Klarinet Archive - Posting 000397.txt from 1999/12

From: Mark Gustavson <mgustav@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] mouthpieces and braces
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 13:28:10 -0500

"dew@-----.com" wrote:

> I am considering trying new mouthpieces and would like the list's advic=
e.
>
> I have just had braces put on (to treat TMJ problems). (Not suspenders =
for those of you who might be confused: these are metal appliances on my =
teeth.<g>) The good news is that my playing has not been as adversly aff=
ected as I had feared! But I am having difficulty adjusting my ears to t=
he different sound I now produce. I have such a clear concept of "my sou=
nd" that I find it unsettling to be producing a different sound, and ther=
e is little I can do about it under the present circumstances. It is con=
sistant (or will be, as soon as those necessary compensations kick into a=
uto-pilot), and I've discovered how much to adjust for tuning. Surprisin=
gly, endurance is not as much of a problem as I had thought it would be! =
My listeners tell me the sound is not disagreeable to them, and that it =
sounds like a clarinet, but the more discerning among them agree that it =
is different from my usual sound.
>
> So my question for the list is whether anyone has any experience with t=
he way braces affect the production of sound, and whether there are sugge=
stions for differences in the mouthpiece. In comparison to my presently-=
used mouthpiece, should I look for something more open, less open, more r=
esistant, less resistant, other factors in approaching my original sound?=

>
> Thanks in advance,
> Denise Edwards-Wilson

I wore braces for my last two years in high school and took my music scho=
ol auditions with them on. My braces were those small, clear glue on ty=
pe. The orthodontist chose that type because I was a clarinetist and the=
y took up the least amount of space. At the time, 1976, they were a fair=
ly new design. I never noticed a change in my sound. I was at that time=
using a Kaspar. I used a lot of wax on the braces to reduce contact wit=
h the sharp edges. Sometimes there was bleeding but rarely. What was we=
irder was having them removed and then having all four impacted wisdom te=
eth removed two weeks before school auditions. But it wasn't so bad. A=
bout four days after the teeth were removed I began practicing quite a bi=
t and as I remember had a very good audition. What was unfortunate was t=
hat once I was in school I was playing anywhere between 8 and 10 hours a =
day (combined practicing,
rehearsing and performing) and eventually (two years) I could not get the=
retainer back on my teeth. In the beginning when I would put it on after=
playing it hurt like hell and it progressively became worse. However, a=
ll of my teeth are fine except for a bottom front tooth that is pushed ba=
ck from the others.
------------------------
Mark Gustavson
Composer/Clarinetist
Adjunct Faculty, Brooklyn College Prep Center for the Performing Arts

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