Klarinet Archive - Posting 000870.txt from 2000/07

From: Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: [kl] Strength -- no pain, no gain?
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 13:28:19 -0400

In body building, the adage is: "No pain, no gain", by which they
mean that working hard enough to make your muscles ache helps build more
muscle. I was told once that at this 'aching' point in an exercise
routine, microscopic (but harmless) rips are appearing in your muscle
fibers and this causes your body's repair mechanisms to kick into gear.
This in turn causes growth of new and increased muscle tissue, which is
a good thing.

So I'm wondering: when a beginning clarinetist reaches the "my
chops are gone" point where air begins to leak out the sides of the
mouth and the chin collapses and so forth, is it considered a good thing
to try putting your embouchure back together one more time and to keep
playing even though nothing works exactly right any longer -- on the
theory that *this* is the special moment when you will do some real
muscle-building in your embouchure? Or is this the moment when you
should quit for the day because you're beginning to reinforce bad
habits?

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