High Range Developement With Braces?

C.G.ConnArtist · Regular Member Joined: 30 Dec 2013 Posts: 46

I just got braces at the beginning of the month, and I've also started taking lessons. Before then, I had a solid high range, but a terrible embouchure. Now that I use a different embouchure, my range has suffered greatly, but I'm not sure if that's really due to the embouchure change, or the braces. I would like to know from anyone with experience playing with braces, are they the cause, or is it a bit of both?

And one more thing, how should I go about resurrecting that high range without hurting myself?
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Troy Sargent · Veteran Member Joined: 13 May 2012 Posts: 205

braces are a touchy subject for most trumpet players because it forces an embouchure change (which many teachers do not advocate or do to a student) that being said your issues with the upper register are normal. Your muscles are still strong enough to play in that register they just don't have the coordination (or some might say muscle memory) to do it with the braces.

whenever you play with braces please please please (for your own sake) do not hurt yourself. That being said expansion, flow, and partial slurring exercises IMHO should be your friend for a while (even after braces). Some great studies can be found in Clark (1,2,3) Irons and Stamp as well as many many others

I had braces myself and I found these exercises to be the best to get my coordination (muscle memory) going again (especially partial slurring exercises) These studies brought my tone/articulations/range back quite quickly as compared to friends/colleagues who experienced braces at some point. It's a great thing that you have found a (hopefully) qualified teacher

Good luck with braces! and remember to build good habits with them on
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C.G.ConnArtist · Regular Member Joined: 30 Dec 2013 Posts: 46

MFaddicted · Veteran Member Joined: 08 May 2014 Posts: 150

PEDAL TONES....'nuff said!

Pops · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2014 12:44 pm Post subject: Re: Get the wax out...

The worst thing you can do when playing with braces is to cause undo (unneeded) lip movement. The cuts you get while wearing braces come from making the lips move across the teeth (which are now covered in sharp wires.)

Pedals are not a necessary part of playing and offer much too great a chance to injure yourself.
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crzytptman

MFaddicted · Veteran Member Joined: 08 May 2014 Posts: 150

Nope!
Contrarian vies: PEDALS KEEP the lips vibrating plus impacting the embouchure with minimal pressure....it's science and not really subjective at all.
OR HAVE YOUR STUDENTS MASH THEIR LIPS by practicing arpeggios way up high and lip trills

zackh411

MFaddicted · Veteran Member Joined: 08 May 2014 Posts: 150

Zack just curious: Did playing pedals really hurt you when you had braces?
I think it can only help in my experience.

Pops · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 10:06 am Post subject:

Pops · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 10:23 am Post subject:

Braces are temporary. We need to think about AFTER braces more than during braces.

While you are wearing your braces the most important thing to remember is to NOT injure your lips. Cuts, tears, bruises etc can lead to scar tissue. Scar tissue is permanent and depending on how severe it is could completely stop you from playing. A less severe case will lead to a bad sound and poor lip slurring ability.
There are several ways to hurt your lips while wearing braces.

The braces ARE going to PIN the lips in place. In other words they will be locked into position the second that the mouthpiece makes contact with your lips. Moving the mouthpiece around while playing WILL injure your lips. Some players do lots of adjustments after the mouthpiece touches the lips. This is a NO-NO.

You need to make sure that the lips are set for the upper register always. You can relax them to play low but you can NOT make them close the aperture while they are locked in place. Set your lips for a g on top of the staff. From this point high c is a half an octave away and low c is 1 and 1/2 octaves away. (Younger players would set lower ie a 4th space e, or for Elem students a middle c . Due to having less range.) This means that you don't need to adjust your chops as much when you play. This can save you while you are wearing braces.

Second you need to back off the mouthpiece to lip pressure as much as possible. With a close aperture setting and always setting for g on the staff you need very little pressure to complete the seal. You will no longer have any need to use the octave key (little finger hook) to aid in making the lips closer together.

Third avoid Shakes, hand vibrato and large pivot movements.

Fourth work on skills that will carry over after the braces come off. Things like tonguing skills, improv skills, lip slurs. In other words don't jump out there and play lead in the jazz band. Even if you can play that high there is TOO great a risk for injury.
_________________
Clint 'Pops' McLaughlin
You can always Google me.
50 years Teaching. Teaching and writing trumpet books is ALL I do.
7,000 pages of free music. Trumpet Books, Skype Lessons: www.BbTrumpet.com

zackh411 · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 4:06 pm Post subject:

John Mohan · Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 8:19 am Post subject:

I had braces while in High School. It was not fun dropping from 1st Chair, year in, year out, to playing 3rd parts and still feeling pain! I suggest to the OP to not be in any way concerned with range for the time being. Do you want to be a high school hero now, or a Player later?

As for Pedal Notes, if done properly they would be a WONDERFUL thing to do. Done the way Claude Gordon assigned them, they will correct any embouchure deficiencies, build tremendous Air Power (which you will be able to fully utilize AFTER the braces come off), and help you learn the needed habit of being able to blow with full force (as you start to run out of air on the note and then try to crescendo to keep squeezing the air out even though empty, as directed in the book) while staying completely relaxed up top as you need to to play a good clean pedal note -or later on, a good clean high note.

If you were my student, I would assign exercises from Claude's Systematic Approach book, with the caveat that you only play the upper register exercises each day up to the point where you start to feel physical pain on your lips - even it this was only G in the staff. With time, you'd find yourself extending your "painless" range. I'd also assign you Flexibility Studies that stay within your current comfortable range ("Fundamental Flexibilities" by Matt Graves would be an EXCELLENT book for you right now). And I would also assign material from "Technical Studies for the Cornet" by Herbert L. Clarke modified as needed to stay within your comfortable range and level of endurance.

To the OP: Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like more personalized help - I feel for you. Also, read what Zack wrote, several times over. Good info there as well.

Best wishes,

John Mohan
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