 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-11-27 08:07
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 1.jpg (192k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 2.jpg (234k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 3.jpg (402k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 4.jpg (187k)
For the past few decades, I have tried so many embouchure formations that I've lost count. Each one failed as I could feel the contractions of my focal dystonia muscles on the right side of my mouth begin to contract. The day after was usually one of pain which I knew in a few days would go away.
As I contemplated my rather unique problem, it finally occurred to me that no embouchure formation was going to allow me to play and that I was going to need some form of device to place pressure upon the right side of my mouth in order to prevent my damaged muscles from being used.
I thought about various mechanisms, both inside and outside of my mouth that I thought could help me. And, yes, I prayed about my problem because I wanted to play some hymns.
I don't remember exactly when, but a basic design began to be seen in my mind. The more I concentrated upon this conceptualized design, the more convinced I became that it could actually help me play again.
To make this story shorter, I had to find the appropriate acrylic thickness, learn how to bend acrylic, and go through numerous sizing experiments, screw placement, and a short search for material to help prevent slippage between the acrylic brace and acrylic/hard rubber mouthpieces.
I see several advantages to the "Embouchure Brace":
1) Allowing players with embouchure focal dystonia to play again;
2) Allow players to play for longer periods of time without embouchure tiring;
3) Allow players to play a stronger reed than their current embouchure development will allow them.
Yes, it's a simplistic, homemade device which can give the viewer of the enclosed pictures the idea of "I can make that easily." Let me assure you of one thing: It is not easy to duplicate. Trust me...I know only too well.
All I can say now is that it feels great to play again, and, when I'm through playing, my mouth feels as if I haven't even played at all.
I made this not only to help myself, but, hopefully to help others as well.
Please feel free to email me directly if you would like to make a brace like this for yourself for whatever reason.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Post Edited (2024-11-27 08:19)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-11-27 13:19
Dear Dan, I hope other people with similar problems will benefit from your invention and your positive attitude when confronted with this issue. Maybe you could see somebody from the medical profession and highly refine and pinpoint your "brace".
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-11-27 23:03
ruben,
Thank you for your kind words.
I've investigated various medical methods and decided I didn't want to chance the possible negative side effects.
It took a long time to simply overcome the Pavlov effect, i.e., if I even thought about playing or simply looked at a clarinet mouthpiece or visited this BB, a neurological effect would begin to take place in my brain with the consequential self-contracting of various muscles in my upper lip and the right side of my mouth which, at first, I thought might be permanent, but fortunately, each time, only lasted around 3 days. Right now, if I even played without the brace for around 15 seconds and stopped, my upper lip and right side embouchure muscles would begin to contract and would stay contracted for around 2-3 days. I forgot to mention that when my right side mouth muscles contract, they contract so hard that pain always follows requiring massages and stretches to help alleviate the pain. Prescription muscle relaxant medications only helped slightly. Hence, my need for an external brace.
I emailed Brad Behn yesterday about my embouchure brace and he wrote back that in his entire career, I'm the only person he knows of that has come down with this disorder. Also, I have read that when embouchure focal dystonia sets in, it usually ends the careers of professionals with less than 1% being able to return to performing. Perhaps it's simplistic thinking on my part, however I hope this device can help another afflicted player. All I can say is that it feels great to play again! And, for as long as I want with no negative embouchure side effects!
I'm planning to post a pictorial diagram along with step-by-step instructions for anyone who might be interested in constructing this embouchure brace. It's rather complicated (to me) so it will probably take a few days for me to complete. (I also feel the need to do this so that it will become a part of the huge BB digital archive.)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2024-11-27 23:22
Dan, thank you. This provides new ideas in how to adapt to a possibly career or hobby ending problem. It indeed may have some side effects, but now people have a choice where no choice existed before.
Thank you ,
Mark C.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-11-28 00:43
The ideal person to make a good prototype of this would be a prosthetist; preferably one that plays a reed instrument. There must be one out there.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-11-28 01:20
My wife mentioned about me making these with a 3D printer. Unfortunately, at nearly 78, my mental capacity is not what it used to be.
