The present invention relates generally to lung and breath control exercises and more particularly to an exercise device and methodology for exercising the lungs and developing breath control.
Developing good breath control and lung strength is important in a number of disciplines, primary among which is the playing of wind instruments such as trumpets, trombones, flutes, clarinets, and others. Musicians who play such instruments must, by some means, learn the skills of sustained controlled breath necessary to play their instruments properly. This is particularly true for young musicians such as, for example, members of high school bands, who must develop lung strength and learn breath control early in order to master their instruments. It is even true for professional musicians, who must exercise their lungs and practice breath control continuously to maintain their playing skills.
In many cases, traditional lung and breath control exercises employed by high school band leaders and professional musicians are crude, boring, and monotonous. As a result, it is difficult, especially in the case of young fledgling musicians, to maintain a regimen of breath control exercises because the traditional exercises are viewed as undesirable work rather than a pleasurable activity. Indeed, many young musicians never really learn to enjoy playing their wind instruments because they do not engage in the lung and breath control exercises necessary to allow them to play well.
Lung strength exercises also can be important for non-musicians such as, for example, people with lung impairments such as emphysema, asthma, cystic fibrosis, and other diseases that may affect the proper functioning of the lungs. Such individuals often are instructed by their doctors to engage in a regimen of daily lung exercises. Unfortunately, these exercises, like the traditional exercises used by musicians, are boring and monotonous and thus fail to encourage and in fact can discourage the type of intense and consistent exercises that should be observed.
One reason that traditional lung and breath control exercises are viewed as unpleasant tasks is that they rarely include the type of direct personal feedback required to signal directly to the user when an appropriate level of exercise or an appropriate mastering of breath control has been reached. While physical exercise devices such as, for example, stair climbers and exercise bikes have incorporated such feedback for many years, lung strength and breath control exercises have not advanced in a like manner. The old traditional breath control methods used for generations to strengthen the lungs and develop breath control of musicians and others still are employed today.
Thus, there exists a need for an apparatus and a methodology for exercising the lungs, developing lung capacity and strength, and developing good breath control that addresses and resolves the problems and shortcomings of the prior art. Such an apparatus and methodology should be fun and not boring so as to encourage people to engage in their exercises, should provide direct and immediate feedback as indications both of improving lung strength and breath control skills, and should be employable in a variety of specific ways to develop various types of breath control and strength needed by players of wind instruments and otherwise. It is to the provision of such a lung strength and breath control exercise apparatus and methodology that the present invention is primarily directed.
Briefly described, the present invention, in a preferred embodiment thereof, comprises a unique exercise device and exercise methodology for developing lung strength and breath control. The exercise device and methodology is envisioned primarily for use by musicians who play wind instruments to develop the level of lung strength and breath control necessary to play their instruments properly and well. It is particularly useful in the early training of young musicians such as members of high school bands so that they learn to play well and enjoy playing their wind instruments. However, the device and methodology also may be used by professional musicians and other experienced players to improve and hone breath control skills in order to improve their performance. Uses also include exercises for those with lung ailments such as asthma or emphysema, who have been prescribed a regimen of exercises to get trapped air out of the lungs, or the elderly who wish to maintain good lung capacity and resultant stamina. The invention will be described in the remaining portion of this specification within the context of its use by musicians to develop lung capacity and breath control, since this is a primary intended use of the invention. However, it should be understood that the invention is not and should not be interpreted to be limited so such use and may have a wide variety of uses whenever lung strength, lung capacity, and/or breath control skills are to be developed.
In a preferred embodiment the device comprises an elongated body having side walls and end walls that define an upwardly open channel extending along the length of the body. A rod or axle is mounted within and extends along the length of the channel and a plurality of side-by-side pegs are rotatably mounted on the axle. Each of the pegs is separated from its neighbors by a spacer, which may be one or more beads mounted on the axle. The pegs extend upwardly out of the channel. Each peg can be rotated on the axle between a first position wherein the peg rests or leans against one of the side walls on one side of the channel and a second position wherein the peg rests or leans against the opposite side wall. The length, weighting, mounting geometry, and shape of the pegs determine how much force is required to move or flip the pegs from their first positions to their second positions.
In use of the exercise device to carry out lung and breath control exercises according to the invention, the pegs preferably all are flipped to one side so that they all lean against one of the side walls of the channel. The device may then be held by a user, placed on a table or other level surface. The user positions himself a predetermined distance from the device and begins to blow the pegs over to their second positions leaning against the opposite wall of the channel. The pegs may be blown over in a wide variety of different ways to develop an equally wide variety of lung strength and breath control skills. For example, the user may take a deep breath and blow over as many pegs as possible before exhausting the breath to develop basic lung capacity and strength. Instant feed back in the form of the number of pegs blown over tracks the increasing lung strength of the user form exercise to exercise. To develop more subtle skills such as, for example, fine breath control, the user may follow an exercise regimen that includes blowing over only selected ones of the pegs such as, for instance, every other peg. The device may even be turned upside-down so that the pegs hang from the axle. In such a configuration, fine breath control and endurance can be practiced by blowing on the pegs to maintain them against one of the walls of the device or at a specified distance from the wall for as long as possible.
In one embodiment, it is envisioned that the exercise device of this invention incorporates electronic feedback and score keeping circuitry to enhance the use of the device. For instance, a microprocessor and timer or metronome may be included so that specific exercises can be timed and the microprocessor may be programmable to, for instance, gradually increase or decrease the time allotted to specific exercises as the user develops strength and control. Sensors and small LEDs coupled to the microprocessor for detecting and indicating visually the status of each peg are contemplated to keep score electronically of the performance and progress of the user. The sensors, LEDs, timer, and other electronics are coupled to and operated by the on-board micro-controller or microprocessor. In this way, a wide variety of exercises for developing various lung strength and breath control skills may be programmed into the microprocessor, which may, for instance, indicate with the LEDs which pegs are to be blown over and in which sequence for a particular exercise. The microprocessor also may keep track of and display the user""s progress and change the conditions of exercises to match the users developing lung strength and breath control skills.
Accordingly, a lung strength and breath control exercise apparatus and methodology is now provided that overcomes the problems of the prior art. It has been found that musicians, and especially young musicians, actually enjoy using the device to exercise their breath control and even can enjoy competing with each other as they progress. Professional musicians have reported that their lung strength and breath control skills have been honed and improved by using the exercise device of this invention. Instant feedback in the form moved pegs in a simple embodiment and/or electronic scoring and exercise control in a more complex embodiment informs the user that he has performed an exercise properly and that lung strength and breath control skills are improving over time. These and other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon review of the detailed description set forth below taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.