Whenever I play, especially during contest season, I tend to get sore throats-or it`s like my muscles tense up in the back of my throat and in my neck. It gets awful by solo contest time and I notice this when I have 2+ hour long practice sessions.

What`s wrong and how can I fix it?

I had the same problem when I first started, but it went away. I think it has something to do with the way you breathe. Although I`m not sure how I fixed it, maybe just practising more, I don`t know though. On me it just went away.

A friend who played trumpet, and had this problem, use to suck on throat logengers before, during break and after rehearsals to make sure it didn`t happen...it has something to do with the way you use your embochure muscles.

Probably you don`t use your stomach when breathing. Correct airflow is the same for all instruments even when you just use your own voice. The air should come from your stomach that`s why position when you play is so important. I did use wrong muscles when I started playing and singing with terrible result. Not only did I have that problem but I also used a to hard reed making it a lot harder to play then it really ought to be. If you feel the air doesn`t flow freely (that you have to press it through the instrument) you probably have the same problem.

I have been breathing from my stomach. I am a very deep breather. I am also in choir at school and take voice lessons so deep breathing is vital for both band and choir! I still don`t get what`s wrong though. After I play, I`ll sing and my voice doesn`t sound as good... it`s so weird!

Thanks for all the help though!