Not noted above, there are 2 extra things that need to be taken into consideration. The angle of the "wings" would probably be different for everyone because each person, imo, has a different facial configuration. For example, my acrylic source is actually a book holder from Amazon. It has 2 bends, one at 92 degrees and another at 100 degrees. Both were much to flat to offer any support. So, I had to experiment. 125 degrees was too tight or constrictive against my face, so I made another at 115 degrees. That one was slightly loose so it couldn't offer the support that I was looking for. When I made another at 120 degrees, the fit was perfect...comfort and support. The 2nd thing is that acrylic cracks quite easily. I found that out when I slightly overtightened the brace against a mpc. What you don't see in the pictures is a thin, very rigid, zinc coated metal between the screws/nuts and the acrylic brace. Now, I can snug up the tightness without fear of the acrylic brace cracking.
It's like what I wrote to Brad...This embouchure brace is pretty much like a shoe. The length size and the width need to be just right.
p.s. By shoe length of the brace, I mean the actual length of the supporting brace from the edge of the bend to the end of the brace. One inch was too short for me. I have mine set at 1.5 inches from the edge of the bend. By shoe width of the brace, I mean the actual angle of the supporting brace with reference to the mouthpiece.
Post Edited (2024-11-28 08:37)
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-11-28 03:22
Mark, you are very welcome. And now, I feel the need to say: "Thank You" Mark, for providing this wonderful forum which, fortunately for everybody, has an extensive digital vault of valuable information available to everyone without cost.
The Woodwind Bulletin Boards for Clarinet, Saxophone, Doublers, etc., is a very unique treasure of information on the Internet.
IMHO, no other forum even comes close.
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Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2024-11-28 13:06
Dan, I'm really glad on your behalf that you are able to play again, thanks to your most ingenious invention.
My very first visualization when I started looking at your pictures was that your device was to be kept inside your mouth, but soon realized that isn't the case. 
I remember once in another thread (probably already a few years ago) suggesting to "circumvent" your embouchure dystonia with a "biting" embouchure - instead of the generally recommended "rubber band" type.
True, "biting" is mostly considered as a big no-no (for good reasons, involving tone, tuning, strain, fatigue, etc), but at extraordinary circumstances I think we just need to think a bit out of the box (as you also most evidently have done with your brace device). As you also are recognizing in your OP, at the most basic level what an embouchure needs to do is merely to put pressure on the reed. If then the usually recommended "rubber band" approach isn't an option, the second best one appearing to me would be to just simply "bite".
Yes, you may loose something in your tone and you may experience some other drawbacks, but if your ability to play or not is at stake, all that would still be just minor disadvantages. As I understand, even some pro players are actually "biters" (especially some of those few using very hard reeds), and I believe quite a lot of players just going on as unintentional such ones - simply not aware of anything else (including myself, years ago).
So just out of curiosity, did you ever try such a "biting" embouchure - and how did it work? Did it still trigger your dystonia?
Even when all the required pressure on the reed comes from the jaws, and none from the lips, the lips would of course still need to seal around the mouthpiece. But, as I understand your brace device, the same applies also there - or are the plastic plates pressing against the sides of your mouth actually also contributing to your lip seal (if not, a possible further development could perhaps include some kind of gasket)?
Post Edited (2024-11-28 16:34)
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-11-28 21:49
Micke,
When I was 14, I received a clarinet and was taught to play by a music store teacher who in retrospect really didn't know what he was doing. I was taught the "smiling technique". Even though air kept leaking out of the right side of my mouth, I was admonished to "keep smiling". Now, obviously, looking back, that simply was the wrong technique for me. However, unfortunately, even though I had only 3 lessons, that wrong technique stuck with me. This was way before the Internet, YouTube, etc.
You are correct when you stated: "are the plastic plates pressing against the sides of your mouth actually also contributing to your lip seal". Yes, absolutely, that is precisely what the plastic plates are doing. Actually, you don't even need to form what might be called a "proper" side embouchure. By that I mean all that is necessary is to form a basic, loose embouchure with no side pressure and simply press your mouth into the brace. Pressing the sides of your mouth into the wide "V" shaped plates moves the loose muscle tissue towards the mouthpiece and forms a seal. All that is necessary then is to simply "blow". The plastic plates by sealing the sides of your mouth against the mouthpiece actually form an effective embouchure. I know it sounds a bit unrealistic, however, when I'm through playing, due to the pressure of the plates against the sides of my mouth, I feel afterward like I almost haven't even played. On a side note, because I haven't played in decades, one thing that became evident right away was how weak my lungs were. So, the more I play, the more I'll develop my lungs while my mouth will feel just fine. (No focal dystonia muscle contractions and no tiredness of embouchure from playing.)
