Author: Greenie
Date: 2010-07-17 21:44
I started learning to play clarinet two years ago, at age 56, and I have had difficulty with thumb distress too, because my enthusiasm led me to practice sometimes as much as two hours a day without stopping. I tried a neck strap for almost a year, but it it really did not much help my thumb, and screwed up my embouchure. I tried resting the instrument on my knees, but my torso is not long enough to make that feasible. Luckily, I have not had wrist distress too. Here is what I did.
I took a round of physical therapy, and medicated with Motrin, icing after every practice, and reducing my practice to no more than thirty minutes at a stretch for about a month. During that time, besides administering a lot of massage treatments, the therapist taught me to do strength training for my fingers with simple rubber bands (which I continue to do every morning) and had me wear a non-intrusive thumb supporter whenever I play or use my thumb for weight-bearing. The therapist also instructed me not to hold pens and pencils with my thumb & forefinger, so I have learned to use my other fingers for that. Also, I changed the adjustment on my thumb rest. The thumb brace is a REALLY BIG HELP and does not interfere with my fingering at all.
The rubber-band strength training consists of putting a thick rubber band around your thumb and fingers, and then rhythmically expanding all your fingers and thumb against the rubber band's resistance and then contracting them just enough that the rubber band doesn't fall off. The second rubber-band strength training consists of putting a lighter rubber band around your thumb and forefinger, and then rhythmically expanding them against the rubber band's resistance and contracting them. I do fifty of these strength-training drills at least once a day. They do seem to help!
Now I try to limit my practice to thirty (or 45 at most) minutes a session, and try to practice more than one session per day (not always possible, but on a weekend I have got up to five half-hour sessions spread out over one day!). Since I am a total beginner at musical learning, I do rhythm drills on a recorder (much lighter to hold) instead of my clarinet. I stop playing when my thumb starts to hurt, and if it does, I take a Motrin and ice it. But that usually only happens if I deviate from the above regimen.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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