Klarinet Archive - Posting 000490.txt from 1997/06

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Bleeding tongue
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 23:44:53 -0400

On Mon, 23 Jun 1997, Ryan Lowe wrote:

> While practicing the other day my tongue started to bleed. I am rather
> apprehensive about practicing again in fear that it will happen again. I
> was wondering if this is a common occurance, or if anybody else has had
> this problem, what did you do?

A bleeding tongue is not a problem at all. The tongue heals very quickly,
and the problem will not persist over time. By the next time you practice,
your tongue will have healed. If you played longer than you normally do,
then the blood would not be a surprise. If you didn't play longer than
usual, then the question arises concerning the manner in which you use your
tongue. Either way, there's no reason to be alarmed.

Instead, use the event to learn a couple of things. First, after the
initial shock, perhaps you took a look in the mirror and noticed exactly
where the cut appeared on your tongue. This can be very instructive in
terms of finding out where your tongue is contacting the reed. Ideally,
the red spot should have appeared dead center on the tip of the tongue,
although many players contact the reed slightly back from the tip of the
tongue. The red spot, though, is a clear indicator of that area. And
you can also see where you're striking the reed by noticing where most
of the red appears on the tip of the reed. Just like on the tongue,
your contact point with the reed should, ideally, be dead center on the
tip.

If your tongue is typically heavy, the bleeding could serve as an
indicator. In that case, extended playing might very well have
resulted in a cracked reed. Curing a heavy tongue requires a lot
of patience and an awareness of physical tension. This is when I
usually recommend practicing slow legato articulation exercises.
The player must become accustomed to letting the air do the work,
relaxing all other muscles beyond the diaphragm, including the
tongue.

The main point is that a bleeding tongue is not unusual and that you
will not derive any enduring adverse effects. Many of the finest players
of all time, including Robert Marcellus, dealt with a bloody tongue over
the course of their years of playing. I've told the true story once
before about Marcellus working on his tonguing for so long during a
particular practice session that blood and spit were spewing out the
sides of his mouth by the time he was finished. I've experienced this
myself. It may sound extreme, but sometimes we go through hard core
phases of aggressive practicing, and the idea of stopping for the
night is just not an option. So you keep going, taxing the muscles,
overworking the system. It can be detrimental, but not if you take
a break the next day and only play a little bit. But I digress.

Anyway, I hope I've allayed your fears. The blood is normal.

Neil