 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ShazamaPajama
Date: 2009-11-23 01:13
so.. i'm real sick. they have me on really good pain killers cuz i have kidney stone.. blah.
any who. i tried to practece while i was on the medication.. and there is no way i can get a good embouchure. and its just not possible to practice right now.
so my questing for you guys is do you practice when you are sick?
not just with kidney stones, but when you have a cold or chicken pox or anything contagious.
i try to practice a little when i have the flu but i'm always worried i'll get all those germs on my MP and i'll catch it again.
so how long is it safe to go without practice before you start worrying.
-thx
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Author: Brenda ★2017
Date: 2009-11-23 02:20
I don't know about anyone else, but I usually feel so crummy that I don't play clarinet, or cook, or go to work for a few days. Of course things change if a performance is coming up.
Try using several drops of hydrogen peroxide or mouthwash in your reed water to wet your reed before playing. That'll stop the black mold from growing, but it should sufficiently rid your reed of germs as well. The mouthpiece, well a swish in some clean dish water or some other clarinetist-approved solution should do the trick. After all, isn't dish water what you use to keep your dishes clean before you eat off them again? Several times a day, gargling with salt water will help keep the mouth and throat clean of newly respirated germs.
Remember that your immune system is incredible at developing resistance to whatever you got sick with. Reasonable attempts at keeping things clean is usually sufficient.
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-11-23 02:53
I never play when sick. I think practicing when sick might actually do more harm than good, since they always tell you not to practice mistakes.
What I do a lot of when I can't play (even when I'm not sick) is study the printed music without the instrument or even mentally practice the music (go through all the finger motions in my head). I have found it makes my practice sessions with the instrument more efficient, and sometimes it helps me to notice things that I wouldn't necessarily think of if I were actually playing.
I've read that legendary pianist Glenn Gould used to do a lot of his practicing this way--so obviously he must have felt it worked for him, too. There have also been some psychological studies done to determine if mental practice works, and at least some of these have suggested that doing mental practice in addition to physical practice is more effective than physical practice alone.
Sorry to hear about your kidney stone. Those can be quite painful. Hope you feel better soon.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2009-11-23 04:42
The medical advice I've always gotten is that it's unlikely you'll re-infect yourself by leaving the virus on your mouthpiece and reeds - the process of fighting the illness produces antibodies that protect you from a repeat bout of the same thing.
If you are really sick and don't have the energy or are in too much pain to practice, you're probably wasting valuable energy forcing yourself to play. You can often play through a simple cold or stomach virus - it depends on how much energy you have and whether or not you are committed to a job that requires you to play unless you're really bed-ridden. I've certainly played when I was sick, and I'm sure I wasn't at my best, but sometimes you gotta do what you've gotta do if you want to get called for the next concert.
Kidney stones are a whole other animal, though. I've known people who had them (I've so far never experienced them first-hand) and I don't think they'd have been physically able to blow into a clarinet until after the stones had passed.
Karl
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2009-11-23 13:25
I play when I'm sick
BUT I also realize I'm not going to accomplish much of anything as I cannot focus
I also use a softer reed so that i can play and not worry about having the prime embouchure or tone.
And I usually do not attempt difficult technical studies or pieces.
I basically play to have fun
==========
Stephen Sklar
My YouTube Channel of Clarinet Information
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Author: chorusgirl
Date: 2009-11-23 17:59
We just went through this. My son has been preparing for an audition since August, and got sick last week with the flu. He tried valiantly to keep practicing throughout the week, went to the audition, but was still not 100% well. Of course, he didn't make it in, and is devastated. He feels (and I think so too) that if he had been 100%, he'd have had a better shot at it.
So, the life lesson is - stuff (substitute your own word here!) happens. Sometimes, life s*cks. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep going - and try not to get sick next time!
Honestly, I don't know if he helped himself or not trying to practice through being sick, but would be curious to see what others feel about this.
What about auditioning when you are sick? How many have had to do that, and how did it turn out?
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-11-23 19:16
My pesonal take would be to do as little as physically possible while you are sick and/or recovering, and then you will be in better shape to move on once you are recovered.
Jeff
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-11-23 21:37
Whilst, really? I don't think I've heard that word used in years, but then I live a sheltered life. Anyway, I'm the only one that plays my instrument so I'm there playing unless I'm dead. So far so good. Believe it or not but in my 47 years in the BSO I've never missed a service due to being sick. It does seem that string players in our orchestra tend to take off more often when they're sick than wind and brass players, I wonder why? Of course it is better not to spread what you have if your contagious but the "concert must go on". I guess I'm fortunate that I rarely ever get sick. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2009-11-23 22:09
Ed Palanker wrote:
> ... It does
> seem that string players in our orchestra tend to take off more
> often when they're sick than wind and brass players, I wonder
> why? ...
Because woodwinds, brass and percussion are one to a part (at least since Ormandy's generation of conductors). A sub is more exposed and conductors don't like to risk that.
Karl
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