RE: Who Nose?

["MLeFree" <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

paul-harker wrote:
> I have been having difficulties with my lungs filling on draws,
> and hit-or-miss bends. Last night I figured out why. If I am
> congested I do fine. But when the nasal highway is clear, I can't
> seem to keep air from drawing in through my nose.
>
> I pinched my nose, and it was like magic -- bends and tone and...
> well, it was quite a difference.
>
> I have no problem on blows, just draws. If I start a slow draw
> sans harp, then restrict the air flow further, I can hear and
> feel the air leak.
>
> To complicate matters, I have a disorder (now mostly under
> control) that attacks muscles, and a few years ago it did a
> pretty darn good job of trashing my throat muscles to the point I
> could barely talk or swallow. If I drank water, it came out my
> nose as the muscles couldn't keep it from going where it shouldn't.
>
> So I'm not sure if my problem with draws is "normal", or a fond
> reminder of the muscle damage. And either way, what can I do to
> help correct it?
>
> Paul

That's a bummer about your medical condition; it may well be the root of
your problem.  Can you swim underwater?  Can you drink through a straw?
These require the ability to close your nose at your nasopharynx (behind
your soft palate).  If you condition isn't outright preventing you from
closing your nasal airways, you might benefit from learning circular
breathing.  Circular breathing, in case you didn't know, is what didgeridoo
players use to produce continual output in their playing.  Some horn and
harp players use it as a "trick" to play a note indefinitely.  It forces you
to exercise and learn to control your nasopahynx.  You exhale until you run
out of air and then you expell air you've trapped in your mouth to continue
the exhale while you inhale to fill you lungs for the next cycle.  I can
send you some articles about it off-list if you are interested.  Pat Missin
has an article about it on his web site, too.:

http://www.patmissin.com/uncommon/uncommon04.html

Good luck,

Michelle