Klarinet Archive - Posting 000238.txt from 1995/10

From: niethamer@-----.BITNET
Subj: Re: Can anyone help me?
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 13:17:34 -0400

>
> On Mon, 9 Oct 1995, Tiffani Marcello wrote:
>
> > I am a music education major with my senior clarinet recital approaching
> > in less thantwo monthes....My problem is my right wrist....aftre
> > playing for say twenty minutes I get severe pain.......My professor
> > has tryed different things such as adjusting my thumb rest
> > This is especially troublesome when I play standing
> > I would greatly appreciate any ideas on what i should do!
> > Thank you,
> > Tiffani Marcello (marcellot@-----.edu)

On Mon, 9 Oct 1995, C. D. McClune wrote:

> 1. If you sit, rest the bell on a knee to take the weight off the thumb.
>
> 2. If you feel you must stand then look into a neck strap. There are
> many styles currently available. The strap will limit your horn
> movements and takes a bit to get used to. I may not look cool, but beats
> major problems otherwise.
>
> 3. If all else fails, see a doctor!

Some observations from someone who has been there:

1.) resting the bell on your knees rounds your back and exagerates the
stretch on your arm muscles - not necessarily a good solution. Your E/B
and F/C will have tuning problems, unless you clarinet is exactly the
right size to be the third part of the triangle formed by your thighs and
your torso.

2.) A strap may cause problems with your neck and shoulders.

*BEFORE* anything else fails(!!) see a physical therapist, and take your
clarinet. A PT can look at your playing and make an asessment of what is
causing your pain, and give you treatment/exercises to correct the
problem. Unless you postpone this treatment until the problem is extreme,
you can *probably* continue to play during treatment. I did, and my
therapist was of the opinion that practicing the good posture habits was
long term helpful. This last bit is somewhat controversial among
therapists, as I understand it, but it did work for me. I have stretching
exercises for before playing, and I'm *supposed* to do situps every day.

Hope my $0.02 helps - Good luck!

David Niethamer