Brought to you this hour by

Advertising and Web Hosting on Woodwind.Org!

Klarinet Archive - Posting 000006.txt from 2001/08

From: "Karl Krelove" <kkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Air leaking from nose problem
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 15:34:18 -0400

I have a similar problem - began after my tonsillectomy 35 years ago and for
me is a problem mostly during the summer. I don't know for sure what causes
it, nor does any doctor I've asked about it, but I have a really strong
feeling that for me it's related to mucous collecting around the
naso-pharyngeal area and interfering with the seal. A combination of
antihistamine meds (nose spray, Allegra when my allergies get more active)
along with drinking plenty of fluids as the opportunity arises during a
rehearsal or performance to keep the area clear seems to help. Being at all
out of shape aggravates the problem.

There was an article in a recent Instrumentalist magazine by a respected
trumpet teacher in which this problem is discussed a little. The author (I
don't have the magazine in front of me), had an exercise routine that I
think basically involved scooping the pitch of a high note progressively
lower, using the same throat/tongue muscles presumably that we use when
"gliss"ing. He felt this strengthened the area and cured the kind of nasal
air leakage you're talking about.

On a tangent - I tried to get official permission from Instrumentalist to
post that portion of the trumpet article to Klarinet and was refused. If
anyone is interested in the exact issue number, I'll look it up.

Karl Krelove

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Hobby [mailto:jhobby@-----.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 2:29 AM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: [kl] Air leaking from nose problem
>
>
> At band camp this week one of the tenor sax players asked me
> about a problem
> with the air coming out of the nose at the same time he is
> playing. He said
> it started in the middle of the year last term. I've had some
> success with
> getting him to think about closing off the passages from the back of the
> mouth, but would like a better solution (and reason for it
> happening.) He's
> played several years, is a junior, I think. Plays very nicely, but this
> problem is bothering him. Other people can't hear it (over his
> sax) but it
> of course cuts down on the amount of air that's available.
>
> I know we talked about leaking air from the sides of the mouth on the
> clarinet. This is different. The flap covering the passages
> connecting the
> back of the throat to the nose isn't automatically staying closed.
>
> Anybody with ideas? If you post to the list, please copy me,
> since I'm not
> getting to read much this week.
> I hope this makes sense. It's almost 1:30 AM here.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jim Hobby
> jhobby@-----.net
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
> Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
> Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
> Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org
>
>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org