Your cheeks are the bag. Circular breathing works exactly like the bagpipe: puff your cheeks to store air, then squeeze it out with your cheek muscles while you sniff in through your nose. Even Kenny G teaches it as using your cheeks like a bagpipe.
Break it into steps and drill the transitions. Push the air out with your fingers first, then with cheek muscles alone, then add the nose inhale, then take it to the chanter. The switch from exhale to inhale-plus-squeeze is the tricky moment — expect hiccups, just like learning to blow and squeeze the bag.
It's a mental skill more than a physical one. Like learning to breathe through a snorkel with your face underwater, you're overriding years of instinct telling you the sound stops when you inhale. Practice it as its own skill, separate from tune work.
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Circular Breathing and Orkney Wedding with Sunrise
54m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
00:54breathing: but a Circular useful skill frivolous🔒
03:08the and G cheeks-as-bagpipe idea Kenny🔒
04:49bagless Sardinia's The launeddas: bagpipe🔒
08:05trick stops works: the sound never that How🔒
10:01cheeks, fingers one: puff Step the push with🔒
10:52the squeeze Adding and cheek inhale nose🔒
13:53practice Taking it chanter the to🔒
15:14instinct The problem: overriding snorkel🔒
20:25the breathing mapping Whiteboard: cycle🔒
24:29sequence, The finish to start full drill🔒
27:41it who learn transition, the Q&A: timing should🔒
32:22story Orkney with Sunrise: the An Wedding,🔒
39:34extenders and A440 reed chanters Orchestra pitch: drone🔒
43:09impossible embellishments The my and rewrite🔒
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About this class
🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.
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