Klarinet Archive - Posting 000682.txt from 1996/12

From: Karl Krelove <kkrelove@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Slight jaw pain just above and behind the temples...
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 14:39:02 -0500

At 01:23 PM 12/29/96 EST, you wrote:
>Lately, when I have been practicing I have felt slight jaw pain just
>above and behind the right and left temples when I sometimes play in the
>3rd 8va. I know that I'm not pinching...I'm always keeping the jaw down.
>
>Does anyone know why this may be occuring or has anyone experienced this
>before? Could it just be that I'm "overdoing" keeping the jaw down?

You've probably figured it out for yourself. The most likely cause of what
you're describing is tension, which certainly can come from "overdoing"
pulling your jaw down (or away from the reed) or forcing it too
conscientiously in any direction it doesn't want to go. The cure, if this
is the cause, is to find a more natural, relaxed way to form an embouchre.
You need resonance, which can be damped as much by stiffness and tension as
by too little space inside your mouth.
Of course, there could be other explanations (I don't know much about TMJ,
but it seems to me that you would have other non-clarinet-related
symptoms), so probably a consultation with your doctor would be in order.