As an alternative, you could suck on an old completely zinc-ed Porsche or Benz, perhaps.
#################################################### Am 04.05.2011 um 14:49 schrieb Milton Kicklighter: > Well I started my Zinc yesterday. :) It surely can't hurt, and as I am > retired, if the shake doesn't stop, then I > will just "console" myself with a couple of extra shots of good old "Jack". > > I am being a little tongue in cheek, but there are some maladies that have > cropped up in the last few years with > brass players that require a little more thought as to the cause. I know I > did not see a case of lip.. neck.. whatever > dystonia in the first thirty five years of my career. And during the years > of Lucas Foss, we played some pretty > loud lip..destroying music. And in the last six years I have seen three > wonderful bone players develop embouchure > dystonia. Yes!!! it could be because of the "macho" approach to brass > playing that has been the norm for the last > number of years. It could be any number of things. But what if???? it can > also be related to something like > to much or to little of something in the body?? How about the lead poisoning > that no one new much about many years ago? > I do know that with my shake there was never a definite and clear diagnose as > to the cause. > It was just observational. I know I have never been a great horn player, but > I have always been careful with my > practice and when it came to the really loud playing.... which I couldn't do > anyway... I have always been an advocate > of the "Phil Farkas Method" close up your throat and make your face really > red, and the conductor will think > you are playing louder. :) > > I know there are always issues with our approach to playing the horn. Some > practice to much; some not enough; some the > wrong way. It is amazing how many kids come to me and don't have the > slightest idea how to breath correctly, and certainly > have to most incredible embouchure's. But in the environment we live in to > day, I think we should be open to looking at > the possibility of other causes when we start to experience problems with our > playing that seemed to "just appear" Of coarse > getting older brings its on "stuff", and there is not always much we can do > about that. > > Just a thought > > > > > > > Milton > Milton Kicklighter > 4th Horn Buffalo Philharmonic > Retired > > From: valerie wells <[email protected]> >> To: horn list 2 memphis <[email protected]> >> Sent: Wednesday, May 4, 2011 12:41 AM >> Subject: Re: [Hornlist] unwanted vibrato >> >>> Isn't there a hair test that can find if you have too much copper in your >> system?< >> >> I've looked into the hair test thing, but there's considerable disagreement >> about whether the results accurately reflect the copper/zinc ratio in the >> body. (Some claim hair color effects the results.) There's a zinc taste >> test (the ZTT) to test zinc levels that was used in the earlier 20th >> century, but it's not 100% reliable either. Otherwise there aren't many >> reliable lab tests to assess zinc levels. There is a test for accumulated >> copper in a blood protein, but interpreting the results can be tricky. >> Besides that, I doubt the tiny elevations that might possibly trigger a >> focal dystonia are even measurable. (That's my personal opinion, but I >> really can't say if this is true or not.) >> >> Someone (I think Hans) mentioned verifying questionable information in >> books. Good idea. I have in my hot little hands my personal copy of "Lange >> Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment" which describes a disease caused by >> the accumulation of copper in the body. This disease, Wilson's, can cause >> severe dystonia, often in the neck. It is treated with zinc supplements to >> assist in elimination of the excess copper. This disease is very rare, but >> it is estimated that about one in 100 people carry one or more of the genes >> from a cluster of genes that can cause this disease. The researcher I'm >> acquainted with believes that those who carry a few of the genes, will never >> get full blown Wilson's, but may develop a mild form of this disease if >> exposed to excess copper from their diet or environment (such as copper >> pipes, brass instruments or copper containing supplements). She believes >> some cases of embouchure dystonia may actually be a "forme >> fruste"**presentation of Wilson's. She has studied subjects (I >> mentioned the >> plumber) who had some of the neurological symptoms of Wilson's, lacked >> sufficient diagnostic criteria for a complete diagnosis, yet whose symptoms >> were relieved with zinc supplementation. >> >> I only share this to let you know that my "wacky" ideas do have a basis in >> established medical knowledge and practice. >> >> Like I said before, I'm not recommending anything other than an open mind >> that's willing to learn something new. >> -- >> Valerie Wells >> The Balanced Embouchure Method >> http://bebabe.wordpress.com/ >> http://www.beforhorn.blogspot.com/ >> _______________________________________________ >> post: [email protected] >> unsubscribe or set options at >> https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/kicklighgter%40yahoo.com >> >> >> > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/hpizka%40me.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
