AUTOR'S FEW WORDS ABOUT CIRCULAR BREATHING
"Mastering the skill of circular breathing in the class of Professor Barbara Świątek-Żelazna was one of the breakthroughs in my professional development as an instrumentalist. What made my body start circular breathing might seem an absolute coincidence: I just wanted to produce a long phrase at a concert while I was absolutely short of air. However, the conclusion I reach from today’s perspective is different. The pursuit of breathing independence, to be able to phrase the sound and maintain the intended expression, was a successive, natural stage of my development. There simply came the time when my body crossed a particular magic threshold.
That surprising moment made me aware of the plethora of options that a flutist gains from the circular breathing technique. Further honing of the skill gave me a sense of achieving a stable independence of breath that, under the watchful eye of Professor Barbara Świątek-Żelazna, developed both my musical imagination and the conscious building of phrases. That was when the idea to order and describe our experiences, and pour them into a book for flutists originated.
The efficiency of the method we have developed brings utmost satisfaction, as it is proven by the results obtained by numerous flutists in various lessons and workshops. The conclusions that the research we have conducted to write this book are also stunning as they show the positive impact of the circular breathing technique on other elements of the flutist’s professional toolbox.
Circular breathing technique is extremely useful and effective in professional work from the point of view of an instrumentalist performing as soloist, and chamber and orchestra musician. Honing of the skill of circular breathing makes it possible to work in parallel on other elements of flute proficiency and helps to understand how they work."
"The contemporary world of musicianship continuously changes its visage and becomes enriched with new means of expression. That poses major challenges for the performer, provoking at the same time to the search of further new ways of discovering the secrets of your instrument.
Circular breathing is a magic technique, which, moreover, is not always necessary, as music should use natural breath. However, armed with that skill, we give ourselves an opportunity to develop and control what is broadly construed as the art of playing the flute. Our book focuses on the method of mastering the skill and also lists the examples of its use in music composed in different periods.
We consider the advantages that stem from our method as additional tools in the flutist’s performing toolbox.
Contemporary composers also react to the consequences of the phenomenon, and ever more often reach for such a technique to obtain new means of expression. The possibility of inspiring composers writing for the flute is a privilege of a performer, which our publication is a proof of. Learning the technique of permanent breath, we propose a method of employing it, and share it with flutists eager to participate in the development of the aesthetics of contemporary flute music."