Klarinet Archive - Posting 000253.txt from 1997/04
From: Frank Garcia <fgarcia@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Neck straps
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 08:56:24 -0400
Good morning,
I have always thought that double-jointed fingers could be improved with
strength building excercise, like squeezing a racquetball for a measured
amount of time each day. I am *not* double-jointed, so I have no personal
insight on the subject. I would be interested in hearing responses from
doctors or double-jointed people about this.
I have very sturdy, wide hands and have never had the problems usually
associated with needing a neck strap, despite the fact that I have been
known to repeat the same passage of music for a couple of hours (Daphnis et
Chloe, 1 bef. #165 to 1 bef. 166 for one).
I have always believed that most of the reasons for a clarinetist needing a
neckstrap are preventable. Often we *brace* our bodies to hold our
instrument. We tense our thumb, our hand, our lower and upper arms,
shoulders, etc. This tension is *usually* the reason for the fatigue and
discomfort. (e-mail with italics would be nice :) )
I recently had an episode with tension. I downloaded Robert Spring's
warm-up routine from Sneezy (this is a great warm-up regime). His tempos in
parts of the routine are too fast for me. But I tried to force myself to
play them at his tempo. I started tensing up. I forgot that the main reason
for doing this routine is to *loosen* up. So I settled for slower tempos
and decided that in perhaps six months (or years!), I would be at those
tempos.
I have had many students with varying degrees of tension when they have
come to me. I usually start by having them become aware of the actual
weight of the instrument and show them how much mobility they have while
playing. I have them hold the clarinet with both hands and slowly move the
clarinet closer and further away from the body. I have them move the
instrument from left to right, up and down, and large circles, all the time
paying attention to relaxing the arms and hands, and the weight of the
instrument they are holding. Usually this helps the student become more
aware of the bracing of the body when they play. Then, I will have them
move their wrists, arms and shoulders while playing long tones,
concentrating on keeping the body relaxed and mobile.
Some students think my routine is funny though. I had one student start
making a buzzing sound and say "it's like we're flying clarinet airplanes!"
My routine has been successful in helping many of my students. Do any other
teachers have successful routines for "tension prevention"?
Sometimes it is difficult to keep one's studios from becoming a "Romper Room"!
Frank Garcia
University of Wisconsin-Superior
>Hello!
>
>My two cents.
>I do use a neck strap and here's why. My thumb is double jointed, and
>after a long period of playing - I play many hours a day as a college
>student, my thumb has a tendency to "collapse" making my right hand
>extrememly tense as it fights to maintain proper position. I find that
>the neck strap takes enough weight off of my thumb that it won't collapse.
>
>Have a great day everyone!! :-) *hugs*
>
>Your friend always,
>
>Daniel G. Smith
>
>On Fri, 4 Apr 1997, KIMBERLY L. RIECK wrote:
>
>> What's the consensus about neck straps and the Bb clarinet.
>> Quite a few of the players at my school use neck straps fastened to the
>> thumbrests of their horns. Does anyone on the list use a strap? It
>> seems like a good idea......
>>
>> Sorry for the delay in the message but we just had Spring Break and
>> then Easter Vacation back to back and I haven't been able to catch up
>> with everything. But I want to tell you about my success story.
>>
>> I was a former neck strap user a few years ago when I was at
>> a different college. My applied clarinet professor there had advised
>> me to use one. At that time I couldn't really get through an hour
>> without severe pain coming from my hand.
>> Then I transferred colleges and I met up with Frank. He had shown me
>> how to play the clarinet without having so much stress in my right
>> hand. He showed me how to relax my hand and how to keep it relaxed.
>> Well it has been a year and a half now and the only time that my
>> wrist really bothers me now is when I apply a lot of stress to it
>> (like long car drives on icy roads). I no longer use the neck strap and
>> has been no pain while playing since then.
>> I think that neckstraps are a good idea when you have to use them.
>> They allow you to play the clarinet when you run into troubles like
>> what I had. Like someone had said before they do get a little stretched
>> out so you have to replace them. But I am really happy that I don't
>> have to use one now.
>>
>> Kimberly Rieck
>> UW-Superior
>>
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Frank Garcia fgarcia@-----.edu
Clarinet Instructor (715)394-8115
University of Wisconsin-Superior
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