 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: TheCheeseMaker
Date: 2006-10-28 23:11
Hi,
Yes it's another health related clarinet problem.
I don’t know about you but after playing for a long time (like a really long time) my lips become incredibly sore and often bleed and crack.
I was wondering if many other people suffer from this problem? If anyone does, what do you do to remedy this problem.
I have some creams like vaseline and blistex but they don’t seem to actually fix the problem but only mask it up for a short time.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Peter.
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Author: John O'Janpa
Date: 2006-10-28 23:47
Best solution is to shorten your practice sessions (rest your lips).
Once they have properly healed, then you can gradually lengthen the sessions .
Back off slightly if a problem develops.
Eventually your lips will become stronger and more resiliant. I hesitate to say tougher or calloused, but it's the same type of thing.
One time I had a concert comming up and because of procrastination, needed to practice a whole lot on the final weekend before the concert. It wasn't until I saw myself in a mirror that I realized that I had a huge blood blister on my lower lip.
Daily sessions of a couple of hours are better for your lips than weekly sessions of fourteen hours.
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Author: TheCheeseMaker
Date: 2006-10-28 23:57
Hi,
Thanks for that. I meant when our orchestras have their sessions of 9 hours a day or during festivals when i would be playing alot. I should have stated that more clearly.
Other than that, apparently I suffer from something called Lip lickers Dermatitis. So have a recurring problem with my lips. So was just wondering what creams people use to help heal lips on a more permanent basis.
Thanks for the advice though.
Peter.
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2006-10-29 01:07
I have just one advice and that is not to play on that hard reed that make you bite. For my self I really don't bite unless I'm playing a lot on the range G'''-Bb'''. Some people use some special paper over their lower theeth but I never had to do that even if I had to practice 8 hours per day for a week. I was a little bit sore under my lower lip after that week but it was good after 4 days or so. But how you can make your lip bleed is something I have never experience with any clarinet player I know.
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Author: seafaris
Date: 2006-10-29 13:57
I have wondered about this for awhile. I have been playing for 2.5 years. I play #3 reeds and play about a solid hour a day. My lower lip doesn't seem to be getting tougher. It has a slightly stinging sensation after playing and I use lip balm after practice. The next day my lip is fine, but the same thing happens on a daily basis. I have tried laying off for a few days, but the same thing happens. I don't have any pain, but I sure woulod like to be able to play longer.
....Jim
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Author: Rhythmacres
Date: 2006-10-30 01:32
Maybe you're not putting enough breath support through your clarinet. Since higher pressure makes the reed automatically vibrate, there's less work for your lip to do. Also, make sure your lower lip is "cushiony", not drawn, so the reed can vibrate freely.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2006-10-30 03:55
I always have had very dry skin, and frequently in the winter (Minnesota...very dry in the winter) my lips are very affected as well. I use a lip balm made by a company called Burt's Bees, and I love it.
If I don't have that handy I use a preparation made by an online acquaintance which includes beeswax, shea butter, cocoa butter and some other stuff I can't remember right now...
It all depends on which tube I can find!
I don't think there is any way to fix the quality of the skin, short of putting an industrial-duty moisturizing cream on them every night, but I've heard Vaseline actually doesn't really moisturize the lips anyway... The butters mentioned above seem to work better for me. YMMV.
FYI, the online acquaintance's products can be found at: http://www.goodiesunlimited.com and include an amazing balm which might help you too, called Everything Balm. I'm pretty sure she ships out of country...
Katrina
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