The Breathing Book for BB-flat Tuba by David Vining, edited by Alexander Lapins, is appropriate for college through professional tuba players.

Breathing is one of the most important fundamental skills for tuba playing because it provides the foundation for many of our other fundamentals including tone, articulation, range, endurance, intonation, flexibility, and phrasing. If you want to improve one of these important musical attributes, start by improving your breathing. The Breathing Book is a blended textbook and method book—it contains information about breathing and activities designed to help you use the knowledge as you play tuba. The Breathing Book is not an exercise book—it's a "learn how to move" book and includes videos for some of the chapters and movements to clarify the content. The Breathing Book explores all the individual movements of breathing and, in the end, will help you coalesce them into a singular, well-coordinated, and organic motion.

“The second edition of 'The Breathing Book for Tuba' is a treasure trove of information, insight, and perspective for tuba players. 'The Breathing Book' will help young players set themselves up for healthy playing, help older players understand and improve good and bad habits they have created, and help teachers ensure they are giving the healthiest, most accurate, and most helpful instruction to their students. The clear and efficient combination of information, illustrations, and practical exercises for implementing the information makes this a book that is both teeming with knowledge and also easy to approach.” - Alexander Lapins, Editor; Associate Professor of Tuba/Euphonium, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Quintasonic Brass; Eastman Musical Instruments Artist

“David Vining’s ‘Breathing Book’ is an absolute must-have for any serious brass player. All students in my two studios are required to have a solid knowledge of breathing/blowing and the certain relationship between their air and embouchure. This book is as concise as it gets. The eloquent detail, analogies, and the playing examples that are used to ‘tie it all together’ are expertly thought out. This book continues to have my highest recommendation.” - Aaron Tindall, Principal Tuba, Naples Philharmonic; Professor of Tuba/Euphonium, Frost School of Music, University of Miami; Tuba Faculty, Colburn School; Principal Tuba and Faculty Artist, Eastern Music Festival

"'The Breathing Book' is an outstanding resource for teachers, students, and performers due to David Vining's thoughtful approach which sheds light on our most central fundamentals of breath and air motion. The thorough and scientific text is supported with detailed diagrams and practical applications of concepts to the instrument that can be easily translated to a teaching or practice environment. I will be using this book often in my studio, and I encourage any applied instructor to keep this close at hand as a resource for their students." - Dr. David Earll, Assistant Professor of Tuba/Euphonium, The University of Kansas; International Willson Tuba Performing Artist

39 pages, spiral bound to lay flat on the music stand

Click here to order the PDF version.

Click here to learn more about the author.

Click here to learn more about the editor.

Flow Studies for BB-flat Tuba: A Daily Phrasing and Technique Regimen is a companion book to this volume, offering etudes to incorporate the knowledge gained from The Breathing Book. Click here to order the Breathing/Flow Bundle for BB-flat Tuba at a discount.

For tuba players wanting to get healthy and stay healthy, try our Healthy Pack! This set of valuable resources also includes: Cross Training for Musicians: An Interdisciplinary Guide Promoting Healthy Music Making and Notes of Hope: Stories by Musicians Coping with Injuries. Click here to order the Healthy Pack for BB-flat Tuba at a discount.