Klarinet Archive - Posting 000330.txt from 1996/05

From: Cynthia K Harris <ckh0003@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: involuntary air leak
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 23:34:27 -0400

On Tue, 14 May 1996 srobb@-----.com wrote:

> This concerns a student of mine who is having problems playing the
> clarinet. I have a student who is losing control of the air , in
> that air is involuntarily escaping from her nose while she is
> playing. This happens after about 45 min. or so of practising. This
> same student is also asthmatic, although this has not been a problem
> while playing.
>
> Has anyone experienced these sort of symptoms before, or can anyone
> offer any advice as to how the student can deal with the problem..
>
I played from 6th grade through college freshman year -- and I practiced
always several hours/day & never had a problem. Then, I started up again
--playing with a small orchestra-- at age 38. It took almost a year to
get enough endurance to keep the air from escaping through my nose and
through the sides of my mouth after I got tired -- after about 30 minutes
of playing without a rest. Orchestra playing was okay, because it's
usually not constant.

I always figured that my facial muscles had grown weaker, and it took a
while to rebuild them. BTW, related to an earlier thread, I had my lung
capacity tested at age 40 -- 160% of normal -- and I attributed that to
my early years of clarinet playing.

Cyndie....