TromboneChat

I'm a bass trombonist currently working on a piece with a lyrical passage in the pedal register. My question is whether it's normal to have to breathe on every few notes or do I need to somehow build lung capacity? I've been trying bordogni exercises in the pedal register to get used to it.

My sound concept is Jim in this clip and I can't tell if he's a freak of nature, has built up that lung capacity through breath exercises, has built up air efficiency in the pedal register somehow through technique, or all 3.

It's not so much about lung capacity.
It's really about efficiency and not wasting air.
Practice playing it extremely softly, using as little air as manageable.

That's not the only answer, but it should lead you toward a more efficient buzz.

right equipment, soft approach with no wasted air gets you there.

I mean, let's not forget that you posted a video of one of the finest and most consistent trombonists of all time. It is statistically easier to do well in the NFL than it is to do what Markey can do at the level he does it.

TristanPerciful wrote: Thu Jun 25, 2026 3:10 pm My sound concept is Jim in this clip ...

He needed five breaths for that excerpt (including the unseen one he had to have taken before the video starts). One of them was after just two notes.

How many are you needing for the very same passage?

I think two things that distinguish him here is that he still sounds full-toned at low volume levels and he's really good at discreetly refilling his lungs such that many people will not notice that he has taken a breath.

There is no should. You have your body; Jim has his. Your lungs are your lungs.

Low brass, down to and including tuba, I don’t have an issue with shortness of breath, but opposite on trumpet I had a problem with being overfilled with air. Had to learn to take shallower breaths so my chest didn’t feel ready to explode. Side note: 2020, anybody remember Covid? Had it and I was dehydrated with pneumonia and a blood clot in my left lung. Doc came in with a gizmo and told me to breath and see if I could get it to a 3. Easily pegged it at 7, he said normal healthy people can’t get a 5! I’ve never been accused of being normal… Told doc I play brass instruments, probably helps my lungs. He agreed.

I still use that Remington exercise F- G - F, F- G - A - G - F - up the hole scale and back again, half note's metronome about 60. And see how long I can hold the F when I get back to it. Remington start on Eb, but I use it on any scale. Since Im getting older its not getting better, but I keep doing it. I don't understand about air but I believe tension any where can make it worse. But we still have to make a good In breath!

Leif

I read a possibly-true factoid that Michael Phelps, the swimmer, has a lung capacity of 12 liters, double the normal adult male lung capacity of 6 liters.

Damn, he wasted that on swimming instead of bass trombone playing.

Saw a reference here and elsewhere to wasting air. I’m not sure what that means in practical terms and how to avoid/correct it.

Saw a reference here and elsewhere to wasting air. I’m not sure what that means in practical terms and how to avoid/correct it.