Klarinet Archive - Posting 000821.txt from 1997/10

From: "C Henderson" <chenderson@-----.au>
Subj: Re: sore lip
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 00:50:33 -0400

Dave wrote:
> Greetings to all on Klarinet!
> Please bear with me, as I am new to al of this. I have been reading alo=
ng
> and find the conversations interesting, although perhaps a bit too
> technical for me at this point.

Greetings and welcome! And don't feel like you don't know enough to
participate in discussions - though sometimes you might be intimidated =
because it can seem a bit of a free-for-all! We're really all quite nice=
. :-)

> The problem I have is a
> very sore lower lip. Is this normal for beginners? The inside of my lip
> feels like I burned it with some too-hot coffee.

Your teacher may be right, but you could be suffering more than normal =
if a) your jaw muscles are too tightly clenched when playing (jaw stretch=
ing exercises will help); or b) your lower teeth are not straight and the=
pressure on the inside of your lip is concentrated on a smaller area (tr=
y a thin pad between your teeth and lip if this is the case)

>Also, I am getting some
> terific pains in my right thumb. Is it possible I am applying too much
> downward force with my head and neck? Is this also a *newbie* thing? =
I tend
> to be rather tense i my musculature and movements anyway, so maybe this=
is
> my problem.

Could be tension, could also be the unaccustomed weight on your thumb. =
You could ease it with a neck strap (the Clarichord is elasticated, so =
still allows reasonably free movement, although it costs more). As to =
the possibility of the downward force, if you concentrate on always bring=
ing your clarinet up to your mouth, rather than your mouth down to the =
clarinet, downward force shouldn't come into it. BTW, how long do you =
play for at a time? Sometimes adult beginners are too enthusiastic, and =
sit at it for longer than their muscles are used to dealing with. Like =
any muscle work, start small and build gradually, and that applies to =
holding a clarinet too!

Hope you enjoy the list.

Clare
*******************************************************
Clare Pascoe Henderson
variously clarinetist, writer/lecturer, herbalist
chook fanatic and menagerie manager
<chenderson@-----.au>
*******************************************************