 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: marcia
Date: 2005-04-27 16:11
I have worn braces for about 9 months now. I don't know if I have been having lots of "off days" but it seems to me that my embouchure becomes fatigued much more quickly than in my pre-braces days. My playing schedule is just as busy now as before. I am hoping that it can be attributed to the fact that my teeth are constantly, if very slowly, moving and therefore different muscles are being used. Anyone else have similar experience, or any comments?
Thanks
Marcia
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Author: starlight
Date: 2005-04-27 17:22
i had braces before and it didn't really affect my clarinet playing....it 's only when they tighten it, then i couldn't play for max. a week. I don't find it interfering with my playing normally.marcia wrote:
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-04-27 19:27
I got my braces off about 8 months ago. I don't see how you could "use different muscles" when your teeth shift. The muscles are always the same but the teeth are moving. You rest your top teeth on the mouthpiece and it could be that your front teeth are moving and so you must place the mouthpiece in a different position. You always use the same muscles, but the teeth change position.
I never noticed that braces really effected my embouchure. In fact, my teacher wouldn't let me change my embouchure until I got my braces off.
Are you experiencing stress? If you are, you could be tightening up your mouth muscles.
Have you been trying to change it?
Don't know if I helped.....
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Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2005-04-28 00:38
It only stands to reason that if something as simple as an adjustment to a reed can change your playing, that something on your teeth would do the same. After all, your teeth are moving all the time when you have braces on. Every time you play there is readjusting going on, of which you might be unaware. It seems I read somewhere that there are something like twenty-seven muscles around the lower facial area. I would think they would be affected by the movement of your teeth. You might find that a different mouthpiece would work better for you now.
Bravo to you for toughing it out, it can't be easy.
Sue
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-04-28 00:49
Your a hero.
My orthodontist said I had to stop prying my incisors out of place with the clarinet. Two years off the horn. OUCH
Of course, this was in the dark ages. (1955)
Bob Phillips
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Author: MSK
Date: 2005-04-30 20:02
I am now in my thirties and have had to wear braces twice. The only problem I had with braces while playing was that the brackets tended to cut into the inside of my lip. Wax over the bracket helps.
What I really wanted to tell you, was that my orthodontist told me that as a clarinet player, I should wear my retainer at night at least a few days a week for the rest of my life. I stopped doing that in that about 7 or 8 years after getting my braces off. That was a mistake. My upper front teeth shifted so much that I had to get braces a second time as an adult. This time I am taking him seriously and do wear the retainer 3 nights a week. I can still tell that my teeth shift after really long session. Guess I should have played a stringed instrument instead...
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-04-30 22:39
MSK- I play my clarinet with my retainer on because my 2 front teeth shift forward when I play. In fact, I have a mouthpiece marking on my retainer (it's an invisaline). I'll probably always have to have a retainer on when I play clarinet. It's clear so it's not easily noticable from a long distance away. I would check out the invisiline retainers and maybe you'd only need to have it on every time you played. Who knows? This is just my experience.
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Author: Cindy
Date: 2005-05-01 06:29
I had a similar problem with braces, and ended up giving up on the good embouchure thing and just biting. I could play, but it always hurt, and left me with bad habits after getting them off. I would say to focus on using the best embouchure possible, and split up your practice times. Rather than doing 1 two hour session, do 2 hour sessions, or 4 thirty minute sessions. Same amount of practicing, without killing the mouth.
So many instruments to play........so little time to play them!
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Author: Ron Jr.
Date: 2005-05-02 15:28
I had braces for two years and I got them off a year ago.
Before braces, I could play a Rose etude (densly packed with note) for about 45 minutes before I got tired.
With braces, I could only play the same Rose for about 30 minutes. I had to put wax on the metal posts so they wouldn't cut my gums. I believe the reason for the loss of endurance is because the wax and the braces filled up my mouth so it was difficult to keep a tight seal around the mouthpiece. It's kind of like holding a cup of water: it's easier when it's next to the body than when the arm is fully extended. Also my tone quality definately suffered.
Now after braces, I can play the Rose Etude for about two hours (I did this just yesterday). The teeth are all lined up perfectly and they are much more compact.
Also my tone has improved and I can make all sorts of subtle changes to my embouchure: higher or lower tongue position, tighter or looser stretch on the lower lip, and more or less filling in of the cheeks for example. When I tried all these changes before braces, nothing really happened. My teeth, especially the lower teeth, were so crooked that I didn't get any ring to my tone. So being able to make these changes to the embouchure has given me tonal flexibility that I NEVER had befor braces.
Good luck,
Ron Jr.
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