lynchie said:
"To produce a decent sound in any register you should be using your diaphragm"
Ooo, shockingly inaccurate advice, and from a PhD student as well… you don’t use your diaphragm, you use the muscles around it…
The phrase "Diaphragmatic Breathing" has been in common usage for a number of years, Dennis Wick, Ian Bousefield and Chris Houlding (amongst many others) are particularly fond of emphasising it.
It makes sense to have simple, effective explanations for complex processes. The fine details of the mechanisms involved in playing (that are not under concious control) are far too involved for effective teaching.
Lets leave the physiology to the Physiologists and try to communicate
senza ego when someone requires help and advice shall we?
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Andrew M. Gray B.Sc. (Hons), Biology, York