Klarinet Archive - Posting 000891.txt from 1999/02

From: Howard Green <clarinet_man@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Myofunctional and Orthodontic Disorders
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 09:04:48 -0500

My name is Howard Green and I am a Chicago-area
clarinetist/saxophonist and teacher. My wife is an Orofacial
Myologist. I know that is a mouthful, but basically her field is one
in which she provides therapy for people with abnormal bite, tongue
abnormalities (such as weak tongues, tongue thrust, malformed palates
due to prolonged thumb-sucking as children), TMJ problems, muscle
weakness of the lips, jaw, etc. Many times her work is prescribed as
an adjunct to Orthodontic Therapy.

As a musician and clarinet teacher for 30 years (my training goes all
the way back to Walter Wollwage and Jerome Stowell of the Chicago
Symphony), I in an indirect way deal with the same problems with my
students (particularly the younger ones). I have come to the
conclusion that many embouchure and articulation problems are not
always caused by bad clarinet habits or poor prior teaching; in many
cases they are caused by physical characteristics and discrepancies
such as weak tongues, poor tongue position, inability to "raise" the
soft palate (affecting the ability to keep an open throat and
unobstructed air column), poor dentition, etc. In some cases these
problems, once understood, can be overcome or accomodated; in other
cases, clarinet or any single reed instrument may simply be a bad
choice (this by the way can also be true for brass, flute, and
double-reeds, depending on the problem). In fact, because (according
to my wife) I have an abnormally LOW tongue position in my mouth, it
may be the reason why I can tongue rapidly (just a theory - I would
be interested in seeing real research done on this aspect - are the
majority of the successful clarinetists in the world capable of rapid
tonguing because they have abnormal tongue posture inthe first place??).

The point of this posting is this. While hearing me teach a student
how to tongue my wife remarked that I unintentionally do a lot of what
she does in her work. This got me to thinking about these problems
and that in fact both fields have a "synergistic" relationship. Her
work might help a lot of budding (and not-so-budding) musicians, and
in turn, playing wind instruments may in fact help reverse, or at
least find accomodation for people suffering from many of these
disorders (or, perish the thought, in some cases may actually CAUSE or
exacerbate them!).

In June I have been asked to do a 1-hour seminar at the IAOM
(International Association of Orofacial Myologists)convention in New
Orleans on this subject.

To the point: Does anyone have information about these issues? I am
looking for the following: 1)Sources for articles or books on the
subject (are there any OM's or Orthodontists out there who play
clarinet and read this list?), 2) the articles themselves, 3)
anecdotal stories and experiences in these areas (even if they REFUTE
my point), 4) actual reaearch or advice, 5) techniques used by any
teachers out there who have also seen and experienced these pehnomena,
6) the names, addresses, phone numbers, and/or email addresses of
individuals who may be authorities in this area.

I have searched the Web both in the Clarinet and Saxophone sources, as
well as the Orthodontic areas and have come up with very little.
Keith Stein's, Larry Teal's and Norman Heim's books on Clarinet and
Saxophone playing and pedagogy are useful in a limited way on these
issues as well.

Any help would be appreciated. I will be happy to share the results
of this effort on the list once it is done.

I can be reached at the following email addresses or on the Klarinet
List:

clarinet_man@-----.com
hmgreen@-----.net

Sorry for the long posting and thanks in advance for any assistance
you can give.

Howard Green

==
Thanks.

Howard

DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @-----.com

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