I told myself that when I retired I was going to learn to play the piano. I love the piano. The piano, the oboe, the cello but, anyway...so, I took lessons for about a year and a half then, hand surgery on both hands for carpal tunnel. Piano is out, the Orthapedic guys says.

Bummer.

So, I got me a didjerido. Well, actually I got two! One is a D, the other a C. Cuz, well they are so cool. And, no hands really required other than to hold it.

The pulmonary specialist (yea, new specialists as you get older) said I have the lung capacity of a nineteen year old, presumably because I swam a lot in my younger years. So, anybody out there got any good tips on "circular breathing?"

Weird thing is, whenever I play it, the cats come over and sit next to me...Hmmmm?



Dave

check it out

also, remember, that an inhalation when singing or playing any instrument requiring breath should be akin to a sniffing action [as if you were sniffing a delicious aroma].

that way the diaphragmatic mechanism acts naturally as intended [when done in 'slow motion' also qualifies as deep breathing]. you should feel an easy extension of the solar plexus as you take your sniffing breath. air goes straight to the bottom of the lungs, as opposed to, in shoulder breathing, filling from the top down.

but why wait till you retire, you can practice efficient breathing right away LOL

have fun,

ron

Thanks, ron,

I is retired... :-)

Do you do the circular breathing? For any instrument you play?

:-)


Dave

Dave,

Maybe your cat thinks you are the pied piper and he is just waiting for lunch to show up.

Pied piper- a very distubing fairy tale.

Mike

Mike,


When I was a little boy I use to always wonder what my cats thought...now, I think it would scare me...



Thanks, Mike...


Dave

Dave,

Did you ever see that old movie"The incrediable shinking man" and the scene with the cat?
I have not like cat's as much since.

The only difference between a cat and a lion is his size. Unlike a dog you can never take the killer out of a cat. One minute he is that pussycat in your lap the next he is a lion in your garage stalking that mouse.

One thing you have to respect about a cat you can feed him and love him.
But you will never own him.
He will always be true to himself and his instincts.

And if your neighbor feeds him better food. He is gone.

Mike

Mike,

I looked outside my kitchen window the other day to see a bobcat walking across my front yard, the cats do not go outside to be tempted by the neighbors. We have birds that take cats around here...and small dogs. The food chain is a little messed up here from where I grew up. Cats chased the birds there...

I do remember seeing that movie, too. And yea, I remember the cat scenes.


Dave

dave, i don't use circular breathing much myself, but as a vocalist and flute player i work with breath control techniques a lot.

ron

Dave,

We have coyotes here who just love to eat cats.
If your cat gets out he won't be around the next mourning.
Sure must make the animal control officer's job alot easier.
As a kid in N.C. in the spring. Bluejays were tought on cat's until their young were out of the nest and flying. In fact they were tought on anything they felt might be a danger to their young.
Damn good parents those bluejays.

Mike

Mike,

You are right and, a very interesting observation is, that...the feathers I find laying around the yard are most often Blue Jay feathers. Their aggresiveness, unfortunately, puts in them in closer proximity to mouths of the hunter gatherers around here.




Dave