Klarinet Archive - Posting 000093.txt from 2012/02
From: Mary Vinquist <krsmav@-----.com> Subj: [kl] Instrument Support Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:12:04 -0500
Janice -
The easy way to relieve the weight of the clarinet is to rest the bell
on your knee, or hold it between your knees. Robert Marcellus did
this, so you'll be in good company.
There's a good thread on the Clarinet board, where I mentioned several
instrument supports I'd come across.
<http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=269920&t=269885>.
You might at least try a padded elastic neck strap, such as the BG
http://www.amazon.com/BG-BGC20E-Clarinet-Support-Strap/dp/B000RVSIXS
or the Neotech <http://www.amazon.com/Neotech-C-E-O-Comfort-Strap-Black/dp/B000EEJ8MS/ref=pd_cp_MI_0>.
The problem is not simply strength. I'm a big and strong guy, but I
had right-hand pain problems I couldn't get past. I went to a
physical therapist who specialized in the hand problems of musicians,
who helped me tremendously, particularly with repositioning the thumb
rest and learning to avoid hand and arm positions that produce strain.
Therapy and strength exercises vary with your particular anatomy and
problem, so it's well worth going to a therapist. The wind players in
your local orchestra will certainly have information on whom to go to.
You may have to get some keys altered. For example, Jeanne
Baxtresser, the principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic, had
extensive work done to cure hand pain. See, for example,
<http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=10575&t=10477>,
<http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=142168&t=142154>
and <http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=51931&t=51868>.
Don't play in pain. I tell you from experience that this is not
something you can fight through. You need to get at the underlying
cause. If you have a toothache, you go to a dentist. It's the same
here.
Good luck. Please let us know how you work it out.
Ken Shaw
_______________________________________________
Klarinet mailing list
Klarinet@-----.com
To do darn near anything to your subscription, go to:
http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com
|
|
|