Clarinet Breathing Technique: Ribcage Mobility Guide
- Apr 2
- 5 min read
Understanding Clarinet Breathing Fundamentals
Clarinet breathing is the hidden engine behind tone, articulation, and musical flow—less about “taking a big breath” and more about letting the body coordinate efficiently so air moves freely and quietly. When the ribcage, diaphragm, and throat stay mobile instead of fixed, inhalation becomes reflexive, exhalation becomes expressive, and phrasing starts to feel both more stable and more flexible.
At Fujiyama Clarinet Studio in Yanai, Yamaguchi, we value improving breathing for clarinetists by understanding the mechanism—not just relying on “feeling” or willpower.
We share a free downloadable “Breathing Training” PDF (only jp).
Through ongoing online training, we have continued to work on coordination between breathing and the body.
This time, I’ll introduce hints for updating your breathing with a focus on the ribs, based on articles by Shawn Copeland and Jackie McIlwain published in the International Clarinet Association (ICA) journal, The Clarinet (issued quarterly).
What this article covers as “clarinet breathing”
“Inhaling” is not a movement you forcefully go and “grab”; it is a reflex that occurs through coordination between the ribs and the diaphragm.
One overlooked element in many clarinetists’ breathing is rib movement.
When you avoid stiffening the shoulders and throat, and let the entire ribcage—including the upper ribs—participate, a quiet, sufficient inhale returns naturally.
Keyword: ribs “swing” more than they “spread”
The ribs are often imagined as a fixed “cage,” but the authors describe them as a set of many small joints that rotate and swing with breathing.
The lungs do not pull air in by themselves.
Surrounding structures—ribs, sternum, spine, diaphragm—change shape.
This changes internal pressure, and air flows in as a result.
Because a large lung volume exists under the collarbone and toward the back, the upper ribs significantly contribute to breathing capacity.
Common Breathing Mistakes to Avoid
Common breathing cues that sound effective but miss the point
According to the authors, cues like the following can actually freeze rib mobility:
“Never move your shoulders.”
“Breathe into your belly (push your belly out).”
“Open your throat (do something).”
“Always fill up completely.”
The point is not to increase the number of places you “must not move,” but to reduce unnecessary fixation.
3 Essential Clarinet Breathing Exercises
Practice 1: the “return” of the ribs triggers inhalation (reflexive inhale)
Exhale normally and stop (do not inhale).
Exhale again (you may be surprised there was still air left).
Exhale even more (there’s still more).
Then wait, without tightening the throat.
Your body will start inhaling on its own—quietly and instantly.
What determines your next phrase is not how big an inhale you take, but how clearly you can release the previous breath.
Practice 2: upper ribs and the shoulder girdle “float”
Many players try so hard to obey “don’t lift your shoulders” that they stiffen the sides of the body and the area around the shoulder blades.
Breathing relates to the chain of joints and connections:
The sternoclavicular joint (where sternum and collarbone connect)
The collarbone and shoulder blade
The shoulder blade and upper arm
Somatic check (bodywork):
Hug yourself lightly and place your fingertips gently into your armpit area.
Inhale while sensing the sides of the ribs (and the back side) expand.
Then squeeze the armpits tightly and inhale again; observe the difference in breathing quality.
Practice 3: “open your throat” is not an operation—it’s letting it rest
The pharynx (from behind the nose to the throat) is not a rigid tube; it is a movable space supported by muscles.
Unless swallowing-related muscles are contracting, the throat is already open.
Trying to “open it” often triggers a tongue-lowering action.
That can narrow the lower pharynx and disrupt tonguing and voicing.
Alternative cues:
Imagine the airway as a long resonant passage from the windpipe to the reed opening.
Let the tongue rest forward, and adjust voicing only as much as needed.
Summary
When rib mobility is freed, breathing shifts from something you “go get” to something that “returns.” This increases freedom in tone and articulation.
References
Shawn Copeland / Jackie McIlwain, Pedagogy Corner: Part 1 — Inhalation: When Balance Breathes For You (ICA The Clarinet) Vol.53 No.1 December 2025
Shawn Copeland / Jackie McIlwain, Pedagogy Corner: Part 2 — The Expressive Exhale: When Rib Movement Returns to the Map (ICA The Clarinet) Vol.53 No.2 March 2026
Key Takeaways for Better Clarinet Breathing
Up to now, I had focused on how the muscles involved in breathing “work.” Adding the perspective of how the ribs participate has helped me see breathing more three-dimensionally, and it has been a major learning point.
In particular, understanding inhalation not as an effortful action of “taking air in with muscles,” but as something that returns naturally through ribcage and thoracic movement, updated the way I view breathing.
From here, I want to pay attention not only to muscular function but also to rib mobility and whole-thorax coordination, connecting this to more effortless breathing and greater stability in playing.
If you’re interested, consider joining ICA and checking The Clarinet.
(As a JCA—Japan Clarinet Association—member benefit, ICA membership perks may also be included, so it’s worth considering them together.)
New course: Online + 1:1 online sessions (4 sessions total) to deepen breathing
In the “Ribcage” article, the key point was that inhalation is not something you force, but that it arises as a reflex when the ribs and thorax “return” into motion.
I feel this perspective is essential for turning breathing training into something you can reproduce inside actual playing, rather than something that only feels understood in the moment.
So, based on what we’ve done online so far, I created a new course format: Online training + 1:1 online sessions (4 sessions total)—a way to go deeper and work individually.
Why the ribs matter
When you try to fix breathing with attention or willpower, you can easily add more “fixation,” such as:
shoulders and throat tightening
the ribcage stopping movement
the airway narrowing
When rib (thoracic) mobility returns, inhalation becomes something that comes back on its own, and you gain more余裕 in tone, tonguing, and phrasing.
What we work on (examples)
“Putting ribcage mobility back on the map” (including upper ribs and the back side)
Translating the exhale-to-the-end → reflexive inhale flow into musical breathing
Reducing unnecessary fixation in the throat, tongue, and shoulder girdle; refining the airway
Putting into words what to observe so you can reset and reproduce it
Format: Online + 1:1 (4 sessions)
We meet once a week × 4 sessions in 1:1 online sessions, and build an improvement route together based on:
where your body tends to lock up
your habitual inhale pattern
your instrument, repertoire, and performance situations
Course page
Details in En will be available shortly
