Klarinet Archive - Posting 000185.txt from 1996/08

From: Lisa Clayton <clayton@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Neckstraps
Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 13:45:00 -0400

> Fred,
>
> I have no serious dispute with anything you say--after all, those were the
> thoughts I had 15 years ago. The things that intrigue me about this is
> that it took the computer era to bring the problem to light, that many
> musicians continue on into their advanced years without becoming
> debilitated, that children continue to be herded into music lessons with no
> acknowledgment that this is one of the risks, and that instrument
> manufacturers have continued on without any apparent changes to reflect
> better ergonomics.
>
> Why is it that the problems of data entry clerks seem to be taken more serious
ly
> than those of musicians?

Well, speaking as someone who is professionally part of medical research
I think I can propose a sound hypothesis: sheer numbers. I couldn't
hazard a guess at the number of working musicians, professional or
avocational, but I'd assume that it would be safe to say that they
are far outnumbered by those who use computers either professionally
or avocationally.

BTW, a brief history of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome-- it was actually first
studied because of a chronic condition suffered by line workers in
a chicken factory. These workers regularly deboned chicken using one
swift motion repeated hundreds of times a day. Most workers ended up
with Repetitive Strain Disorder, in particular CTS (which is just
one of many RSDs). It only got wide publicity when computer users
were coming up with with the same problems. Considering that almost
everybody uses computers these days, it became Big News, despite
the fact that not only musicians, but factory workers, secretarys,
typists and keypunch operators had it long before.

Regarding ergonomic instruments, has any research been done on these?
Could they still be made and be as acoustically wonderful as well-made
instruments?

____ Lisa K. Canjura-Clayton The obligatory homepage:
/ clayton@-----.edu/~clayton
/ Band=Life Virtual Barstow IS NOW ONLINE!
"There is nothing more onanistic than playing the bass clarinet by yourself"
-- Steve Trier

   
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