 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2018-08-02 02:45
A month ago I had surgery to correct a substantial hernia. Now I'm finding that my recovery is not mixing well with clarinet playing, even with lots of time off, greatly reduced playing time, and softer reeds. Muscle strain in the stomach area is a constant hazard and a distracting source of random pain. I met with my surgeon yesterday and he was not very helpful other than to tell me that the actual recovery time may be a year and may never be complete!
In an effort to not get in the way of healing, but still continue to to be able to play and teach I'm looking into set-up possibilities that are low resistance but still support a professional classical sound. From what I know second-hand, experimenting with German mouthpieces or looking into Brad Behn's offerings seem like possible paths. I would appreciate any insight or advice from those with actual experience in such things. At age 49 I'm far from ready to give up! Perhaps when a year has gone by all will be well again, but I can't just hang around and wait.
My current set-up is a Wodkowski custom mouthpiece with a 1.03 tip opening. Before surgery I was using mostly Steuer Exclusive strength 3 reeds. Now it's mostly Legere Signature Euro strength 3 1/2. The resistance is definitely less on these, though not enough and the sound quality is marginal, lacking the color of a good cane reed. If I dare to use cane it's been Silverstein or traditional Vandoren Strength 3 1/2. I play mostly on Yamaha CSVR's. My bass clarinet is not getting any play these days at all....
Anders
Post Edited (2018-08-02 02:50)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-08-02 03:44
Sometimes muscles take longer to heal than broken bones. Take it easy.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: marcia
Date: 2018-08-02 04:16
As a recovery room nurse, I have heard many a surgeon say to hernia patients, no heavy lifting or straining for at least 6 weeks post op. Soft tissue does take a long time to heal.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2018-08-02 04:22
Brad Behn can probably come up with something that focuses well with minimal strain on the supporting ab muscles. Walt Grabner's "Chicago" model with a short, close facing also sounds great without requiring a lot of air or strong muscle support. Among the mass produced mouthpieces, the Vandoren M13 and M13L are not very resistant and are easy to voice. Several orchestral players have used M13L as their main mouthpiece. All of these suggested mouthpieces should work well with nothing stronger than a 3 or 3.5 cane reed.
Behn's Aria reeds are relatively consistent, easy to blow, and resonant.
I had an inguinal hernia operation about 4 years ago, and I laid off playing for about 6 weeks to let the muscles heal. Just walking a few miles a day seemed to keep the diaphragm and supporting muscles reasonably toned until I was ready to blow the instrument again. It took about another month or two of gradually increasing practice time to get it all together again. I was alternating a Behn and a Vandoren M13 then and avoiding overly loud playing or too much time in the altissimo.
Post Edited (2018-08-03 07:16)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-08-02 04:27
The German set-up is completely different and could be helpful to you. In addition to a small tip opening (generally around 0.98mm) the lay is quite long (starting at about 29 mm long, 10mm longer than standard Boehm mouthpieces).
I had been contacted by Bas DeJong of Viotto mouthpieces and was sent an N1 facing with 3 Vandoren German cut 2 1/2 strength reeds. Viotto modifies the tenon of the mouthpiece to work with Boehm. As a lifelong player of #4 Vandorens, thought the 2 1/2 were just a joke. I did eventually try one just to say that I did. In the initial trial I did think it was way too soft. But the next day I recalled that the resultant SOUND was very pleasing and I also recalled being able to achieve a fairly wide dynamic range. So I went back to the set up which led me to a two year experiment that was all very rewarding.
The bottom line with the German set-up as Bas tell it is that you just put the mouthpiece in your mouth and blow. There is no obsession with embouchure in this school of thought anything like what we put ourselves through in the States.
