Focal Dystonia Discussion

[MaryAnn]

Donn, I think you understand it. Is it really possible that all those activities I have tried to learn, that others learned just fine from the same teachers, had bad instruction, or I had managed to have bad mechanics? No, it is the way I go about learning and doing physical things, and yes it IS my "fault" if you want to label it that. Trying to change they way I focus on physical activities the way Jan has instructed is damn hard. Go read Dave Vining's material if you want to know how much he had to put into it. At 67, I just don't have the will power to put that kind of effort into changing how my brain works; if I had had Jan available 12 years ago when this started, I might very well have had the energy to do it. I do know that when I manage to focus properly, all symptoms simply disappear. On/off like flipping a switch; I can even demonstrate, and my lip tremors even when I free buzz. If I focus on my chops, mayhem ensues, and if I focus on the airstream or even the notes on the page, everything functions as it should. The same story can be heard from the 300 people that Jan has fixed. Embouchure problems and focal dystonia are not the same thing.

[Doug Elliott]

MaryAnn, I would love to have a quick look at what you're doing by Skype if you are able to do that.

[Doug Elliott]

The assumption is playing an instrument is natural to the body and it really isn't. If it isn't natural then how can there be a right way for everything? What's correct for one person may not be for the other, including embouchure. Yes you can try a different "better" way but it may not be the "right" way for everyone.

Exactly. I guess I didn't make that clear in my previous posts... I tend to assume people know that's how I teach, since Dave Wilkin's videos are so widely known and I'm the one who taught him about it.

[imperialbari]

A shoe-shining clinic?

[roweenie]

There's certainly a wealth of expertise, here.
Perhaps we should all join forces and open up a clinic.

"Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard....."


"For Duty and Humanity!"

[MaryAnn]

MaryAnn, I would love to have a quick look at what you're doing by Skype if you are able to do that.

I'd be happy to do that. I'm currently taking a break from the horn, having had two different flu bugs in the last few weeks. I'll PM you when I think I'm up to it. If you can fix this with a simple embouchure change, it would be very interesting.

[timothy42b]

MaryAnn, I would love to have a quick look at what you're doing by Skype if you are able to do that.

I'd be happy to do that. I'm currently taking a break from the horn, having had two different flu bugs in the last few weeks. I'll PM you when I think I'm up to it. If you can fix this with a simple embouchure change, it would be very interesting.

I could be misinterpreting but it seems like the two approaches discussed are not that far apart.

Doug tries to teach a new set of proper embouchure mechanic habits.

Jan and Laurie do the same thing. Their approach is different. If I understand correctly, they avoid talking about mechanics and rely on working relaxation and the body's goal responses, hoping for a natural eventual correct playing. I'm guessing, I haven't met either. I have met Doug and taken lessons. He is going to be a bit more prescriptive in what mechanics they should be using.

But in each case the end result is a retraining, is it not? A new set of mental and physical habits?

In neither approach is there any direct neurological intervention.

[Donn]

Seems like kind of a stretch. The interesting difference is that new embouchure habits are called for when (and only when) there's something wrong with the current embouchure habits, and also that this is the obvious first thing you'd think anyone with a performance issue would try. From the way MaryAnn describes the technique she learned, an embouchure change would be the last thing that would help, due to the initial requirement for conscious focus.

[Doug Elliott]

I could be misinterpreting but it seems like the two approaches discussed are not that far apart.
Doug tries to teach a new set of proper embouchure mechanic habits.

Jan and Laurie do the same thing.

I don't think so at all.
I have been told that my approach is much more similar to Joaquin Fabra's, who I believe is very highly respected in this field.

From this website: http://www.focaldystonia.co.uk/#/joaqui ... 4562942930" target="_blank"

Joaquin Fabra is a trombonist/euphoniumist who was stuck with focal dystonia many years ago, and managed to rehabilitate himself completely. Fabra believes that focal dystonia is a behavioural disorder and not a neurological one, and should be treated as such. For the last twenty years he has been treating other musicians, without the use of medication or splints.
His methods have been seen as controversial by some within the medical community, and the focus of many arguments in FD forums.

I am not alone in that opinion.

edit: After watching the video of Fabra attached to that website, it does look like his approach is similar in many ways to Jan's. And I use those same techniques. However, for over 40 years now I have studied how all of the different embouchure types function, and I diagnose what's both right and wrong about a student's playing in that context. The result is to simplify the process of playing into the specific techniques that are most effective for the individual. Like Jan's approach, it's all about building on small successes.

[Doug Elliott]

Analysis, when you have no idea what you're looking for or why, does indeed cause frustration and no good results.

Analysis when you DO know what you're looking for and why, is informative and can lead to improving the process.

I'm not asking anyone to analyze what they don't understand. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and most players who try to analyze their own problems get it wrong.

[Donn]

[ re neurosis ]
a completely plausible and universally understandable condition, the term which (completely predictably as most things of this sort have been replaced with Newspeak terms) has been banished from the psychiatric lexicon

You might be cheered to hear that electroconvulsive therapy is back, speaking of psychiatric ideas from the past. Might be something to investigate, for fans of old school traditional psychiatry who are dealing with FD. Also, in China they use it to treat Internet addiction, that's new of course.