The 2 C’s – Covid and Clarinet
I wanted to share my personal experience with Covid and how it had impacted me greatly. From losing close, dear friends, to almost losing my sister, to battling the virus myself. When I contracted COVID-19, I could hardly walk without feeling winded and fatigue and had other symptoms such as loss of smell and taste. (The later symptoms are a different story all together!)
To me, the breathing was the biggest obstacle that had to get better. What resources did I have to achieve this? My clarinet, of course! I decided to try to practice. That was a feat. I was exhausted after playing a long tone for 15 seconds – no joke! It was difficult and painful. EVERY hour I put my instrument together and kept blowing, as if this was my “medical cure”. I figured I had 10 days of quarantine and wanted to make the use of it. So, I slept a lot, drank healthy smoothies, and blew into my clarinet each day.
After about 4 days, I was able to blow into my clarinet for 6 counts at 60 beats per minute and then breathe in for 4 counts. I did this religiously each waking hour. It was only after 4 days, that I was able to walk down my driveway to get my mail. Eventually, I can say the long tones progressed to etude playing and just enjoying playing again. I can honestly say that during this dreadful pandemic that my best friend was my clarinet!