Testimonials

Hear the stories of successful musicians overcoming their dystonia or injury related setbacks.

Thanks to the skill and compassion of Jan Kagarice of Musician’s Wellness of North America, I have successfully retrained from task specific focal dystonia in my trombone playing. Over the course of several years, I had lost the resonance in my sound and the ability to ‘find’ the pitch. My breathing was completely turned around and I had placed a great deal of emphasis on the lips through, among other things, buzzing the mouthpiece. The retraining process has given me a solid foundation of knowledge in how a sound is produced on a wind instrument (yes, this had been unclear to me despite a lifetime of study) and the tools with which to regain and maintain resonance, accurate pitch, and ease in playing. Jan’s approach, and the approach that she is teaching her assistants, is one of insight, science, compassion, and determination. The joy of playing has returned, and my teaching has been infused with renewed enthusiasm. My students will now be better teachers. If you are experiencing difficulties, do not give up. You can get through this.

Dr. JoDee Davis

Professor of Trombone, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory

I am a principal woodwind player in a full-time professional orchestra. I suffered from task-specific embouchure focal dystonia, diagnosed by a neurologist. For three years, I kept performing with great discomfort, and tried every treatment I could think of: physical therapy, massage, many powerful medications, seeing 10 different specialists, and more. I had begun to worry that my career was over, but then came to Jan and Devin. The retraining that I did with them was the only effective treatment that I found, and completely saved my career.

Their methods are carefully thought out. You might be surprised at what exercises you are given initially, and wonder “is this really what I should be doing?” But their approach is fully logical and scientific. Everyone’s experience is different, and they customize their approach (and evolve their methods) for each client. In my personal experience, I “retrained” very quickly, but then needed continued support from them for a longer period of time to help me really learn to trust that I could play…I had built up so much anxiety over those three years of performing with dystonia issues! My biggest advice to working with them is to put your trust in their process and to focus on the moment, instead of wondering “when will it start to get better?” By trying to stay in the moment and to trust their work, you are giving your body and mind the best conditions it needs to heal.

I am back to playing full-time and could not be more grateful to Jan and Devin for saving my career. I have utmost confidence that they are going to continue to make a gigantic difference in the musical world.

Anonymous

Principal Woodwind Player

I am a semi-professional horn player with nearly fifty continuous years in several excellent regional orchestras. About seven years ago I noticed a very slight tremor in my sound. It didn’t affect my playing much, and I just ignored it. Over time, however, articulation became slower and slower, the tremor increased, and self-confidence in my playing diminished. In trying to find information about what was happening, I came upon a video of Phil Smith discussing his problem. He mentioned Jan Kagarice, so I started researching and found Musician’s Wellness. Because the Covid shutdowns were in place, I took the opportunity to do something about my issue.

After my initial consultation, we set up weekly sessions and my retraining started. The science-based methods used by Musician’s Wellness are well-conceived (bordering on genius!) and explained, and the clinicians are genuinely nice, caring people, patient, interested in helping, and all have successfully been through the program to correct their own problems.

Their methods at first seem simplistic, and they are, but they are also highly effective if not ground-breaking. I can’t stress enough the importance of trusting the system, following the instructions, and buying into a new, more efficient and more effective way of playing. For me, playing horn is enjoyable again, and all aspects of my playing are better and easier than ever. A huge THANK YOU to Jan, Landon and Byron for their encouragement, patience and fantastic application of their teaching methods to my situation. If not for them and Musician’s Wellness, I would have given up playing.

Anonymous

Horn player

My kids were 1 and 3, their daycare was closed for two weeks, and my wife had an audition to prepare. I had a few B Minor Masses and a Mahler 5 to play, and I barely had time to practice. After one concert, I realized I’d overdone it, so I did a warm-down that always brought my chops back to working order… except this time, it didn’t. What followed were embouchure anomalies and playing difficulties that I’d never experienced before. I struggled along for about four years, somehow getting my playing to work for essentially every concert and having it break down seemingly every three days. The first time I couldn’t “make it work” was in November, and by Christmas I could barely keep the mouthpiece on my face while playing. I felt like I couldn’t control the right side of my face, my cheeks were puffing out, and my whole embouchure was cramping.

I was diagnosed as pre-dystonic. My doctor, Dr. Altenmüller, emphasized to me that Musician’s Dystonia is a learned sickness, which means it can be unlearned.

I started working with the clinicians from MWNA in February after the aforementioned Christmas, and after five months off from work, was able to rejoin the orchestra. When I returned, I told a colleague of mine, “I’ve got two ways of playing. One no longer works and I don’t know what the other is yet.” Over the following months, that progressed to “… the other I can’t do yet” up to “… I can only do it in certain registers and styles, I can get by and do my job adequately, but I’m not yet fully healthy.” I’ve been retraining for two and a half years and I’m getting closer to “ I’ve got a new way of playing and I’m cured and playing how I’d like.”

I’ve met with the MWNA clinicians weekly since I started with them and they’ve calmly guided me forward. When I could only concentrate on the spasms in my right cheek, they would say, “it’s ok to notice it” and would take my attention elsewhere and went through their exercises with me. Slowly, the spasms lessened and lessened.

My whole life, I’ve lived by, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, try…… again. That served me well: school, sports, hobbies, especially music. With dystonia, that doesn’t work and is even often part of the cause. Trying to fix dystonia through conventional playing exercises or methods is like taking a shovel to dig yourself out of a hole.

The approach and exercises that MWNA use have led me to notice and release many areas of bodily tension and to eliminate many unneeded micro pre-sets and movements that I’d programmed into my playing. They’ve shown me how to apply the physics of sound production and natural facial movements, and to resonate the instrument (think getting a flute sound by blowing into a glass bottle) instead of amplifying a lip buzz.

For the first time in my trumpet-playing-life, I can take days off without worrying about my response, sound, or condition afterward. I can leave the horn on vacation and be ready to play after a couple of days.

Though this process isn’t one that I ever wanted to go through, or that I would wish upon anyone else, I don’t think that I would have made it through the rest of my career and life as easily as I will, having gone through it. The only reason I found Jan was that Phil Smith spoke openly about his struggles. I hope that I can provide others a similar lifeline by being open about mine.

Matthew Brown

Principal Trumpet, Nürnberger Symphoniker

As an amateur comeback trumpet player, I did not understand that it was focal dystonia that led me to put down the instrument 25 years ago. After deciding to try again, my struggles immediately returned. Unfortunately my problems worsened with “help” from physicians, physical therapists, speech therapists, and a psychologist. Thankfully, I eventually found my way to MW. MW gave definition to my challenges and validated what other players, instructors, and the medical community did not understand. I felt that my situation was heard and understood. Now I am given personalized prescriptions to help me progress. With the aid of assistant clinicians and a community of clients, MW has moved me closer to the music I so dearly miss.

Eric S.

Trumpet Player

Musician’s Wellness is led by Jan Kagarice, who developed her methodology through more than 40 years of research and experience coaching musicians into the highest levels of artistry

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