[Dixielandjazz] trumpet health question

[Elazar Brandt]

Here's a question I never ran into before. Interesting that it came up at the same time as the brass poisoning question, but brass
poisoning could not be the answer to this one.

I started a trumpet student about 6 months ago who is an adult about 40-50 years old, and never played a wind instrument before. He
had the usual learning curve to get to where he could produce notes on the horn more or less at will, and his range has been
expanding upward normally. He practices usually 15 to 60 minutes daily. He is playing various easy songs in tempo, straining only on
some of the higher notes (above D--he can hit up to G with a lot of effort).

In recent weeks he's been complaining that his throat hurts, not like the sore throat you get with a cold, but, you should pardon
the expression, a pain in the neck, like something is swollen inside. He says his wife is complaining that he's started snoring,
which he didn't do before. He says if he lays off playing for a couple days, it goes away, and when he starts again,. it comes back
about a day after he starts playing.

So I suspected his breathing is not correct, that he's working his upper body and head instead of his diaphragm. We checked this out
and found him breathing from the diaphragm sometimes but not all the time. And I can see his upper body and face working when he is
struggling with the high notes.

I "prescribed" meanwhile that he concentrate on his diaphragm breathing while he is warming up and playing scales, and to stop if he
finds himself breathing from the upper chest. I also suggested he stay within his comfortable range, below the D, for a few days and
see if that changes anything. And I gave him some exercises to do to loosen up his neck and shoulders before and after playing. This
was 2 days ago. I expect to hear from him over the weekend to let me know if there has been some improvement.

Any suggestions?

I had 3 three-week trips abroad this summer one after the other, and we were meeting for a lesson or two in between. I'm afraid this
might have given him the chance to develop some bad habits in my absence.

Thanks in advance for any assistance from you veterans out there.

Elazar
Misrad HaJazz
Doctor Jazz Band
Jerusalem, Israel
<www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz>
Tel: +972-2-679-2537