Bruce Hembd posted an amazing video of Helene Tomböck playing the Long Call in the 9th month of her pregnancy:
The subject of Playing/Singing During/After Pregnancy is one that has gone around before, but it bears repeating. Back in the days before YouTube, I kept right on playing through my pregnancy, to the delight of my OB/GYN, who thought it could do nothing but improve my breathing and tone muscles for the event to come. The only difficulty I really experienced was finding "prego" concert black options and where to rest my bell! I played principal on Overture to Die Meistersinger with the university orchestra eight hours before going into labor, 6th or 7th horn (can't remember) in Mahler 2 with Youngstown Symphony four weeks after delivering, and my master's recital a month after that.
Mommies of the horn world, what was your experience?
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6 months ago
My pregnancy experience while horn playing was simply awful! Horn playing got really, really difficult for me. Swollen lips, loss of lung capacity- it was a nightmare. It got so bad I actually stopped playing 1st horn for the last 3 months or so, and instead played 3rd horn and assistant. My section was fortunately very understanding. To each their own, I guess.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Julia!
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it seems every horn mommy's experience has been very different. Variables seem to include height (I'm 5' 11"), age (I was 22 when I had my son), and physicality (Jean Rife wrote an extensive response concerning her yoga practice and its effect in the original discussion at http://www.hornplayer.net/archive/a264.html).
I was playing in an Air Force band during my first pregnancy. Playing marches really bothered me at the end - I felt like my head was going to explode. I lost a lot of lung capacity (I'm 5'1"). During my second pregnancy, I split the muscles down the middle of my stomach (that's a usually permanent condition called distasis recti). I have recently (almost 2 years post partum) been to a physical therapist to get exercises to re-strenghten my core. Before starting these exercises, I felt a real lack of power while playing (and back pain if I had to play while standing).
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