Yesterday I decided I would attempt to play my flute. I knew it would be a long shot considering I cannot pull a face without my face going to spasm, and I cannot hold things in my right hand without it going into a spasm. However I had read an article about music helping some people with dystonia and I figured there would be no harm in trying. After carefully practising holding the flute so that I was not supporting it at all with my right hand I gave it ago.
I started off by trying to play my scales. I soon realised that as long as I avoided playing notes in the higher register then my face took longer to spasm. I presume I must alter slightly my lip positions when I played the higher notes and this must be what caused the spasm. I carried on playing and my hand only went into spasm when I played two of the lower notes. I figure that I must have put some pressure on my right hand with these two notes, so I made a mental note to avoid playing those two. I then moved onto playing some basic pieces, avoiding the notes that I knew would set a spasm off immediately. In the end I was managing to play about a page before my face went into a spasm.
I am so happy! I never thought I would be able to play my flute again! It does not matter that I can only play certain notes, it is better than not being able to play at all. I am going to try and practise my flute every day in the hope that I may eventually be able to play more and more before I spasm. I do not know if it will work but it is worth a try!!!
🙂
Dystonia and Me 