Oh dear, I've playing for 40 minutes tonight in a concert and I've woken up this morning feeling awful. I've got a horrid cold, nearly no voice and a nasty cough. I'm meant to be playing a clarinet solo for 20 minutes and soprano sax in a sax quartet for 20 minutes. I don't know what to do.

My boyfriend has said he can do a piano solo in my clarinet slot, which is great, but I really want to play as I don't normally have enough guts to do concerts and I was actually ready for this one! My problem is the quartet. I know I'll start coughing in the middle and I'm the one with the main tune as I'm the soprano. There is no one elso I know who plays soprano that could do it.

WHAT DO I DO - HELP!

argh drat! is there no chance that u might feel better later on, take lots of tablets!
can none of the other saxophonists switch to soprano just for this performance?

Yep, I'm on the tablets!!! It's not that I feel too ill to play, it's that when I take a deep breath I start coughing - not too useful as a wind player!
Unfortunately no one has ever played a soprano before in my group, so I couldn't swap and do a lesser part on the alto. Plus my parts are quite hard and need practice beforehand.

It's just very frustrating

(oh btw Nat, I'm doing the Vaughan Williams "Six Folk Songs" - they're gorgeous, I'm sure you'd love them - look very easy but actually quite hard to control and very exposed!)

well give the tablets some time to work! if your boyfriend can do the piano solo in place of ur clarinet one, thats less work so maybe u might be ok if u just do the sax one, i dunno!

ill have a look at those folk songs!

hope you feel better, and let us all know if you play or not and *cough* how is goes *cough*!LOL sorry couldnt help it!!!

just take some tablets...drink plenty of water...then go to sleep for a while....also, take a shower....

Blow your nose lots ,don't talk or sing lots coz it'l make your throat worse, drink some water and take an inhaler if you have one! I have a cough and I played my clarinet for 3 hours on thursday night, bad move, I coughed all that night! Doin all those seemed to help me though!

I would definatly give it a go.I was in a very similar position last term playing the same instrument as it happens.You will be surprised at how well you body adapts to the situation,i had been couging terribly but as soon as i got on stage it was fine.Try to take more shallow breaths rather than deep ones from the diaphram and have a glass of water to hand.

Good luck i am sure you will manage.

QUOTE (Appassionata @ Oct 2 2004, 10:30 AM)

I'm doing the Vaughan Williams "Six Folk Songs"

Hey, fantastic - these were my special favourites when I played clarinet - now I try & play the piano parts instead!

Good luck for tonight - hope you can play those pieces.

Jen

I did it! My solos went quite well actually. I didn't feel nervous as I felt so bad which I think really helped my playing - only one really small mistake and that was all. By the sax quartet I really didn't feel that great and in one piece really needed to cough but luckily it was masked by the drums!

Glad i played though - thanks for everyone's advice. Don't have a voice at all this morning so it will be a quiet day for everyone in my house!

Well done - adrenaline is a wonderful thing isn't it!

Now you know that you can still perform well even if you are feeling ill, I hope you do lots more.

Well done Appassionata, I hope your feeling better this morning! I'm not lol! I would say I think I've caught what you have but I've never met you so its unlikely! I play in soprano in a sax quartet too! Where did you get the Vaughn Wiliams music from?

Well done!! I hope you feel better today!

Well done! I hope you feel better soon!

I am feeling better thanks - despite sounding worse!

LittleAnna - The Vaughan Williams Music can be bought in any good music shop - or ordered online. Try www.musicroom.com or www.juneemerson.co.uk (I think) - this site is better as it has arrangements for all instruments for these pieces although you have to pay P&P. The correct title is "Six Studies from English Folk Songs" originally written for cello.

well done...you must be exhauste...now just get some sleep and don't worry about anything.... get well soon...

ps: i'm suffering from a bad cold and i still have to sing as loudly (in tune, of course) as possible..... the people in the choir doesn't make a sound....

Glad the concert went fine... hope you feel better soon.

yay glad it went brill! now get some rest!

I always think that is a sign of a good musician - when things are against you, you go ahead and do it anyway. For me that is the real musician coming out of you. Absolutely marvellous Appassionata, well done. Hope you have had a chance to get some rest.

Craig

QUOTE (sutty_73 @ Oct 3 2004, 06:56 PM)

I always think that is a sign of a good musician - when things are against you, you go ahead and do it anyway.

i agree... even when i have a cold....i still can sing...i will try my best.... i won't stop laughing....