I Have Tonsillitis!
I have tonsillitis, yes it's true. With my recent experiences with this ailment, I decided to write a bit on being a musician (or a singer), and what illnesses, or degrees of illness will affect your ability to perform, audition, record, or even practice your music.
For singers, it's pretty obvious what kinds of things will keep you from singing. Obviously any ailment that causes pain to the through or mouth, shortness of breath, or other respiratory problems will prohibit your ability to sing. But, these aren't the only things that may inhibit the practice of your art. Broken bones can often restrict or completely disable your ability to practice. A broken leg will keep you in a leaned back or at least sitting position. This will make it very difficult to seriously practice a piece of music for any kind of musician where posture or pose are essential.
But if you have a sore throat, does that prevent you from being able to practice, or even perform? The short answer is yes, and no.
The last few days have been excruciating. I've had tonsillitis. Second only to strep throat, this extremely painful affliction was difficult to work with. But I didn't just sit around and "vege" while I was sick. I continued to teach my piano lessons, attend my college classes, and practiced with the Symphony Orchestra at our regular rehearsal time.
You're probably thinking, "No way, that's just ridiculous. No one would put themselves through that." Well, I did. For a few reasons. The first, I needed to. I had to keep up with my classes. It was also the first test week, and I didn't want to miss that! I will not settle for anything less than an A, (not that I always meet that mark) but I will always do my best to get there. Second, I didn't know that it was tonsillitis and thought I would just wake up the next morning feeling better, just like any other cold I've ever had. It just kept getting worse, not better.
Put how did I manage to keep performing? How well did I do under those conditions with all of my stuff going on? Some people think tonsillitis (being an infection of your tonsils) only really affects the back of your mouth and throat, and thus wouldn't make a difference in your ability to sit through music theory classes and take notes. This would be true, if it wasn't that every time I swallowed, I felt the most excruciating pain in my throat that I have ever felt. If this isn't distracting enough, my body is going through hot and cold waves. One second overly warm, the next I need a sweater. And finally, I was tired. Dead tired. I could hardly keep my eyes open. My body was spending so much energy fighting the infection, it didn't have much left to give me!
Imagine, your in pain, your exhausted, and uncomfortable, and listening to lecture on scales, pitches and harmonics. Not any easy thing to focus on. You can imagine, orchestra rehearsal didn't go so well for me either. Under the aforementioned conditions, can you see yourself sitting and playing your cello perfectly normally for your 3 hour practice session? NO WAY! Neither can I; neither could I. My performance was extremely limited in ability and skill that evening.
I know this sample leans somewhat to the extreme. On the converse side, you have a minor cold that you get every few months. It's not really a big deal, just a hassle and you proceed as normal. Did you play your best for rehearsal? Probably not. But did you care to play your best at this rehearsal? Maybe not. Did you try to play your best? Only you can know the answer to that one.
Now, for the final thought. Your big performance. You play the oboe, and you have a big solo for a concert with they Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Your feeling a little sick to your stomach, but don't really think about it to much, being more frightened of your performance ahead of you. How does it go? Just fine. You played your part well enough, and you were met by thunderous applause at the end of the piece. But now, you feel really badly. Your constant exertion through the music and your difficult piece drained you of a lot of energy. Energy not able to be used to fend of your illness. In a matter of hours, you have the full-blown flu. Would you have gotten this sick if you hadn't performed? What if you just hadn't thrown so much effort into your music? Everyone is different, and has different tolerance and threshold levels for these sorts of things.
I know this article has included much theory, dramatizing, and general make believe, but I hope it has shed some light on the matter of being sick, and keeping up with your music schedule. Don't push yourself to hard, but if you really feel up to it, go ahead and play, it might make you feel better after you get some blood moving.
