Re: [Harp-L] Is playing the harp well a health hazard?

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

Overall, I would say that playing harmonica can be more healthy than
non-healthy.  On the non-healthy side is occasional injury (tongue clipped
by a badly seated cover plate, chapped lips, etc.) or germs (if someone
tries sharing your harmonicas without your permission) or the places where
you may play wherein you must experience too much smoke or whatever.  On the
healthy side is the aerobic exercise.  Some players, more than others, get
better exercise out of the instrument, but on the whole, it is a nice
breathing exercise -- and you can combine it relatively easily with other
activities for a greater challenge (walking, stationary bike).

As for hernias?  I have no idea what you would do with a harmonica to create
a hernia without causing yourself extreme discomfort in the process.  Then
again, I can tell you that there are many different ways to create small
abdominal hernias -- many of which do not cause their owners real problems
for a long time and, of which, they are usually unaware.  One common way, as
it turns out, for women to get a small hernia, usually around the
bellybutton, is childbirth.  I have one of these, and I can play lightning
fast, but the hernia has never caused me difficulty -- not even in lifting
equipment or exercising.  It took a doctor's question about it, some 15
years after I acquired it, to make me notice that I even had one.

I know of many harmonica players whose doctors suggested they they work out
on their harmonicas regularly for their health.  Lonnie Glosson (country
blues harmonica player of radio fame some time ago) was confined to a
wheelchair and in his eighties when he told me his doctor told him that as
soon as he quit playing the harmonica, he would probably die, because
playing the harmonica seemed to be the only real aerobic exercise the fellow
seemed to be able to get.  He played his last show at the age of 92.  He
died at 93.

I once made a present of a harmonica to a young lady in junior high school
at the hospital.  She was a severe asthmatic who had a collapsed
lung, and an interest in music.  I explained to the doctor and the girl (and
her parents) what the idea was, and the doctor agreed.  I provided some
basic instruction and information, and the doctor set up a schedule for her
practice and rehabilitation.  Her asthma improved, though it may never go
away.  However, she has done rather well, both in her improvement and on the
instrument.

Everyone is different.  Every player is different.  Perhaps some are more
prone to hernias than others.  However, I would wage that playing harmonica
is, on the whole, more healthful than not.

Cara Cooke
http://harmonica2.tripod.com
http://manchacaallstars.tripod.com



On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 2:52 AM, Abhinav Arora <abhinav.arora@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> On the flipside, blowing harp has helped undo some of the damage I has done
> to my lungs through smoking like a chimney the last few years.. Can breathe
> fuller than ever..
>
> Regards
> Abhinav
> ------Original Message------
> From: Garry
> Sender: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Is playing the harp well a health hazard?
>  Sent: Mar 8, 2011 09:56
>
> i don't know if playing well is a health hazard, but i've been in
> some places where playing badly certainly was...
>
>
> --
> We make a living from what we get,
> but we make a life from what we give.
> - Kathy Moser
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from !DEA
>
>