Conscious Breathing for Drummers

By Jim Donovan 12.28.05

info@JimDonovanMusic.com

One of the most important things I've learned during my performing career is the importance of using the breath to my advantage while playing drums. During my time at the University of Pittsburgh (way back in the 80's!), my professor Dr. Ron Horner used to tell me to imagine that I was playing each phrase as if I was a wind instrumentalist.   He instructed me to take a breath in right before the phrase and then breathe out as the phrase was played. In this way he showed me how I could become more connected to the music and be better able to internalize the parts I was playing. Unfortunately at the time my musical development was such that I was still figuring out dexterity, technique, improving my reading skills and learning different pieces of music. Being "connected" to the music was far down on my list of priorities.

I left the University in 1990 and began my career playing with "Rusted Root". Over the years I had developed a very physical approach to playing drums, hitting as hard as I could and being as "intense" as I could all the time. That energy propelled our shows and the dance floor. One of my biggest problems though was that I constantly rushed my in my playing.

Fast forward ahead to 2002, I found a great group of folks in Rusted Root who helped me to fulfill one of my lifetime dreams of playing music for people for a living.

We'd played countless shows, made 5 records selling in excess of 3 million copies. Life was good....

During the spring of 2002 I started to develop chronic cramping in my hands pain in my arms and my body began aching and fatiguing after shows on a frequent basis. I would often leave the stage feeling overly drained and hurting. I knew I had to change something in my habits or my body wouldn't allow me to continue playing. The first place I looked was my hands since they hurt so much, logically I knew I had to find a way to express the intensity I still felt without continuing to damage my hands. I began experimenting with different monitor mixes and finally found a great combination that worked for me. I first brought the entire mix level down and raised the level of my toms equal to that of my snare drum. Then I brought up my overheads so that I could feel more of the entire kit as I played as well as the cymbals (I use ear monitors). Then I got a sub speaker and put just the kick drum in it pointed at my lower back. I found that I'd had been playing for years and not been able to properly hear all my drums at the right volume in relationship to everything else which caused continuous overplaying and overcompensating. Over time the overextending of my energy had lead to all the discomforts I was feeling. As I began to play and hear myself properly I noticed I was able to be more relaxed and that my time got better. Not only that but my hand pains gradually disappeared and I started feeling more creative in the moment as I played. The more I relaxed I was the better my experience became.

Having practiced yoga for a number of years I knew that the control of breath was the key to relaxation, but for some odd reason I'd not connected conscious breathing to my drum set playing. What I discovered was that I was stuck in a   many year-old pattern of playing like I always had because I thought it was working. As I began integrating "breathing my phrases" I truly began re-experienceing the music as if it was the first time I'd played it. Worlds of emotion and feeling began becoming unlocked and I'd felt very relaxed, confident and creative as I played.

In the summer of 2002 Rusted Root had the pleasure of opening for Santana. In my talks with Carlos he graciously took the time to speak with me about the importance of breathing and even gave me a great exercise to help ground yourself if you began having a hard time on stage. The exercise is simple. Four quick breaths in, and then on the last breath, breathe out slowly to the count of seven and repeat. He also spoke of how during certain songs he would breathe his solo guitar phrases like those of a sax player. Carlos spoke as well about realizing your own personal tone through your instrument. He said that the way to connect yourself to your instrument was through breath.

Something that Dennis Chambers also shared with me was that when he had to play music the was more physically demanding he'd use breathing help control his heart rate so that it wouldn't get to fast.

Here are a few ideas to help you to integrate conscious breathing into your musical experience:

*An easy way to start is to start thinking of your fills as phrases. Take a breath right before you fill and slowly breathe out over the course of the fill.

*The next step is to breath into song transitions. As you feel a chorus, bridge, or new section approaching, consciously breathe before the change and breathe out as the change is happening.

*Remember to continuously keep your breath flowing through the entirety of a song. Constantly remind yourself "Breathe". You could even go as far as to write the word "breathe" on a piece of paper and tape it to the top of you kick drum where you'll see it.

*It's important to note that the more you practice these exercises he more "automatic" conscious breathing will become.

As I continue to integrate with conscious breathing while playing I am finding that I have more energy and endurance. It helps me to play more dynamically and sensitively when the music calls for it and I can conjure up ferocious pounding when necessary. It's as if breathing consciously has broadened my palette of available emotional resources to inject into the music at the appropriate times.