpretation as a player (more detective work!) comes into play. When you have a situation such as I have described (is it one phrase or two?), you must look to the accompaniment. This accompaniment will be either a conductor’s score, a piano part, or whatever additional music is being played along with you. Now, look at your question spot in the other piece(s) of music. See what the other instruments are doing. Do they have a more definite end of phrase, and your part is being used to link two? If you are still not sure, then do what any detective would do: question people! Ask each musician you are playing with what they think. Discuss what you think the music is saying and decide where the phrase should end as a group.
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