My Experience with Dystonia
I suffered from a performance disorder for nearly 5 years. It made me unable to turn around my air to start a note, and tightness in my chest and throat. Having completely retrained my playing (with lots of help), I have since dedicated myself to helping others with performance disorders
Research
I have conducted the largest study of this performance disorder (sometimes called "valsalva maneuver" or musical stuttering) to date. The results provide the most accurate understanding of this disorder. You can find out more about this disorder, or my other research into musculoskeletal pain in the Research section.
Pedagogy & Help
Whether you're dealing with the disorder I had, embouchure problems in general, or anything else, I believe that I can help. Regardless of your struggle, I would really like to hear from you. Most importantly, we can talk about your issues and the science behind your problem and its solution.
What Disorder Did I have?
That's a difficult question to answer. The problem doesn't have a recognized name, and it doesn't have a formal classification. It's been called "valsalva maneuver" and "musical stuttering". However, there are some inaccuracies with each of those names. What I do know is that it's characterized by a "locking up" that causes the first note to be delayed, explosive, or repeated; as well as tension in the chest and throat. A recent study I conducted also suggests this problem is a unique form of musician's dystonia.
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I realize that it might be scary to read that your problem is a type of musician's dystonia. While MD is serious, that doesn't necessarily mean you're struggling with it. Performance disorders are a spectrum of motor disruptions. Most importantly, they are reversible! My experience being retrained, and my research into performance disorders and brass pedagogy, give me a unique level of experience to help musicians struggling with their playing.
What is Musician's Dystonia?
There's a lot of mystery around the term "dystonia" for musicians. Most just know it's something that can end careers, but don't know how or why. It also carries a great deal of stigma, causing those affected by it to hide their problem until it's progressed too far for easy treatments. For the sake of the health of all musicians, it's important that we feel comfortable talking about it.
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Musician's Dystonia is a neurological disorder that affects a musician's ability to control their movements during performance. It causes uncontrollable muscle contractions and/or tremors. The most well-known types of dystonia are hand dystonia and embouchure dystonia. It is task-specific, meaning it commonly only happens during playing; sometimes only during certain types of musical situations (high playing, low playing, soft playing, etc).​ Problems commonly start as minor disruptions, but are capable of worsening into a severe performance disorder.
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It can affect all types of musicians, but is most common in the classically trained. Notable musicians afflicted with dystonia are Leon Fleischer, Alex Klein, and Philip Smith. While embouchure and hand dystonia are the most well-known forms of musician's dystonia, evidence from my study suggests there is a third type of dystonia that affects a wind musician's ability to start a first note, causing a "locking up" right at the point of initiating tone. This disorder has been called "valsalva maneuver" and "musical stuttering", but does not yet have a formalized name.
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What I'm Working on Now
Playing: I've been working on getting an easier tone production. The struggle is balancing a lighter sound without it getting sloppy or too bright. I'm particularly working on getting it smooth and "effortless" between pedal F and low F.
Rep:
- Movement 1 of Etoile Des Profondeurs, by Jerome Naulais
-I-35 for solo bass trombone, by carl Lundgren
- Brad Edwards' "Lip Slur Melodies"
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