Klarinet Archive - Posting 000041.txt from 2010/09

From: "Peter Gentry" <peter.gentry@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: [kl] breathing problems
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:38:49 -0400

One thing springs to mind. I may have heard it on this list but it bears
repetition. " Practice makes permanent".

So do not carry on playing if you experience discomfort. Short periods are
no bad thing. Do not try to play too fast, play slowly in correct time and
gradually speed up as you become comfortable. Rest if needs be.

Gradually increase your range do not struggle over high Gs and above.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jennifer Jones [mailto:helen.jennifer@-----.com] =

Sent: Saturday, September 04, 2010 9:51 AM
To: The Klarinet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [kl] breathing problems

Dear Janice,

How long are the passages that you are able to play? e.g. how many
measures, what tempo, what piece, what register are you playing in?
What suggestions did your teacher have?

Here are my thoughts on your situation based upon the information you
gave. In short, pressure may make it difficult for you to play long
passages. Possible solutions include breathing at regular intervals.
Don't skip breath marks and mind the rests. Let your lungs empty
periodically. Trying a softer reed can't hurt (they are cheap) and
checking your clarinet for air leaks and other causes of stuffiness is
another important thing that you can do.

You may have worked on these things with your teacher. Other thoughts
would be to get additional opinions, perhaps from a repair tech and
another instructor.

Aside from all the above, does it bother *you* that you only play in
15 minute stints? I see that you asked about it so we might assume
so, but you did not explicitly state that. It might be worth
considering whether it is important that you play more than 15 minutes
at a time. Who cares whether it is normal? More important is the
logistics. Does it fit into your schedule? I assume this is a hobby
for you. Don't work on it if it doesn't bother you. I remember when
I was a kid 20 minute practice sessions were encouraged. I didn't
follow that. My family encouraged doing things to the best of my
ability. My understanding of that was to practice as long as
possible. This was not structured practice where I would think of a
specific skill that had been shown me. It was me fooling around on
the clarinet. The skill would come up, but rather randomly. I have
no idea how others do this, but I imagine mentally focused, goal
oriented practicing can be much more efficient than my plow through it
approach.

Everything below is thoughts and reasoning behind these suggestions:

On Breathing, Pressure and Stuffiness of the clarinet:
I received a "compliment" on my breath control in high school after I
performed the first portion of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto. No one
otherwise commented on it positively or negatively. However, in
retrospect, I can attest to *feeling* out of breath a lot. I never
*complained* of being out of breath as a kid. Mostly, I tolerated
some stress and did something about it (like taking a breath) if it
became pressing. It is important to note that I am the sort that
pushes myself rather hard (this can be a bad thing). My mental
response to the person who made the "compliment" was a less articulate
form of "breath control? horse pucky! What about those uneven
dynamics? ... grumble, grumble, grumble... idiot! Give me something
useful. Breath control at the expense of dynamics. Bah! What good
is that? Show me how to play like my recordings and breathe
normally." I do have mild asthma and the air quality is notoriously
bad where I live. Nonetheless, I am able to get through the phrases
in Brahms' second clarinet sonata without taking breaths outside of
rests and breath marks, in spite of sometimes feeling out of breath.

Probably an important difference between singing and playing the
clarinet (then there are double reeds) is the amount of air resistance
involved. I suspect that it takes a lot more pressure to get a reed
vibrating than it does your vocal chords, because I am told that
double reed players are at higher risk for strokes than single reed
players (ask double reed players; I haven't thought about that
statement thoroughly or played double reed instruments). Whether that
is correct, the pressure is definitely located elsewhere in the body.
Where the pressure extends to the mouth, nasal passages and eustachian
tubes for vibrating reeds; it is located only in the trachea and lungs
for singers (behind the vocal chords).

In addition, I suspect it is easier to develop good muscular control
over the vocal chords than it is a reed (probably partially because we
always have our vocal chords with us, whereas it takes an extra
conscious effort to carry an instrument around. So, given that you
are driving a vibrating reed that your body may not have evolved to
use and your body has probably not grown to adapt to and your habits
have not been honed to, as the opposite is probably the case with
people who play constantly throughout their lives and perhaps have a
long familial history of playing. These factors also probably affect
your sense of breath control. Note that this is not intended to
discourage; it may be a bunch of horse pucky although I think there is
a biological argument for it. As this tune suggests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DzT4bd9VRLT0&feature=3Drelated. Lyrics:
http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/a/allanhall25725/paulandpeterwalked1019983.htm
l
"If you don't have the time; now's the time to move." I adapt it to:
if you don't have the skill; now is the time to work on it.

