Circular breathing

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Circular breathing is a technique that lets wind instrument players produce a continuous note without stopping.

How it works:
- Exhale through the mouth while keeping air stored in the cheeks.
- When the mouth air runs low, quickly inhale through the nose while still pushing air out with the cheeks.
- As soon as the lungs refill, begin exhaling from the lungs again to keep the sound going.

Used worldwide:
This method developed in many cultures and is used on numerous traditional wind instruments, including the eastern zurna, Tibetan gyaling, Sardinian launeddas, Greek aulos, Egyptian arghul, Australian didgeridoo, Basque alboka, and many oboes and flutes of Asia and the Middle East. The saluang from West Sumatra is another example. Jazz and classical wind players also use some form of circular breathing.

Why it matters in Western music:
Before the 20th century, few European pieces required circular breathing, but the technique has helped performers render long, continuous notes and allowed transcriptions of string pieces for wind instruments, such as a trumpet version of Paganini’s Moto Perpetuo.

Notable records:
- 1997: Kenny G held a note for 45 minutes 47 seconds on a saxophone.
- 2000: Vann Burchfield held one note for 47 minutes 6 seconds.
- 1994: Mark Atkins played continuous tones for over 50 minutes on the Didgeridoo Concerto.
- 2017: Femi Kuti played for 51 minutes 38 seconds on a saxophone.

How it sounds in practice:
The musician’s cheeks act as a small air reservoir. The mouth air is pushed out as the lungs are replenished with a quick nasal inhale, then the air from the lungs is exhaled again to restart the flow.

Instruments that use circular breathing:
Many traditional wind instruments and some modern brass and reed instruments, including examples from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.