Breathing like a horn player is fine as is phrasing like one. But the best
advice I ever recieved was from John McLaughlin after a Shakti concert back in
78-79. I would stop breathing or take short breaths ( I wasn't even aware at
the time), it would deplete my Oxygen so that I would get shaky and choppy in my
lines. Partly from being scared and worrying about my chops partly from not
breathing. I ask John about it and what he did, he told me first when I was
scared to physically tell my self, arms, wrist whatever to relax outloud...
Giving a verbal command actually the body responds to, it was amazing. The second
was to learn how to do more of a yogic breathing style, what now I refer to
Taoist breathing techniques. He simply said to take full, slow breaths... this
immediately had effects on my phrasing, the Oxygen content of my blood flow
etc... He also said to hold the pick very lightly and not hard.
Jim Blackthorne...
