 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Wonkak Kim
Date: 2003-10-31 17:40
What should I do if I am about to sneeze in the middle of a very quiet and beautiful passage during the concert??? It has happened to me before and I'm scared it will happen again!!! -won
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Author: donald
Date: 2003-10-31 19:29
put your index finger under your nose, so that it presses against the bone where your nose meets your upper gum. Push really hard against the gum and the bone, hard enough that it hurts.
this is a great way to ward off sneezes, was shown to me by my German mother in law and has worked many times. When i sneeze it is like an explosion, very very very loud, and would be totally devastating if it was to happen in a performance! This method of sneeze prevention has saved the day in quite a few different situations (including concert performances) in the last few years.
hope it works for you
donald.....
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-10-31 20:33
Why not just pull out your handkerchief and muffle the sound as much as possible? Or, is this a test question?
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-10-31 20:36
Try to get proper diaphragm support, so that you get the most upper partials into your sound... so that you project well in the Hall.
********
It happens. Cover your nose and face with your hands. Lowering your head should help keep the sound from travelling.
At least you're only SNEEZING in the quiet passages...
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Author: CPW
Date: 2003-10-31 21:29
You are not "doing" any..um...medications ....before the concert are you?
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Author: donald
Date: 2003-11-01 07:54
if you follow the German advice, you just won't sneeze. use the force, luke.
donald....
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Author: Tom A
Date: 2003-11-01 09:32
Um. . . Donald. . .er. . . I think your mother-in-law might have had the last laugh on that one. She persuaded you to inflict pain on yourself whenever you need to sneeze! ![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif)
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Author: donald
Date: 2003-11-02 02:13
next time you are about to sneeze, just try it and you will find your urge to sneeze gone. it's worked for me in literally hundreds of different situations (i'm a big sneezer) and for many colleagues/friends/students including americans, Kiwis, Aussies and Europeans. if you'd really like me to, i could provide names and testimonials supporting this incredibly mysterious technique. lord forgive me for passing on advice that works. i'm sure you'd rather read another "what kind of mouthpiece should i buy?" posting.
maybe you thought you thought i was just lying in my two previous postings? that's it, you think i'm lying! i challenge you to a duel!
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2003-11-02 07:03
Donald's advice is real. Do it! I think I have heard that there is some kind of nerve pathway that one interrupts with this pressure. It doesn't need to hurt, just put pressure to this place.
As far as testimonials, I think I have seen it done in Donald Duck cartoons...
Wayne Thompson
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-11-02 21:40
A bit of shadenfreude perhaps! We are fortunate that sneezes occur fairly rarely whilst we are playing. This is compared to riding on a train or a bus or in air conditioned offices where sneezing, especially all over somebody else, and consequently passing on droplet infections is a bit more of a pasttime. I don't know whether sneezing or sticking your finger up your nose would draw more comment!
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Author: Vrat
Date: 2003-11-03 17:15
I've just tried Donald's German maneuver. Made me sneeze...
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-11-03 20:25
Don't look at the bright concert hall lights ... they'll surely make you sneeze.
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-11-04 01:53
Sneez(y)ing is a tricky one because it's often something you just can't stop ... if you were sitting next to me and your cell phone rang, however, I'd grab it off you, sit on it and probably not give it back.
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2003-11-04 05:06
Someone once asked Itzhak Perlman if he ever had to sneeze during a performance. He said "no"; he was (is) always a little nervous when he performs and says that the resulting increase in adrenaline flow tends to suppress sneezing. I believe he is right. I have noticed that I never sneeze when I'm nervous but if I'm relaxed and at ease while playing I'm susceptible to sneezing. So maybe a little stagefright is not such a bad thing.
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2003-11-04 14:38
To suppress a sneeze, I find that pressing hard on the bridge of my nose usually works.
And, in case you can't prevent a sneeze, teach yourself to sneeze without vocalizing. The people who sneeze the loudest are those who use their vocal chords in the process, producing a sudden, sharp, loud yell (which could cause one to have an auto accident if driving in the near vicinity). If you don't vocalize, all you'll produce is a "ch" sound, which, at its loudest, isn't that bad.
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Author: Tim P
Date: 2003-11-04 17:24
I back the "Donald" technique 100%. been using it all my life and it has never failed. But sometimes it just feels to good to LET-ER-FLY.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-11-04 21:54
There is a painless alternative to Donald's method.
Hold your eyelids wide open with your finger(s) or thumbs.
That kills the urge.
It always works for me.
Try both methods at once for those really powerful sneezes!
Post Edited (2003-11-04 21:56)
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Author: Wonkak Kim
Date: 2003-11-04 23:25
Thanks a lot people!! Now I don't have to worry about sneezing since I learned so many alternatives. I hope the players in other sections and audiences wouldn't think that I am some weird person when I try that in Orchestra! Maybe I should bring some pepper and practice the methods against the artificial sneeze on my next rehearsal!!!
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