 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MGT91123
Date: 2013-02-02 17:00
I've had a cold and a sore throat now for 4 days. Haven't practiced in 7 days. Should I try? My instructor says too, but I don't want to push it, or disobey her.
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Author: William
Date: 2013-02-02 17:39
I've played sax and clarinet on many three hour combo gigs with a pesky fever and when I could hardly speak nor breath through my nose. Thank [fill in blank] for Sudfed, although this is meant to be encouragement for "toughing it out" rather than a product endorsement. In spite of how you really feel, it is possible to do meaningful practice--or performance--while suffering a cold. However, I would draw the line with pnemonia or influenza. Play'n sick all depends on how much you want to, need to--or how much you are being paid.....lol
Drink plenty of non-alcy fluids, take some asprin and get well soon...good luck.
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Author: MSK
Date: 2013-02-02 17:58
Given that a cold lasts a week and that the average adult gets 3 colds a year. (Children get more). That could be a lot of missed rehearsal time. Personally, if I'm well enough for work or school (i.e. no fever, not on antibiotics etc) I still practice, but less intensely and for shorter duration.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2013-02-02 19:48
If you have the energy to play, I don't think there's any reason not to. If you're too tired to practice productively then you're just as well off not playing and starting possible bad habits.
If you have a paid gig or even an unpaid major event coming up that you're committed to, you just have to find the energy somewhere.
If you're so sick you can't stand up without having bad things happen, disregard all of that and wait until you feel better.
Karl
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2013-02-03 13:56
Practicing with a cold -- yeah, sure, if it's feasible. But bear in mind that when you play in public or rehearse in a group, you're likely to come into fairly close contact with some people and expose them to the bug. I think about that these days, because my mom-in-law and dad-in-law, who are 88 and 93, recently moved into my neighborhood. My husband and I spend a lot of time with them, but there's no way in the world we'd go near them with a cold unless it was absolutely necessary, and then we'd wear surgical masks. That wouldn't work too well for playing a clarinet!
I wish people would stay home when they're sick. Out in public, I have no way of knowing whether the cashier in the grocery store or the person sitting next to me on the city bus might have a compromised immune system. The head cold that's a minor nuiisance to me could endanger someone I happen to breathe on.
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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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2013-02-03 14:58
I have a cold bad enough that it kept me home from work, and I hardly ever take sick leave from work.
Yesterday, feeling not much better, I played an orchestra concert in the afternoon and a 4-hour rock band gig in the evening.
I'm still alive today to talk about it. I am not Superman, nor do I play him on TV. A cold is no big deal, ignore it and play.
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Author: bethmhil
Date: 2013-02-04 00:45
I have been plagued by chronic sinus infections since I was a little kid, so let me offer a few words of advice:
Especially if you have (mild amounts of) mucus in your lungs, playing any wind instrument can actually be very beneficial. Playing forces you to breathe much deeper than you normally would-- this helps to loosen up a lot of the built up mucus in the bronchi... think of it as an all-natural expectorant!
But... be careful when your throat is very sore and you have a lot of pressure in your ears and sinuses. Don't force yourself to "play through the pain", because in addition to irritating everything further, this can possibly do damage. I understand the importance of work & school, but there can be serious implications.
About a year ago, I came down with a really nasty virus three days before a wind symphony concert... In addition to a high fever, the sinus infection was almost unbearable. My ears had been completely plugged up since the bug hit... I was playing a really loud, low bass clarinet line during the concert when both my ears popped quite violently. I was physically ill from the pain and the dizziness. A few weeks later, the virus finally was gone, but my ears still felt congested, and one ear was even "ringing" off and on. I went to an ENT specialist. He checked both my ears, and determined that I had actually done some damage to the eustachian tube in the ear that was ringing. Treatment was nothing major, but it was a scary experience nonetheless.
BMH
Illinois State University, BME and BM Performance
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