 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: rayc
Date: 2013-03-14 14:57
I've seen posts regarding tooth covering methods, most of which don't work well. Bay Lip-Ease Tooth Cushion, sold at Woodwind and Brasswind, works very well, and is an inexpensive product. Comes in a folded roll, plastic that feels like skin, cut and fold to size, and fold over bottom teeth.. lasts for many sessions.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-03-14 22:05
I cut up small pieces out of the the leather tab you get on your blue jeans (I buy my jeans according to those that have the right thickness for this leather tab). And it only takes a few days to break in a new piece.
They last "FOREVER." I thought one set was dead after nearly a year when the top leather layer peeled off. Now the last layer is still going strong. I don't know why we don't all use this.
.................Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Buster
Date: 2013-03-14 22:55
Paul Aviles wrote (in part):
> I don't know why we don't all use
> this.
> .................Paul Aviles
>
Because some of us don't need it; except for those that do...
A former student, quite gifted at that, found herself fighting the pain of braces on only her lower teeth.
As she had a notable over-bite, the infamous "Ezo" denture adhesive bits served her well.
When the offending braces were removed, she found herself so comfortable with those "Ezo" pieces that she kept on using them... We, together (in part), surmised that it help "fill" part of the gap created by her over-bite, and left her in the most comfortable position to apply her surrounding embouchure musculature.
Who would I be to contradict it?
If only some teachers dogmatically doomed to forcing students to NOT use any lower teeth "cover", as if it merely allows deficient jaw pressure, were so permissive... Of course, there as situations where tooth "covers" ARE a crutch....
In those cases, let's hope those teachers dogmatically can force their kids to NOT use these crutches....
and hope said teachers can reason when to allow either option as permissible.
-Jason
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sfalexi
Date: 2013-03-15 02:14
I once cut the lip off of a dunks donuts coffee lid. Tat thin plastic piece that clicks on top of the styrofoam cups. The curve was about right for teeth, there was already a natural spot for it to lay on the bottom teeth, and it's dirt cheap and lasted for months.
I now approach playing with a "less is more" when it comes to embouchure pressure against the reed, use a lighter reed, and don't have pain anymore. I get tired before my lip even comes close to getting irritated.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: bethmhil
Date: 2013-03-15 04:41
Denture cushions work well.
A friend of mine makes her own lip guards... She takes sheets of cotton gauze and coats them with melted wax. She lets the sheets dry, and voila! Lip guards!
BMH
Illinois State University, BME and BM Performance
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: MSK
Date: 2013-03-15 11:13
Until reading a prior thread on this topic I never knew anyone used anything other than folded cigarette rolling papers. Some of the alternatives might be superior, but they've always worked well enough for me and I bought 5 year supply last time. It is just so embarassing to buy them. No-one believes you're buying rolling papers for something as respectable as playing music.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-03-15 17:56
I've been using floral tape for about years, I prefer white. I can make it any thinkness I like, I prefer three folds. I use one for several sessions of playing. Works great for me, real cheap, can be purchased at any hobby place that sells imitation flowers or many florists. What ever works for you.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2013-03-15 18:33
I'm one of those (lucky?) players who doesn't need these, and I have a severe 'clamp' embouchure (friends used to say I used oak trees for reeds), so I must have calluses on the inside of my lower lip or else my lower teeth have been worn dull.......
Why would one need these on a long-term basis? I can understand temporary use when wearing braces or something, but shouldn't a player wean him/herself off these eventually?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-03-15 20:33
Yah know, it's weird.
I don't believe I use an inordinate amount of pressure (I even find myself slipping into double lip every now and then), but I cannot function for more than ten minutes without lower lip padding. With it, I can play for hours without even thinking about it.
Perhaps it's related to the thinness of the bottom teeth (at least for me). If you were balancing your lower lip over a kitchen knife, you might want a cover for the knife.
...............Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2013-03-15 22:15
My dental tech made me a lower tooth barrier using the technique for making transparent orthodontic retainers. A thin sheet of thermoplastic was snap molded down over a cast of my lower teeth and then trimmed to clear my gums. I've had it for years., and it enables my playing.
Bob Phillips
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jim22
Date: 2013-03-16 02:37
I've managed to grind my teeth to knife edges. The dentist smoothed them a little, but I could use some padding, especially for sax.
Jim C.
CT, USA
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
