 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Megan
Date: 2000-03-04 19:15
Last night I played my graduation recital(thank you to all who offered support earlier this week!) and the first half went fine, I could feel my throat threatening to give out but it held(phew) and I was worried. The first piece in my second half was the Mozart concerto, it was the first time all night I'd played my A clarinet. The first two movements were fine but at the end of the third movement my throat completely gave out and the last two notes of the piece barely came out. I had more air leaking out through my nose than through the horn. My throat was also making the worst noise ever, it sounded like a snore to me. Nobody else could hear it though. For my last piece I switched back to the Bb clarinet and thankfully made it all the way through, but barely.
I'm wondering how many other people this happens to and what they do about it? It's been happening consistently over the past year and seems to be getting worse.
I'd appreciate any feedback.
Megan
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Author: Ron D
Date: 2000-03-04 20:50
I had the same problem some time ago. went to a specialist to check out and discovered that I had obstructive sleep apnea which caused my air passages to close down under some conditions. I was not playing at that time but had difficulty in expelling air under pressure ( blowing up balloons for example). If you wake up tired in the morning or are told that you snore you might want to check this out with a doctor that is a specialist in ear nose and throat or pulminary medicine. This condition is not common in young people or women but is worth checking up. After treatment I felt better immediately.
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Author: HTW
Date: 2000-03-05 03:16
It happened to me occaisionally when I was starting, but it stopped after a while. Mabye for me it was just a matter of developing muscles
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Author: Nick Conner
Date: 2000-03-05 05:59
It happened to me too, when I was starting out. I'm not sure what fixed it. It may have been technique. make sure you are supporting from your diaphragm and not your throat, that's the big thing that seemed to make my problem go away.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-05 14:47
Yes, I have had several instances of this lack of over-all embouchure strength which I have attributed more to fatigue and difficult and high-volume playing, than to lack of frequent practice. Don
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Author: Jerry K.
Date: 2000-03-06 02:02
Keith Stein in his book The Art of Clarinet Playing says, "Sometimes advanced players emit an audible 'nostril snort' while playing" (chapter 7, p. 21). He says its caused by a failure to relax the larynx or voice box.
It sounds like you're in good company, Megan. I know I'm not in your league, so I can't really offer help concerning the solution.
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