I'd give it a shot if I were you.
http://www.basdejong.com/mouthpieces.php/en
You do have to make some accommodations for pitch (not a perfect acoustic match) but it is doable.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2018-08-02 05:07
At 49, you're a veritable whipper-snapper. There are lots of low-resistance, "easy blowing" or "free blowing" mouthpieces, but not every mouthpiece that claims to be, really is. Haven't played a Behn, though I will pretty soon. Ed Pillinger has a chamber called, oddly enough, "EZ," and it's as advertised. Wouldn't want to speculate on others. But it can have either an open or closed facing and still be either resistant or free blowing. The mouthpiece people here will tell you that there are many factors that can affect that, not just tip opening. I currently play on a free blowing setup, relatively soft reeds, and not a lot of pressure or tension down below, and people seem to like the sound and describe it as "dark" and substantial. I played a German system instrument with a Wurlitzer mouthpiece for years, and don't feel that it was less resistant or easier to play than what I play on now, though it's fair to say that I probably wasn't playing on a setup exactly like what most good German players use. It should also be pointed out that some of the Playnick mouthpieces, which are more Viennese than German, can be quite resistant, and he's very up-front about that. You just have to hunt around and not believe people when they tell you that whatever they've given you to try is the easiest blowing thing around. There really is a setup for you that sounds good and doesn't require a lot of abdominal muscle tension.
Post Edited (2018-08-02 05:12)
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Author: m1964
Date: 2018-08-02 19:23
You may consider using some type of abdominal support- there are elastic belts or possibly a wide leather belt like the ones used by people who do heavy lifting (moving people for example).
No matter which set-up (German or not), blowing creates resistance that has to be overcome using your diaphragm and abdominals.
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2018-08-02 19:50
I just had a partial colectomy done 4/30. I found clarinet playing difficult, but worked my way up to it by playing flute for a few weeks (while in the hospital). When I got home I tried clarinet, and it was a little too much at first. However, I found bass clarinet to be less resistant and helped get me back in shape for clarinet. You might want to give it a try.
I'll also add that playing flute was far more helpful (and fun) than blowing into the inspirometer.
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2018-08-03 01:06
Thank you all very much for your insight and sharing your experiences, particularly those of you who have been through similar things medically. It's encouraging to know you've recovered well with enough time and care.
I think I was given an unrealistic prognosis at the beginning of this process and that I will be able to do well with just a little more patience, research, and some experimentation. I'm looking forward to being able to report my own positive results soon. In retrospect playing that big orchestral concert two week after surgery was probably not a great idea!
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-08-03 02:40
I want to get into this from a different perspective. This is not medical advice, and a doctor's advice is always to be sought and valued in making one's own medical decisions.
I had a hernia repair done last September. It was a "minimally invasive" procedure done by a relatively young surgeon using a laparoscope to guide small instruments and a camera through very small incisions. The procedure, fortunately, was trouble-free. Because there was a minimum of cutting, there was really no recovery once I left the hospital later that same day. More to the point of nellsonic's question, I was able to begin playing clarinet again the next day and played a full rehearsal on the following night. I didn't do this against medical advice - I was told that I could do anything that didn't cause pain or discomfort (he knew I was a clarinetist). Playing didn't cause either.
I don't want to denigrate the traditional surgery. There are patients who aren't good candidates for minimally invasive procedures for any number of reasons, and many surgeons simply find them under-tested and prefer to stay with the ones they've been successful with at least until there's more history to look at. My only reason for bringing it up is to say that someone facing hernia surgery should feel comfortable asking the surgeon if a minimally invasive procedure is available and what is the surgeon's view of its pros and cons.
Karl
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2018-08-03 04:36
Karl - thanks for your perspective. Mine was done with a combination of laparoscopic and traditional. It was too substantial for laparoscopic alone, and the whole naval area had to be reshaped and reconstructed. That area is actually 99% fine now. My issue is muscle strain where the mesh was stitched in, more to the side of the stomach. I was only told the other day that those stitches would take months to dissolve and might be an issue to some degree until then.
I'm glad your procedure went so well!
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Author: Mojo
Date: 2018-08-04 00:03
I would suggest using your current mouthpiece and go softer with reeds. If that is still too much resistance, you probably should not play yet.
MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com
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