Klarinet Archive - Posting 000452.txt from 1998/01

From: "Steven Gordon, M.D. 729 X3151" <GORDONST@-----.org>
Subj: The aging musician
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 14:27:45 -0500

The message from Diane Karius prompted me to search the literature on
how aging affects musicians. Not surprisinly, there is almost no
medical literature! If we were as economically viable as basketball
players, I'm sure there would be...

There have been studies looking at various aspects of aging, which by
inference, might affect a musician's ability:

Motor skills:
Kauranen and Vanharanta looked at reaction time, speed of movement,
tapping speed, and coordination of hands and feet in 100 men and 100
women, aged 21-70 years. "In general, performance decreased clearly
after 50 years in both groups." --Percept Mot Skills 1996
Apr;82(2):515-25

Morgan et al looked at the reasons elderly persons exhibit slower
hesitant movements. The question was whether these movements were part
of a "cautious" strategy. They were able to separate out a "cautious
strategy" and demonstrate a decline in motor coordination.

Lips:
There is a decline in elastin fibers in older individuals. This may
relate to a reduction in muscle mass adjacent to the fibers (I just lost
the reference)

While there is nothing about embouchure, we may be able to extrapolate
from a study by Sven Bjorgen. He looked at kissing strength in 100 men
and women aged 12- 97 in Gothengerg. People who smoked, chewed gum,
exchanged sex for money or drugs, or played Eb clarinet were eliminated.
He found that lateral lip strength declined with age in both men and
women, but jaw strength remained intact. This would imply that older
musicians might tend to pinch the reed more to overcome lack of strength
at the sides. The study did not control for lip-smacking.

There is a common thread to studies on aging. It's the "If you don't
use it you lose it principal." While studies tend to look at random
people from different age groups, it is clear there is a wide range for
any characteristic looked at. Constant exercise (eg., practicing) keeps
the muscles of the face and arms in shape, muscle fibers are more
preserved. Elastin decline in the lips is less.

Hearing decline occurs with aging and is also a serious and common
occupational hazard. Sight obviously presents challenges. There is an
article by Kadrmas in Surv Ophthalmo 1996 Jan-Feb;40(4):338-41. The
Abstract reads: "The presbyopic musician presents the ophthalmologist
with an often demanding set of visual needs. Many modalities, some
necessarily creative, are available to aid older musicians in their
vision-dependent art." For those of you who struggle with this, you
might want to present this reference to your optometrist or
ophthalmologist.

Hope this was helpful...

Steve Gordon, M.D.
Beaverton, OR