Correct breathing is essential for playing the saxophone. Diaphragmatic breathing is the proper term for this controlled breathing. When you inhale your diaphragm moves down to pull air into your lungs. When you exhale it moves down.

Place your hand just below your ribs. Cough and you will feel your stomach tighten. This is you diaphragm forcing air out. Slowly inhale and exhale. Did you notice that your stomach and back enlarged to make way for the expansion of your lungs and diaphragm?

Breathing Exercises

The correct diaphragmatic breathing techniques allows you to learn how to expand your lower ribcage and back when you breathe instead of your shoulders and chest. You need to be in the habit of breathing like this. Of course, it helps to practice whenever possible.

Sit in a chair. Back straight. Inhale slowly paying attention to the expansion of your lower ribcage and back. Hold for the same amount of time it took you to inhale then exhale slowly. Learning to control the release of air through your lips will give you a better lung volume and a good consistent tone.

Try inhaling then slowly exhaling while you are humming a note. The tone will probably be jerky at first and taper off at the end. The goal is to get the tone even with no tapering. Try doing the inhale/exhale with the mouthpiece from your saxophone.

Once you have the hang of it, try it with your saxophone. Your tone should be stronger and more constant. Don’t stop practicing this diaphragmatic breathing until you are an expert at it and it comes as second nature.

Circular breathing

This method of breathing will allow you to play on the inhale and exhale. That way you can play a long musical passage without stopping to breathe. This is a skill for intermediate and pro players. Beginners should be aware of its existence, but not try it for quite a while because it is a hard skill to master.

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