Good Breathing Techniques for Playing Wooden / Irish Flute and Fife 

We all get a bit "dry" when playing from time to time, when that happens, we reach for a glass of whatever and take a good pull off it to quench our thirst. Do the same thing when you breathe. Make sure you actually have an intake of air that is sufficient to play the next passage.

Try to fill your lungs and not just your throat with air. You should hear a deep "whoosh" sound when you inhale, not just a brief gasp.

Suggested Exercise:

To develop the technique of breathing with your "diaphragm," take a belt and place it around your chest. Tighten till firm and practice playing long tones of roughly four beats in duration. Take a short, powerful breath and repeat four times. Hold the final note until you are out of breath. Keep track of those final beats--that is how you measure your progress. I suggest starting on low G. Stop immediately if you get dizzy...