I cant adjust back from braces on trumpet

Z_Kay · Regular Member Joined: 10 Sep 2017 Posts: 12

for 8 months i have been trying to adjust back from braces and its the worst thing ive ever had to go theough with life. I used to love music and wanted to pursue it as a career and now it feels like Im going nowhere in life. In middle school I was the best player in the state, and now Im the worst player i have ever been. Im a senior in high school and I was 100 times better in middle school. Ive tried to go to different lesson instructors, Ive tried different mouthpieces, different embouchures, but nothing is helping. I always think about playing the trumpet like Tine Thing Helseth some day and that dream is going away because every single time i play the trumpet, it feels like a roller coaster, I get good, then i become the worst Iv ever been. I remember in 8th grade I made first chair in state, and i started the trumpet 6 months before i auditioned, and now its been 8 months and i cant figure anything out. I used to use a 3c and play all the way to the right side of my mouth, now Im in the center and I feel like that could also be a problem. Please someone help me. Im desperately trying to get better.

Pete · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 12:47 pm Post subject:

You need to keep it simple. Warm up with soft long tones. Keep the air moving and rest when you are getting tired, not after you are already tired. Clarke's #1 softly is really good too for gradually building your chops and endurance. The new placement will take time, but why did you change the placement?

Pete

zaferis · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 1:11 pm Post subject:

I agree. Slow and easy and soft.

Focus on building a logical approach to playing. Start easy, breath starts (no tongue) on mid range notes, frequent rest periods (50% on, 50% off) Flow Studies, Clarke #1 slowish and soft, scales-staying in a comfortable range, then when loose some easy lyrical studies-keep them smooth and soft.

Trumpet playing can be hugely frustrating. I don't know many, if any, players that haven't gone through some spell that challenged their resolve.
And remember that you're relearning, which can be more difficult, as your brain remembers what used to be, but your embouchure has to function on a different platform. Like breaking bad habits, improvement can come slowly.

Find someone, a teacher, that can guide you with an approach and provide materials focus on.
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Z_Kay · Regular Member Joined: 10 Sep 2017 Posts: 12

Brad361 · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 5:48 pm Post subject:

You probably need to find a QUALIFIED lesson teacher and bring this to him or her. If you mention your geographical area, there’s a pretty good chance someone here will have some suggestions. I doubt that well intentioned suggestions from people here will be able to help you fix this, we can’t see or hear you play, pretty difficult to diagnose this based on your descriptions here on the forum.

Brad

Z_Kay · Regular Member Joined: 10 Sep 2017 Posts: 12

trickg · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 8:49 pm Post subject:

This is one of those things I've seen more than once - a kid takes off like a rocket with the horn, but those teeth just have to be straightened, and once the teeth are good and straight and the braces are off, the chops are just gone - my older sister might be the only player I ever saw who wound up doing ok once the braces came off, but I've seen many players compromised after corrective dental work.

Good luck - I really hope you can find a way back from it. It's likely going to take a whole new approach - the embouchure of the past is gone because the underlying dental structure that it used is gone.
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TKSop · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:25 pm Post subject:

david johnson · Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:03 am Post subject:

I've had two really good students who made it through braces and became better than I would have dreamed. We worked on simple things, trying to 'feel the buzz' while playing. keeping the cheeks firm. You'll make it - do some mouthpiece work each day.

Brad361 · Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 6:16 am Post subject:

Andy Del · Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:28 am Post subject:

What the OP needs is a good teacher to help them now, but far far better would have been to have a good teacher to help them through the process of getting braces, living with them and adjusting to them and the adjusting back to a post braces world.

It's not hard, but needs a LOT of patience.

cheers

Andy
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Z_Kay · Regular Member Joined: 10 Sep 2017 Posts: 12

Thanks for all the responses, I think one thing Im doing wrong is changing my emouchure because each time i use a different embouchure, there is always something that needs to be fixed. Also I didnt mention that most of my problems are also with articulation, where whenever i try to tounge either the wrong note comes out or i cant even get the note out or its just a fuzz

david johnson · Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:41 pm Post subject:

tongue softer/harder until you find one that works. increase your air speed. play some Chicowitz flow studies - http://www.gregwingtrumpet.com/uploads/2/1/4/0/21407028/chicowitz_flow_studies_expanded_and_modified_by_wing_july_2013.pdf

Billy B · Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:18 am Post subject:

Your level of anxiety no doubt has more effect on your progress than braces/no-braces. This is not uncommon.
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iiipopes · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jun 2015 Posts: 548

I was there in high school. Transitioning back after the braces came off was very difficult.

What everybody said above: start slow, build slowly, get a good teacher who understands starting over when the braces come off.

I remember it was so bad at one point I couldn't even chew on a 3-Musketeers chocolate bar with the whipped chocolate filling!

Hang in there. It can be done. I went from braces and not being able to play effectively as a freshman and sophomore in high school to getting the high school summer band camper of the year award, including co-lead in the jazz band section, at the regional state university as a junior, and a small stipend in college to round out the small concert band at the small private college I attended.
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oddchance · Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 7:00 am Post subject:

When I went through it, I started on a slightly larger, deeper mouthpiece. I went from a 3c to a 5mv in the Bach system. I stayed with it until I got the buzz and the air going again. Played a lot of low volume, low to mid register things. My issue was probably a mental thing as everything felt different.

Turkle · Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 7:35 am Post subject:

I agree with the posters that have suggested it may be a mental thing rather than a physical thing impeding your progress.

A few years back I had to have a front tooth repaired after a chip and the horn didn't feel right on my face. Took me about 6 months to get everything back. It turns out that the anxiety from not feeling quite right was choking off my throat and I wasn't getting any air into the horn. My chops weren't the problem at all! Once I relaxed and let the air do its thing everything more or less fell into place.

Not saying that's 100% it, but that was my experience a while ago.

Cheers and good luck! You'll get it back eventually, and then some.
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