When playing a long piece that requires a lot or concentration I get hot, like I running on a treadmill.
No other mental exercise has ever done this to me, not even piano playing which I would have though was harder. But just from feel, when I am semi-sight reading long etudes for fun, I get overheated just like I did an hour of aerobics. Maybe it's the breathing though and I'm overestimating the brain part of it. Buy I'm hoping it's a brain thing.
I find clarinet ppl on reddit commenting the same thing happens to them.
The closest I can find is that chess masters can burn an extra 350 calories an hour concentrating intensely on chess.
I admit one of the reasons I liked clarinet early on was I discovered it requires intense concentration. I didn't realize until recently just how intense I was working. All it took was a summer heatwave and finding I have to turn down the air when playing. :-)
As an older person I wanted an instrument that gives my brain a workout. So happiness is clarinet playing. :-)
I too get hot when playing, your diaphragm and face muscles are getting a work out, so that generates heat. I get warm playing piano but that's more because I get excited if I'm playing well- its more of a psychological thing.
The piano bit adds weight to my (partial) brain workout theory. :-)
"I get super hot when playing clarinet..."
Had a girlfriend in high school who said the same thing.
Quote from: DaveLeBlanc on July 09, 2025, 02:11:35 PM"I get super hot when playing clarinet..."
Had a girlfriend in high school who said the same thing.
Dave my man 😂