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Re: HELP I am freaking out - breathing

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2017-10-19 18:46

jrain54 wrote:

> Yes I see what you mean now and I have played with that in
> mind, and I think it is the throat which is causing the problem
> and it's tensing up when I play -
> I'm not sure what I can do to fix it, and it is very
> frustrating.
>

There are two possible explanations (sorry for the length).

The less likely one, but especially if you're having any respiratory problems apart from the clarinet, is a physical obstruction in your upper airway. Enlarged tonsils, allergic inflammation? I'm not a doctor, but a consult with your family physician might be able to rule this in or out. It's especially something to think about if your throat seems to close as you inhale.

The other more likely one is that you've taken something someone has told you or something you've read, and tried too hard to apply it. "Keep an open throat" is one that's often misapplied. Trying consciously to pull the throat to "open" more often results in tightening muscles that should be relaxed. In addition the resulting harder surfaces can interfere with resonance. Trying consciously to lower the tongue can, *if overdone,* actually end up closing the pharyngeal area because the back of the tongue will rise when the middle part is pulled lower in an effort to produce more opening.

The solution, if this is actually the cause, is to keep your mouth, tongue and "throat" in a natural position, emulating the way everything feels when you speak. You could try, as I suggested, singing something before you play it and try to replicate the sensations. Or you could try consciously to sing with the same feeling of tension you're experiencing with the clarinet. If you could do that, you might come closer to figuring out what you're doing to cause it when you play.

In case over-exertion in your lips and jaw are contributing to some sort of echo effect of tension in your airway, you might experiment for short periods of time with a double lip embouchure. That approach automatically reduces jaw clenching and raises the soft palate slightly and could give you the space inside your mouth that you're now trying to produce by "opening your throat." Keep everything else relaxed and natural.

In this exchange you haven't mentioned a teacher or any advice you've gotten from one. Solving this kind of problem can really be easier with a knowledgeable, experienced teacher reacting in real time to the result of any changes you try to make. A good teacher may also have specific exercises to recommend that will help move you away from whatever is causing the problem.

Assuming there's no physical explanation for this, the bottom line approach will not be to *do something* - to add any kind of technique on top of what you're already doing. It will instead involve *not doing something* - removing some bit of counterproductive technique that's causing unwanted tension and interfering with free air flow.

Karl

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