 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Buster Brown
Date: 2005-07-10 13:27
I was wondering how long some of you can play before fatigue sets in or lip muscles have had it? On Mondays I do four hours of rehersal (two on clarinet followed by 2 on alto sax). The four hours are pretty intense since we practice only once per week, and as you, know band clarinet music has very few rests. Personally, my lip, breath, fingers, etc. all do well, but the brain wears out. After some Copeland (requires 100% attention) and others in the band, the wild syncopation of the jazz work later in the evening really wears me out mentally. By the end of the evening I make some real stupid mistakes, like miss-counting rests or missing a key signature change, coda sign or whatever. This typically doesn't happen during concerts (thank goodness).
Wonder if the rest of you have this type of experience. I practice an hour or two a day, usually no more than 30-45 minutes at a crack. Rarely encounter this problem at home.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-07-10 16:07
When I played the Brahms Trio at the Princeton Intl. Festival, I couldn't feel my lip at all. It had "died" long before and at that point everytime I put the Clarinet to my mouth I had sharp pain and then complete numbness. It was at a festival, and I was playing way too many hours a day. Concentration wasn't a problem, but the lip sure was!!
However, lip pain does no permanent damage - and it heals quickly.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-07-10 22:24
For me, it depends upon what I'm playing. That probably means that my embochure is poorly developed, and inconsistent.
Sometimes, my lips start leaking well before I'm mentally ready to quit playing. I usually play like 2-1/2 hours/day.
Currently, I do 3-hours on Mondays with the swing band, and 2-hours on Tuesdays with the wind quintet (or fragments of it). On those days, I usually do my other 2+ on the clarinet, too.
Bob Phillips
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Author: GoatTnder
Date: 2005-07-10 22:51
I find I'm able to go for hours longer on clarinet than on sax. Although both are a comfortable set up. Anyone else notice this?
Andres Cabrera
South Bay Wind Ensemble
www.SouthBayWinds.com
sbwe@sbmusic.org
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2005-07-10 23:53
Hi Buster Brown (my favorite shoe company, as a kid):
I perform, practice, or teach/play at least 4-6 hours each day, usually 7 days a week. I've been on that schedule for at least 35+ years, with no lip problems. It really depends on your own physical makeup, your training or instruction, and the demands of the music.
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
Post Edited (2005-07-10 23:55)
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2005-07-11 01:27
My lip dies after one hour of steady practicing. I don't think it's a good idea to keep going if you are not able to use your lips! But, on a gig, I have gone as long as three hours. Then it was not the lips, it was the brain. On a gig you don't have to play steadily so it's different then.
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-07-11 04:42
GoatTnder wrote:
"I find I'm able to go for hours longer on clarinet than on sax. Although both are a comfortable set up. Anyone else notice this?"
I can go longer on regular clarinet than I can on bass clarinet. Might be because I play Bb clarinet 1-3+ hours a day and I play bass clarinet for 1-2 hours a week. My lips never really get tired on Bb clarinet, it's a rare occasion when it gets tired.
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Author: MisiMcG
Date: 2005-07-11 11:31
I practice 1-2 hours a day and generally have no lip problems. However, if you ask me to play 2 - 2hour performances (2 days in a row), my lip will be shot by the end of the 2nd performance. I believe this is at least partly due to the fact that I have less down time during the performances (and no control over how much I get!).
Not having more time in the day to increase my stamina through extended practice, the resolution for this (at least for me) is pacing -- knowing when to take a break during a performance and let my stand partner take over. Of course, if you're a soloist you have to either quit or just play through it.
Misi
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Author: Buster Brown
Date: 2005-07-11 12:38
My brain must be the weak part of me because the lip doesn't go. I find it much easier to play the saxophone for extended times than the clarinet. The clarinet requires nuch greater control for tome and intonation (at least for me), while with the sax pretty much anything goes. Put a nice smooth even vabrato on it and most any sax tone sounds great.
I guess getting older might be my problem or perhaps it was the 40 year lay off. As a kid, we would play 5 -6 hours per day and not get fatigued.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2005-07-11 16:46
The most important part of playing is your "grey matter", and this can fatigue also. The muscles, joints and all should be treated at the same level as your mental activity. Having said that, this is sure not what it feels like.
There is the "no pain, no gain" school. But this can be taken too far. Only you know what you are capable of doing and how far to take it.
Pain and numbness can be precursors to more serious problems. A year and a half ago, my lip went numb at the end of a 3-hour dance. I was blowing my brains out, and really pushing to get my pitch up. Audience feedback was very good, at least up to the last 20 minutes, when my lip went numb. It was several weeks before a dentist friend correctly identified which nerve was pinched and how long it would take to recover, if it did recover. After 2 weeks, I was playing reasonably comfortably for 20 minutes a day. After this experience, I have to say my internal confidence level has flagged a bit, and I carefully watch how much and how hard I play. But then again, the pro's I play dances with do the same thing. My problems were on a gig with all amateurs, where I felt pushed to take the lead more than was comfortable.
Fallout from this was that I had another half millimeter shaved from my short barrell, am working to change my tongue position, and seem to be having better luck getting pitch up without pinching so much. Also, when it is someone else's turn to lead, I put my instrument down and leave it there.
I wonder about players who say they can perform after going "numb". This can mean different things for different people. The "numbness" I experienced when much younger is different now, and I am a lot more cautious in my 50's.
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