just
copied over my post about this video from facebook to here....
I
don't understand why it says in the caption that the tremors have disappeared
after treatment. Even though this man has come a long ways in recovery, I can
tell he is definitely still having involuntary muscle contractions around his
embouchure at the end of the video. It hurts to watch, because I can see (and
know what it feels like) he's using all of the muscle strength he has to keep
his endurance up and to lock the notes in place.
I
also wish that in these videos they would play something more melodic in the
middle/low range with held notes. Something legato and smooth. Scales and
arpeggios are hard to play while having dystonia, but sometimes playing them
faster makes it easier and doable. However, anything in the middle register
that contains larger interval gaps (especially at a slower tempo), and holding
long notes out are almost impossible. If someone played Pictures at an
Exhibition excerpt, or even held out a long tone on a low G or middle C for 10
seconds, I could tell if they were still having involuntary contractions or
not...I could tell if they were fully recovered or not.
I
always get so much crap for complaining about how Fabra's videos are deceptive
of ones recovery, because it doesn't show all aspects of the persons playing.
But I have also heard similar observations from other instrumentalists as well
who watch the other instrumental recovery posts that he has posted. It's true
he's made progress, and I'm sure he's very happy and hopeful, but I can tell
he's not fully recovered...or as Fabra likes to say "cured." That's
what I dislike/detest about it most, is that he is deceptive in the way he
promotes his so-called "cure" or even suggests that there is a cure
to dystonia...his cure, and that's all. There are many other reasons Fabra rubs
me the wrong way, but I could write a whole book over it. I'm glad he helps
others, but I don't trust his intentions, the way he handles his business, or
how he treats those who don't recovery under his guidance in which he gave
false hope.
Katie, often when I watch Fabra's (and some others') videos that before and after I nterpret the "cure" as simply getting better at playing "wrong" (or at least what I personally interpret as wrong), not making the needed corrections. What I see with that particular horn player looks like embouchure type switching and an overly loose embouchure formation to start with - in both the before and after. Personally, I would have liked to see a more firm embouchure formation corrected first (particularly in the area around the mouth corners), then see a definite embouchure type exhibited to feel a real cure has taken place.
ReplyDeleteThen again, I could be all wrong. It's awfully hard to diagnose embouchure issues in person, let alone speculate like this online.
Dave
Hey David! I agree, it looks abnormal and I can tell it feels not stable because there are contractions still happening in his larger movements. It's like one of my professors referred to as the "looks like someone chewing a huge pile of gum" vs someone who "looks like their embouchure is stabilized." When I first started experiencing loss of control in larger interval gaps, that's exactly what it looked like at near the end of this video....still shaky visually even if not audible. I sounded okay to others and no one could tell I was struggling if they listened, but I felt such noticeable changes in my face and began to see them gradually worsen with time..
ReplyDeleteI think to classify it as a full recovery, it cannot be based on only the persons improved playing, but by their embouchure characteristics too, and all areas of playing should feel 100% normal or natural again to the player.