[jcitron]

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...123#post552123

I hope you enjoy the program.

John

[rd42]

Those are wonderful!

You have PD?

[jcitron]

Originally Posted by rd42

Those are wonderful!

You have PD?

Thank you for enjoying the program.

I sure do have it. I have good days and bad ones. It's atypical and affects my arms and feet mostly with some coordination problems in the hands and a slight tremor in my fingers. My gait is weird and I tend to fall backwards. I'm on a ton of sinemet which helps with the mobility. Up to this point, I could barely get out of a chair or move around at all. Kudos to my doctor and all the work she has done.

The other thing too playing the clavichord requires an exact method and concentration on each finger, which is very helpful. If you notice, my playing is slow and methodical. I really can't play a lot of really fast stuff without it falling apart. So knowing my limits helps a lot. I avoid the really fast stuff that I always played before. No more Chopin Scherzos or Beethoven Sonatas. I look more toward the Schubert Impromptus and Mendelssohn's Songs without words for the piano, and slower Bach preludes, fugues, and other Baroque music when playing my clavichord or harpsichord. As much as I love the "big" fast stuff, I have found plenty of the other to entertain myself and others with. Besides this can be just as difficult to play if not moreso because there is a lot that needs to be done to make slow music sound sincere.

My biggest peave is that my trills are slowing down and I can't always repeat notes or play smooth, light and quick arpeggios, which are needed for a lot of music. I have trouble initiating movement when it comes to playing quickly, and this causes those little tiny breaks and hesitations that are really discouraging. I've had my left hand stop in the middle of some repeated movements and have had it wreck things on me.

Anyway, the hesitations in the first video were caused by a lovely mosquito that decided to buzz around my left ear as I played. She was probably in the room the whole night, but as soon as I tried to play for the video, that's when she came at my ear.

What this proves is that even though I have PD, I can do what I love to do. Music is my soul and should I ever lose this, I would most likely kill myself. I'm not just saying this. This is true.

Way before I was first diagnosed and given the medication to help, I got worse and worse, and I got more and more depressed. My doctors suggested I needed "help" and were going to send me to the funny farm when Nieuro No. 1 messed up the report. That's when I went to the Lahey Clinic and this doctor has worked with me. This has made the biggest difference in the world.

I can play again somewhat, but it's not the same. I play with a lot of suspiscion. In other words, I don't have any trust in my hands even with all the practicing I do. I wait for the mistakes to happen, knowing fully well they will in the worst places. Yeah, I know no one is perfect, but the thing is my hands and playing can be very unpredictable to a point where I will no longer play in public. I was offered a very nice paying wedding gig a few months ago, and I turned it down. I didn't want to mess up so bad that I'd make a dork of myself in public.

I do have to admit it's like my soul is being washed away the way salt erodes a statue because what I have today isn't even close to what I had even 3 or 4 years ago, and I thought that was bad.

John

[lindylanka]

Absolutely loved them, John.
Please keep adding more!

Best Wishes
Lindy

[girija]

John,
Wonderful! thanks for sharing with us.
girija

[Chicory]

Very nice, John!

Would you like to see my video of my Renaissance guitar?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk8swaPwp2M

[jcitron]

Originally Posted by Chicory

Very nice, John!

Would you like to see my video of my Renaissance guitar?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk8swaPwp2M

Very nice performance on your Renaissance guitar. What a light sounding instrument. This would be right at home along with the clavichord because of the low volume and sweet tone.

Ah those were the days without all of the extra ambient sound like cars, computers, A/C units and anything else that can hum.

John

[rd42]

Originally Posted by jcitron

... What this proves is that even though I have PD, I can do what I love to do. Music is my soul and should I ever lose this, I would most likely kill myself. I'm not just saying this. This is true.

I have thought the same thing on many occasion, perhaps daily. I'm an amateur musician. I was diagnosed at 30, ironically the same year a got a baby grand piano as a wedding gift and a brand new Martin guitar for my birthday.

34 now, I no longer play the guitar and occassionally play the piano with my hand that works. Stalevo was the last medication I tried but to no avail and have been off meds since April. I would love to play again besides just in my dreams.

Maybe when if i start taking sinemet I will get some relief.

Thank you again for sharing the clavichord pieces.

Robert

[Chicory]

Robert-
I am sorry to hear that the Stalevo did not help you. Stalevo has worked great for me and I now take it along with Requip XL. My advice is to play a little of whatever you can on the piano every day. For me, I find that the more I play, the more I can play. When I don't play as much, I can feel my fingers and arms and shoulders get more stiff. If you play a little every day, you might be able to increase what you can play.

[rd42]

I did try tuning my guitar to an open tuning and playing with a slide it on my lap like Xavier Rudd. Here is his video, it's a touching song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB5KF-oO_NM