Why is it recommended that one breathe in through the mouth, rather than in through the nose, when playing the penny whistle?
1
-
Excellent first question that applies to all breath-powered music (woodwinds, brass, voice)! Welcome!– Todd WilcoxCommented Nov 5 at 16:39
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
On any wind instrument you play by exhaling through the mouth. You then need to transition to inhaling and take in a lot of air very quickly. It's much easier and quieter and more natural to do this through the mouth. Inhaling through the nose is slower and noisier, although there's nothing stopping you from doing this if you really want to.
Inhaling through the nose is generally reserved for special techniques like circular breathing.
-
I'm not convinced that "Inhaling through the nose is (...) noisier" in general; do you have references?– U. WindlCommented Nov 5 at 21:28
-
@U.Windl I didn't claim it's noisier in general, it's noisier when inhaling quickly as you would when playing a wind instrument. Commented Nov 5 at 22:00
-
I think the slowness of nasal breathing is enough of a reason on its own.– PeterCommented Nov 7 at 1:15
-
As a wind player, I concur: breathing through the mouth is faster and typically quieter than through the nose, because the area of the larynx is simply much greater than that of the nostrils. Commented Nov 10 at 14:15