Hi,
I am wondering whether anyone has any ideas. Generally, when I am tired in the evenings, whenever I play the pieces, it hurts my head, as if something is pressurising it. It's not every evening, but when that happens, I can only play for about 10 minutes. It happened again tonight, when I really need to be practicing for my Grade 8. Any ideas what I can do?
Nicki

It happens to me occasionally. I think its the physical effort of blowing into the instrument that does it, so perhaps you could try practicing the fingering of difficult sections, without actually playing them? Or, don't practice when you're tired.

Well...often I don't realise I am tired until I play, and for things like scales I really need to hear myself.

All sorts of things can cause headaches and if they persist, I do strongly recommend seeing your doctor. Tiredness in itself can cause such problems - but it's worth getting checked up and maybe getting some appropriate pain relief if needs be.

You could get lots of ideas what might be wrong from us all but your doctor is the place to start if this is becoming a persistent problem. Most of us on the forums are not doctors I guess, so do go to those who are.

Hope you get sorted soon.

Take care
Oboist

Hi

Well the pain doesn't last, it stops when I stop playing thankfully. But it's not like a headache that you get if you're dehydrated or something, it feels completely different.

I often get headaches when I play at home, never at orchestra or school though. Maybe it's not resonant enough and is a bit close and loud if you're playing in a small carpeted room.

No, my room's quite large...and generally I am not as tired at school or orchestra

I'm not sure if it's the same thing but occasionally i've had headpains in lessons and came pretty close to fainting. My teacher at the time told me to lower my head to around knee level and after a while i was able to start playing again without any problems. I'm not entirely sure what the problem was i think it might have involved breathing? I'm afraid in my case it was always curing the symptoms rather than the cause.

Eeek, well I definitely don't feel like I am going to faint - I tend to stop as soon as it comes.

Have you been practising more and later recently because of the exam? If so, did the pain coincide with doing that? I think there's a strong chance the pain is caused by tension of some sort and perhaps related to posture. If you have the possibility of practising in front of a full-length mirror it could be helpful to keep checking how you look when you are playing. You may be able to pick up differences between how you look when you are and are not tired. Perhaps there's a slight change in the angle of your head? As a general principle, I think "If it hurts, stop!" is probably a good one in this context.

Do you know about Alexander training? Alexander was a public speaker who had problems with losing his voice. By looking at himself in a mirror he discovered that he changed his posture when he started to speak, and was able to modify what he did. My understanding is that an Alexander teacher helps people to be aware of using only the muscles they need for the job in hand and to balance their bodies. If the pain only happens when you are playing it's unlikely to be a problem that needs a conventional medical solution and I certainly wouldn't recommend taking pain-killers for it, as they won't help you to find the cause.

Hi nicki
About your headaches, i think you should try some experiments on yourself.
Have you always suffered these pains or is it a new thing ?
do you still get the pain when you play piano or pianissimo ?
does the pain increase with the volume level you play ?
do you think it's stress related ?
Is your jaw relaxed at all times ?
Are you scrunching up your eyebrows on difficult passages or when you play high notes ?
Is your neck tense ?
Do you wear glasses ?, do you think it might be reading the music that's causing it ?

To be honest, if this is a new thing that's affecting you then it's probably stress - think about getting some alexander technique guidance for relaxation. Also consider going to your doctor please and the other thing that's crossed my mind is that it might be a sinus problem.

Anyway, i hope it soon goes away .........

It's possible that it's the time of year when everyone picks up colds and viral infections and your sinuses are congested - blowing will increase the pressure and it will hurt. I remember flying once when I had a low grade sinus infection and it was extremely painful. If you bend your head down towards your feet do you feel any pain or throbbing around the face? It could even feel like toothache?

No - it's not just happened during the run up to my exam. I'd say it's been happening in the past few months, but I've noticed it especially more frequently probably since September. It doesn't happen ALL the time I play the flute. I'll do the mirror thing though. I have heard about Alexander technique though never seen any/been taught any


1. I've not had them since I first startd playing, but now every 2 weeks or so I get them, and probably more since September. They stop when I stop playing.
2. Yes, but only if it already hurts, not generally.
3. Not sure, but the pain is consistent
4. If it's to do with me then probably
5. I am not sure
6. No - it's on any note, it's not a general thing
7. Unsure
8. Yes, but only for driving.

I don't think it is a sinus problem, I don't have any other symptoms


I don't think it is a sinus thing. I'm just so tired recently, and probably feel a bit rubbish because I am stressed. When I bend my head it is fine

I got headaches when I play when I'm tired, and it tends to be on long sustained passages. My teacher says it's because when you are tired, you brain asks for more oxygen than it normally would in order for it to function properly, and so when you play, you are using some of the oxygen that you brain would otherwise have had, and so it starts to hurt. I don't know if it's true or not, it's just her theory, but it works for me. I have to have a rest before I can even pick up my clarinet at the moment or else I'm shattered.

I used to get migraine attacks quite frequently and whenever I played the flute, it triggered another. Maybe due to breathing and not getting enough oxygen? Anyway, migraine tablets stopped it, so maybe it's tension, particularly if you're worried about your grade 8 and A levels. Try to take a step back and think positively that you can do it, because the more you worry about the headache and not being able to practise, the worse it'll get!

And those who are medical practitioners know better than to dispense advice on the basis of someone's forum post....

we'd be quackers to do so...