Klarinet Archive - Posting 000121.txt from 2002/08

From: Tom.Henson@-----.com
Subj: RE: [kl] Are you a mover & a shaker? And Now Relaxation Technique
Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2002 11:16:33 -0400

I would like to add my feelings on this subject of relaxation as related in
this thread.

I have been working over the last month on breathing exercises as part of my
daily warm up. I try to spend 15 to 30 minutes a day working on this. During
these breathing exercises, I try to relax as much as possible so that only
the muscles involved in the breathing and playing are focused upon.

It was amazing to me at first how tense I was, especially in the back, neck,
and arms. The tension in my neck also caused tension in my jaw, and so forth
and so forth.

The more relaxation I practice, the easier the breathing exercises have
become. Right now I am up to 50 seconds in a controlled exhale. My goal is
to double that.

I have to give credit to my wife who is a vocalist and taught me these
exercises. This is something every vocalist learns early on.

After discussing this with my clarinet teacher, she pointed out that what I
was doing was very close to Yoga and that many of the top musicians practice
Yoga for this very thing.

Regarding Neil's comment (snip) "Like any other aspect of technique and
performance, relaxation itself
must be practiced and refined until it becomes programmed into the
foundation of one's technique."

I couldn't agree more. What I am also doing in these breathing exercises
besides improving my breath control, is memorizing the "feeling" of
relaxation I feel while breathing. I then transfer this feeling to when I
pick up my clarinet and play.

The end result is that this memorized feeling of relaxation becomes part of
my foundation of playing itself, until it becomes an auto response. I can't
tell you how much this has improved every aspect of my playing.

Playing clarinet is all about breathing; inhaling and exhaling. Breathing is
to Phrasing, what Breath Control is to a Phrase. You can't do one without
the other. Add relaxation to this and see how easy things become.

Tom Henson

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