http://www.thefunctionalmusician.com/

The Functional Musician, 139 W Broadway, Waukesha, WI (2026)

05/21/2026

I hear this from time to time from strangers or people who don’t want to take the time to understand how breathing can be a powerful, life changing tool for our playing and health.
The ultimate goal while we play, of course, is not to focus on the breath and channel our focus into the performance.
And for some - breathing may not be a problem.
If that’s you, awesome!
But to someone who does struggle with breathing? Not so helpful.
Saying this a lot like telling someone who is stressed or anxious to, “calm down.”
Or someone who is in pain to just “walk it off.”
It’s easy to dismiss something as complicated if we don’t take the time to ask questions and understand.
It’s also easy to say something is complicated if we ourselves don’t have the context to understand.
“Just breathe” assumes the system underneath is already working and capable of managing adequate pressure.
“Just breathe” doesn’t account for the resting tension your body is carrying, or why the same breath that works in your lesson falls apart the moment you’re on your own.
You’re not a bad student.
You’re not forgetful.
Breathing simply doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it happens inside a pressure system.
And if your ribcage can’t expand freely, your pelvis or lower back is bracing, and your body is managing pressure it can’t contain, “just breathe” doesn’t fix anything.
So why am I obsessed with breathing?
When approached correctly, breathing exercises are one of the most powerful tools for recovery.
You can reduce tension, improve posture, influence the state of the nervous system, switch energy systems, and train your system to withstand the demands of high-stress playing.
Of course, if you have a system that can handle this, great! You probably don’t need to think about this unless you want to add more pedagogical tools to your toolkit.
But if you’re someone who struggles with chronic tension, active breathing exercises, managing high stress situations, or can’t get past a valsalva manuever problem - breathing lies at the heart of the process.

05/18/2026

If you’ve been dealing with the Valsalva maneuver for a year or more, I want to hear from you.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been collecting survey data from brass and wind players around the world, and the picture that’s emerging is hard to ignore.
Similar range of symptoms.
Similar timelines.
And underneath it all, the same frustration of trying everything and still feeling stuck.
The more responses I get, the clearer the pattern becomes l, and the better I can build something that actually addresses it.
If this has been part of your playing experience, even if you’ve mostly worked through it, your experience matters here.
Send me a DM and tell me what instrument you play and how long you’ve been dealing with it. That’s it.
The more voices in this, the better.

05/15/2026

Valsalva issues while playing an instrument may not be an instrument problem
Stay alert for these clues, as they inform your strategy for improving and getting back to performing at a high level.
Want to read more? I just posted an article about tha dives deeper into these four clues. Comment VALSALVA and I’ll send you a link - no strings attached.

05/14/2026

No movement modality is perfect, but some are useful.
Through my music education and exposure, the music world likes to portray certain modalities as essential to life and perform sustainably through our life.
But not matter what end of health you look at - there will always be another step of your journey.
Let’s take a look the Alexander Technique.
It’s offered at over 200 college institutions in America, but course offerings aside AT? Very sparse.
looking at the most recent literature over the past 15 years, the Alexander technique has actually been found to be more beneficial, when paired with running or strength training
Other studies have found similar observations, suggesting that multi model approaches are more effective than any single modality.
This isn’t to trash Alexander technique, it’s an extremely helpful tool that benefits, a bunch of people
But rather, let this post serve as a reminder that there are multiple facets of health, and even though the area of focus will fluctuate at different stages of your life, the lesson remains clear - just like nutrition, aim to give your body different inputs throughout the week.
For example - somatics, strength training, cardio, mobility, mindfulness/meditation, Pilates, etc.
You don’t have to do everything, but simply pairing a somatic practice with cardio and strength training has been found to be beneficial for both musicians who are experiencing an injury, or those or who are training to maintain their bodies for high performance seasons.

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05/13/2026

Valsalva is not just a playing issue…
Underneath it all - it’s a breathing issue.
But Austin…that doesn’t make sense? We are always breathing?
We are! But the resting state of your body is one of the determining factors on how much pressure your body will be able to manage without bearing down and locking up.
If your system is in a constant state of activation and is already operating at a higher baseline of tension, imagine what happens when you add more pressure (like playing an instrument) on top of that?
Of course, a holistic approach is one that takes the system and playing habits into consideration, and not everyone will need to focus on the system. After all - it could very well be a patterned response on the instrument.
But I’d you’ve struggled for more than six months with instrument exercises and haven’t made significant progress, or keep regressing back to the beginning of your journey, this will be a HUGE missing piece for you.
More to come soon.

05/12/2026

It’s been awhile Instagram, but I’m back!
As I enter this new season of life, I’m coming back into this world with a different perspective.
First off, im ofdicially a doctor of music! Huge shoutout and thank you to all who celebrated with me or sent me me messages. I appreciate all of you.
Second, as I enter this new phase of life, my model of movement and health has evolved and with that, my coaching has become more specific and effective.
As I get back into the swing of socials and content, I look forward to sharing this updated perspective with you all!
Lastly, for me, social media is hard. I’d much rather spend my time teaching, coaching, playing, or programming for my monthly clients. So let this post serve as a reminder and motivator to kick start my effort back into content creation!

04/20/2026

Wooo! So excited to share that I passed my public lecture of my dissertation, and will be graduating with my Doctor of Music from Indiana University in a few weeks.

My dissertation included a literature review of musician wellness and a theoretical injury prevention model to inform musician health and wellness curriculum in higher education.

Huge thank you to my committee for overseeing this project that I’ve worked on over the past six years. And hugeshout to my partner in crime .pancner for the endless support.

I’m super proud of this work and excited to see how the next chapter in my journey unfolds.

04/14/2026

Had a fantastic time playing, leading a breathing workshop, and conducting at the Eastern Kentucky University Trombone Day this past weekend!
Bravo to all the students for their performances and being fully present in a long and exciting day!
Huge thank you to Nathan Siler for inviting me to be a part of this day, and bravo to .trombone on a wonderful recital

04/09/2026

“Just breathe” they told me as a frantically gasped for air….FRACK
Austin, you’re trying to hard, just relax.
I tried my best, but my body kept ramping up.
Just breathe - let your body do the thing.
I kept trying, but couldn’t relax.
I kept thinking I needed to practice more, but improvement was slim.
Turns out - not all breathing exercises are created equal
When teachers encourage their students to simplify and focused on the active breathing, that can be a helpful queue that can help their student focus on the music
But what if the student has lost the capacity to access their breath?
What if they are tight, tense, stiff, or have a hard time inhaling?
Sure, just breathe can help them access their window, but their window of breathing is so small that progress can feel random and frustrating
When we focused on “just breathing,” that is a lot like focusing on performing. It is essential and one of the ultimate goals
But if you’ve lost the capacity to access your breath, this is where decompression breathing drills come into play
These are breathing exercise exercises you perform away from your instrument to reduce tension, improve ribcage movement, and improve your relationship with gravity.
I’ve received a lot of messages over the past couple of weeks that have visually LOLd my breathing exercises on socials.
But I’ve also received a lot of messages over the past couple of weeks that have thanked me for putting these exercises together and helping them access their breath for the first time in years.
If you are someone who is constantly tight, struggles with breathing related tension, or can’t seem to get over their tension hurdle on their instrument, Breathing Foundations is for you.
If you want to learn more, shoot me a DM!

03/29/2026

Having a blast this week playing some fun pops and Beyoncé with the Detroit Symphony.
Huge thank you to Adam Rainey and the rest of the section for having me out!

The Functional Musician

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