Klarinet Archive - Posting 000059.txt from 1995/04

From: James M Norsworthy <norswort@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: tendonitis
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 1995 16:28:06 -0400

Cindy,

The problem could be your hand position. Many clarinet players think of the
positioning of the right hand in such a way that they have to support the
instrument. Try and re-adjust your hand so that the clarinet supports itself.
Take your thumb, and bend it at the knuckle, then slide your thumb up the
clarinet from the bottom (about three to four inches) and place the thumb rest
right in the middle of the knuclke that you raised by bending it and then curve
the thumb around the thumbrest. What this does is create somewhat of a double
grip on the instrument. The clarinet supports itself on your thumb but at the
same time your thumb is wedged against the side of the clarinet thus preventing
any slippage. The other key is not to lock your wrist at all. Many people
when they play lock their wrist and when they move their fingers end up using
most of the muscles in their forearm, rather than moving the finger from the
back joint and allowing the wrist to relax.

I had similar problems to you and my teacher corrected it by correcting my hand
position in the above ways. It's difficult to explain and much easier to show
you, but seeing as how the distance thing factors in here, I am trying to do
the best I can. Hope it helps somewhat. Good Luck

Michael Norsworthy
Norswort@-----.edu

>
> I've been having a problem with my right wrist for the past couple of
> years, and recently it has started to get worse. I use a neck strap, and
> that does help some. I went to the doctor and he prescribed Motrin
> and recommended that I rest it for about a week. However, I have too
> many committments this month to take any time off from playing. Does
> anyone else have this problem and know of any solutions?
> Cindy Matthews
> matthew3@-----.edu
>