Long tones are how a sound is built. You hold one note, very steady, and shape the dynamic — soft to full and back to soft (a messa di voce). The tone settles, the pitch centers, and the embouchure learns to stay relaxed under changing air.

Breathing — the one exercise you breathe through your nose

Take only your first breath through the mouth — drop the bottom jaw to let the air in (the lower lip stays in place over the teeth), then set the embouchure on the reed. From there, take every breath between the notes through your nose, without removing the mouthpiece or letting the embouchure relax.

Keeping a light, steady set on the reed the whole way through turns this into an “embouchure plank.” The lip and corner muscles stay gently engaged from the first note to the last — and a sustained, held engagement is how any muscle builds tone, memory and endurance. That is the whole point of the exercise.

This is the one and only time you breathe through your nose to play. In normal playing you always breathe through the mouth — the nose can't refill your air fast enough for real music. Here we trade that speed on purpose, to keep the embouchure working without rest. Keep it light and relaxed — never bite or grip to hold the seal — and rest the moment the muscles tire.

How to practice

Six notes — G, G♯, A, A♯, B, C — about 30 seconds each, soft → full in the opening seconds, then a long even diminuendo. Go straight through all six without stopping. Tap ∞ to loop the whole thing — twice through is plenty.