Your clarinet may be stuffy. Since, you have a teacher, this may have
been checked out. However, it never hurts to get a second opinion
(unless you are on a tight budget, in which case you have to
prioritize; is it more important to play, to build up strength or
quit). If you have a teacher like I was when I tried teaching in high
school and college, then you probably should get another opinion. I
try things without the faintest idea what I am doing and without
guidance. Plus, teachers have their strong and weak points especially
if, you, as the student, don't have the money or, you don't know how
to build relationships or, everyone is overworked. We all take short
cuts when we have too much to do. Nonetheless, the clarinet could
need an overhaul. You could also check the joints for air leakage.
My teacher showed me how to stop up each joint individually and
alternately blow and suck to change the pressure inside and listen for
air leaks. Ask me for more details if that doesn't make sense.

On Hyperventilating:
I agree with the "topping off" thought. One thing a teacher told me
was to always take a rest when one was marked in the music (an
appropriate suggestion for me, because I would plow through everything
at once when I was practicing alone and even during band practice, I
was not very mindful of breath marks). Now, picking up Brahms' second
sonata again, the occasional 9 bar rests are welcome. (I still do
feel out of breath often and I believe this affects my playing). So
the 9 bars of rests provide time to empty the lungs.

I don't think "topping off" is the same as hyperventilating. Topping
off implies taking a breath before proper emptying of the lungs. I
have hyperventilated when hiking in the mountains (I have been told to
take deeper breaths when in the mountains b/c of the lower atmospheric
pressure and tendency for altitude sickness; headache mostly). I get
dizzy if I take a lot of deep breaths in close succession. I also get
dizzy *and* feel like I am not getting enough oxygen if I take
abnormally shallow quick breaths in close succession for a long period
of time. This difference undoubtedly reflects different
concentrations of gasses in the lungs. Probably carbon dioxide and
oxygen. In the former case, a higher oxygen concentration. In the
latter case, a higher concentration of carbon dioxide. These cases of
hyperventilating and shallow breathing occur with less pressure in the
lungs than when playing.

I suspect that the higher pressure caused by blowing on the reed,
makes the gasses exchange differently between the lungs and the blood.
Dad does this thing when he is stressed where he breathes out very
noisily with nearly closed mouth. It drives me nuts, so I ask him why
he doesn't just breathe normally and he argues that it increases the
partitioning of gasses into the lungs. I argue that it makes carbon
dioxide exchange slower because first, you aren't taking in new oxygen
and second, you are increasing the pressure in the lungs such that
there is an overall higher carbon dioxide concentration in the blood.
Breathing rate and our sense of being out of breath are controlled by
carbon dioxide receptors. You feel out of breath more when you play
clarinet because of a tendency for extra carbon dioxide to build up in
the lungs and blood. Hence, it is extra important that you learn how
to breathe properly at regular intervals.

On Reeds:
It never hurts to have a few reeds of different strengths. Keep a
couple 2.5s and 3.5s around in addition to your normal stock of 3s.
Reeds are cheap. I usually by them by the box and that supply can
last anywhere from months to years, depending upon how much I am
playing.

I am sorry that you regret stopping playing.

I *do not* regret the two year and shorter hiatuses in my playing. I
don't care that I do not play "professionally well". Clarinet playing
is extremely instructive for understanding my body.

Thank you for the questions.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Jones

On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 5:57 AM, Janice Rosen <operanut@-----.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I used to play the clarinet as a child and teenager and played every day
for long hours of practice and performed in my high school band. =A0I never
had any problems with breathing or getting out of breath while playing.
>
> I stopped playing the clarinet for about 30 years (which I regret) in
order to focus on college, graduate school, and career.
>
> Two years ago I started taking up clarinet and clarinet lessons as a
refresher to rebuild my skills and its been coming along nicely.
>
> I am having a problem with breathing, though. =A0 I can't seem to play the
clarinet for more than 15 minutes without getting out of breath. =A0I do not
have asthma. =A0I never get out of breath when walking long distances or
singing. =A0I can sing all day without getting out of breath and can hold
notes long and steady as well as professional singers can. =A0I never got o=
ut
of breath when playing the clarinet all day as a child or teenager.
>
> So now why am I getting out of breath so easily with the clarinet? =A0My
teacher says this is not normal and wants to help me find a way to overcome
the breathing problem. =A0I use a number 3 reed which my teacher says is ju=
st
right for me
>
> If you have any suggestions, we would be grateful for the help.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Janice Rosen
> Washington, DC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustachian_tube

What is it with this keyboard and touchpad; I will use the "mouse" to
click the cursor to a certain spot and then start typing. There seems
to be a differential delay in the "mouse" response and the keyboard
response; my typing will initially show up in the last place the
cursor was. Then continues where I told the mouse to put it. As a
result, I have to retype or wait forever to start typing again. It
makes editing as you go a nightmare.
_______________________________________________
Klarinet mailing list
Klarinet@-----.com
To do darn near anything to your subscription, go to:
http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com

_______________________________________________
Klarinet mailing list
Klarinet@-----.com
To do darn near anything to your subscription, go to:
http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com

   
     Copyright © Woodwind.Org, Inc. All Rights Reserved    Privacy Policy    Contact charette@woodwind.org