Focal Dystonia or Type Switching???

[BeboppinFool]

In thinking back to where my chops were (or where they weren't) a year ago it has frequently occurred to me that there is a distinct possibility that all these players who are "diagnosed" with focal dystonia might actually be suffering from what Doc Reinhardt called "Type Switching."

This is only a theory of mine, but I wouldn't be surprised if it weren't more realistic than some might think.

I distinctly remember Doc telling me that nothing will ruin an embouchure more completely than type switching. My downward spiral from mid-2018 through my final descent slightly less than a year ago from that very thing sure would have put an end to anybody's playing career had it not been for the fact that gigs had dried up for everybody for . . . well, too long.

Although I was learning tuba so I could continue playing, and my bass trumpet playing didn't suffer nearly as badly as my trumpet playing, I had actually transitioned into the role of tubist for many local bandleaders. But I'm glad I contacted Doug (he was actually the fourth or fifth Reinhardt student I contacted) and he had the ability to see what was going on with my chops.

I would like to suggest that if you know somebody who is suffering with what they think is Focal Dystonia, you might encourage him (or her) to get a second opinion from Doug Elliott. He (or she) might actually be only Type Switching and Doug might be able to get them back on their feet, too.
_________________
Puttin’ On The Ritz

[Doug Elliott]

That is exactly what I think, and I have known and paid attention to several players who were type switching for years and then were diagnosed with FD by those people who like to diagnose that.

In many cases, players have gotten so frustrated by not understanding what's going on that they are actually happy to just stop playing.

What starts as a pretty simple case of type switching, which would be easily fixed with knowledge of mechanics, becomes a psychological problem that is not easily fixed.

I think every case I've seen is a IIIA playing as a IIIB, or in the case of low brass, doing serious shifting to play low notes. In effect, that's about the same thing.

[Wilktone]

I'm not a medical doctor and I'm not qualified to discuss medical issues. I have, however, asked a couple of neurologists, a general practitioner, and a speech therapist about FD and brass playing. I've also read a number of papers about FD and brass playing (mostly dissertations from players who had been diagnosed). One thing that I can say for sure is that both the medical and musical literature do not consider embouchure types. At the very least, they are an important variable that needs to be addressed, however the state of brass pedagogy still discourages embouchure analysis and so type switching just isn't on their radar.

My understanding is that dystonia is largely diagnosed clinically, meaning that they survey the patients symptoms and if they are severe or numerous enough the patient can be told they have FD. Apparently there are also some specific differences in brain scans among musicians that have been diagnosed with FD compared to musicians without, but that musicians tend to have those differences in general when compared to the general population already (brain scans, as far as I know, aren't a standard process of dystonia diagnosis, this was done as research). I really don't know enough about this to comment, but I find it interesting.

[bg]

Horn players with Focal Dystonia often experience facial nerve symptoms away from playing, including jaw clenching, spasms, grimacing, eye twitching, etc.

I agree that many brass players who believe they have FD do not have it. Type switching seems like a very likely culprit for playing breakdowns which can be misdiagnosed. Many of the players that I have helped through muscle injury recovery have been told they have FD, and have sought help for it when the true cause was minor muscle injury.
_________________
Brad Goode
www.bradgoode.com

[trickg]

I know/knew of a couple of people.

A good friend I served with in the Army band program seems to have a penchant for developing focal dystonia. He decided to abandon playing trumpet in lieu of playing classical guitar, and he ended up developing focal dystonia with that as well. He ended up putting musicianship on the shelf permanently.

Another case I know of is the gentleman who played the trumpet solo on the original "First Blood" movie soundtrack "It's a Long Road" theme.


Link


I'd asked the question on the now-defunct Trumpet Master forum one day if anyone knew who the trumpet player was on that solo. No one really came forward with a concrete answer and I'd forgotten about it. A good bit later I got a PM from the guy (and at this point I can't remember his name) and he said he'd been on that recording session. We chatted back and forth a bit and he'd said that he developed focal dystonia to the point where he took a break from playing for a while hoping it would go away. He came back to playing after a hiatus, but it ended up being a career ender for him.

So personally, I know of two people who ended up ending their musical endeavors because of focal dystonia.
_________________
Patrick Gleason
- Jupiter 1600i, ACB 3C, Warburton 4SVW/Titmus RT2
- Brasspire Unicorn C
- ACB Doubler

"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP

[Chuck MacKinnon]

Following. . . great stuff people. Being typed a IIIA recently has helped me to find my track from lower left to upper right to ascend. The journey continues!