 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2015-10-12 09:46
Even though musicians do wear belts as a proper attire at a concerts, I'd still like raise the question of does a belt affect breathing for student players? I sometimes find that performing with a belt on I might breathe a bit harder. Or is it just performance anxiety?
Josh
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2015-10-12 16:34
Do you normally wear a belt? Does it affect your breathing when you normally practice or rehearse?
A belt shouldn't affect your performance/breathing unless 1.) you have it on too tight or 2.) you're not used to wearing one.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Canadian Clarinetist
Date: 2015-10-12 16:43
I've taken thousands of dollars worth of singing lessons in the bel canto technique, and during every one of them I wore a belt. Some would say I'm a fairly decent tenor, though others would probably laugh at that. Either way I somehow doubt I'd be any better had I not worn the belt! If anything I would think it would help to better support one's diaphragm somehow.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2015-10-12 17:02
I'm a little puzzled because I've never owned a pair of tux pants that had belt loops. They've all required suspenders!
Sometimes, when I'm playing in civies (no tux or tails), I find the belt to be a good source of feedback - if my breath is full and strong, I can feel my abdominals pushing against it. It doesn't limit me, but it gives me something physical to increase the sensation of expansion.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-10-12 18:42
This might bring up a huge issue of whether you are even breathing properly. Your mid-section REMAINS at it full distention while you play. So if your belt is adjusted for that, there should be no problem whatsoever.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2015-10-14 19:34
It's just a guess on my part, but one factor in how a belt works for someone may be determined by the shape of that person's body. Different shapes; different results.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2015-10-14 19:39
I know some players who feel they play better when they have a good stiff belt.
;-)
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2015-10-14 21:37
My high school band circa 1968 wore 1950's uniforms, which apparently meant all pants were 5 sizes too big for any of us. Even with a belt there was significant chance of a wardrobe malfunction (before anyone had heard such a term). We did have at least one halftime mishap in the piccolo section, fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) before the days of universal video.
So my question is- anybody have a clothing problem in public and manage to keep playing? Mozart would have demanded nothing less.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2015-10-15 12:24
This thread has been putting me in mind of a story in one of the great clarinet writer Paul Harvey's books (do read him if you haven't - there's a lot of good advice as well as fun).
He says that while playing (I'm not sure whether it was a performance or a rehearsal) the Mozart concerto when he was young, his belt actually broke so all he could do was keep his trousers up with his diaphragm - which led to a fabulous sound!
Vanessa.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-10-15 17:40
I actually believe that story. When you get it right, the difference in sound is immediate and dramatic.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2015-10-16 18:27
Oh, *that* kind of belt....
Nev-ver mind....
My husband's best violin teacher, Mischa Mischakoff, used to belt him with a fly-swatter if he played badly. (Nota bene, Kevin studied with Mischakoff in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Today, a teacher who whanged a student with a fly-swatter or anything else would probably get charged with child abuse. Nonetheless, Kevin says these belts probably helped him!)
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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