I apologize if my explanation isn't quite clear enough, but it's the best I can do.
I plan to post a close up picture of me using the brace. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-11-28 22:23
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 5.jpg (263k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 6.jpg (208k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 7.jpg (1093k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 8.jpg (336k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 9.jpg (249k)
Picture 5 show the acrylic bookstand that I purchased from Amazon. I purposely looked for acrylic objects that already had bends in them. The left most bend is 92 degrees and the much more slanted bend is 100 degrees. I tried both and both angles were too small. I did, however used the plastic to start building my brace.
Picture 6 shows the hard metal brace against the acrylic embouchure brace. As noted above, without this metal reinforcement, the acrylic will break when tightened too much against the mouthpiece. Also in this picture, you should be able to see a small patch of tan. To help prevent the acrylic brace from sliding against the mouthpiece, I found that a small patch of masking tape worked just fine.
Picture 7 is simply a picture of the item I used to form the metal supporting bracket. Although it's less than 1mm in thickness, it is incredibly strong because I simply cannot even begin to bend the metal with my hands. I purchased this picture hanging bracket from my local hardware store. One of the reasons I'll continue to use these is because of the preformed, elongated opening at the top. A 4-40 screw fits nicely into it, the rounded screw head almost completely covers the opening, and the elongated opening gives a person a little "leeway" if the other hole isn't drilled exactly in the right place. I found this metal to be extremely hard to drill into with a designated metal drill bit.
Picture 8 show the tip of the mouthpiece along with a slim metal mm ruler which I also bought from Amazon. If you're wondering where to position the brace, all that is necessary is to simply slide the slim mm ruler in-between the mouthpiece and the brace. You should see a reading of 13mm. Yes, I actually have a very nice mouthpiece with a Brand 24 (12mm) facing. If not enough mouthpiece is protruding from the brace, if the tightness of the brace against the mouthpiece is a slight snug, you should be able to simply push the brace back, reposition it with the beak being parallel to the top of the brace and take another measurement equaling the facing of your mouthpiece. When the correct measurement is made, simply tighten up the brace just a little bit more. When "snug" enough in tightness, the brace is actually quite stable.
Picture 9 shows drawings and measurements. IMO, the hardest part of constructing this brace is doing the acrylic bend to a precise angle required. More about this will follow in another post.
Post Edited (2024-11-28 23:23)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2024-11-28 22:33
Hmmm ... Ganchos. I understood that immediately.
7 years in Mexico will do that to you.
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-11-29 02:48
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 10.jpg (260k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 11.jpg (324k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 12.jpg (261k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 13.jpg (328k)
Attachment: Embouchure Brace 14.jpg (173k)
Mark, Thanks for the humorous moment...I needed that!
Micke, About that saying "A picture is worth a thousand words".
Well, here's 5,000 words for you:
Picture 10: Front view with a 24 facing mpc. (The side to the right is my embouchure focal dystonia side. Notice how different it is from the other side.)
Picture 11: My right side view with the same 24 facing mpc.
Picture 12: My left side view with the same 24 facing mpc.
Picture 13: My right side view with a 36 facing mpc.
Picture 14: My left side view with the same 36 facing mpc.
Directions for making the brace to follow in another post.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2024-12-01 01:52
Thanks for these photos of you using the brace. I confess that until I saw them, I really didn't understand how you were using it.
I'm glad you've found a way to enjoy playing again. And belatedly, welcome back to the BBoard!
Karl
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-12-01 10:59
I spent a good part of today enhancing Picture 9 with very detailed measurements.
When you look at this new picture, #15, in the following post, you'll see that the lower left corner of the section that goes against the mpc has been cut off. When I put the brace on a 36 facing mpc to play, my original design interfered with the ligature so the easiest solution was to simply remove that portion that is just under the metal reinforcement bar. When I did a selfie with a 36 facing, because I just wanted to show how it covered my face, I didn't have a ligature in place.
Today, I received a special acrylic bending tool specifically designed to bend small pieces of plastic. With all of my previous attempts at bending acrylic, I used a heat gun but had many unsatisfactory results due to the spreading of the heat over a small piece of acrylic.
If you have any questions, please feel free to post them below.
Post Edited (2024-12-01 12:24)
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The Clarinet Pages
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