Klarinet Archive - Posting 000396.txt from 1998/02

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: tendonitis
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 13:10:30 -0500

On Sat, 7 Feb 1998, Amanda L. Fortenberry wrote:

> Many clarinetist will probably disagree with this
> notion (Even I was opposed to it in the beginning), but after one gets
> used to it, you much prefer anchoring to intense pain. What do I mean by
> anchoring? Anchoring the clarinetbetween your legs. This allows you to
> not only relieve the tension off of your hands and wrists, but also it
> allows your embouchure to loosen. I would suggest trying this if you are
> unwilling or unable to stop playing.

Clarinetists might not disagree with "anchoring" if it didn't mean
altering one's posture and head position to do it. If your body
proportions are of the perfect configuration, it means you can sit
up straight, head up, face horizontally forward, clarinet at a
35-40 degree angle to your body, and the the lower edge of the
clarinet bell just happens to make contact with the surface of the
knees or upper thigh without changing any of the other parameters.
I don't know anybody whose body is proportioned in such a way
that this happens. Thus, using the legs as a rest for the
clarinet bell involves altering one of the basic elements of
proper body configuration, which can lower optimum performance
ability, i.e.; the person must: slouch, raise the angle of the
clarinet to the body, crane the neck, or face downward (which
affects neck position, as well as angle of clarinet to body).
Doing any of these things regularly over time can result in
chronic physical stress problems in the neck and/or back --
stress which, while not necessarily felt in those two main
areas, is manifested sympathetically throughout the body.
This has a dramatic effect one's ability to improve beyond
a certain point, and ultimately on their ability to play at
their very best. And when the angle of clarinet to body is
too great, the embouchure does not function at its optimum
capacity.

Many reasons to avoid using the knees as a resting place
for the bell, and better to get a neckstrap, which affects
none of the elements of optimum body configuration.

Neil