playing with braces? advice for a teacher & student?

[USStuba04]

your opinions please... i have a student who just got braces... he is going to be a senior this year and will have the braces for at least 2 years.. what are some things to do... he will be playing a very lot over the next year...

marching band and all that, plus all-state, all-county, solo & ensemble and then there will be college auditions...

thanks in advance...

[Rick F]

The plastic covers for braces keep them from cutting the lips, but the bulk is still there. Here's a link:

Comfort Cover For Braces

[ztuba]

jet tone makes braces guards as well

[Tubadork]

I know a local freelance horn player who has braces put on and she said that putting wax on her teeth, above and below the braces, NOT on the braces themselves gave a flat surface for her to play on and made it closer to what she has done for 20+ years or so of playing.

Brace Guard works pretty good, and that other one looks good too. Most of my students after a few weeks don't use anything at all (maybe out of laziness, I'm not totally sure).

As a teacher I have at least 1 or 2 students EVERY FRIKIN' YEAR get braces. It seems to help when I tell them to focus on the air doing most of the work and to work on playing with less pressure. The tendency will be to pull the horn into the lips harder than normal to get it to feel like it did. Go for the Jacobs style here and tell them to play by ear and NOT by feel.

Because the change can be kinda difficult, I wind up doing some basic ear training with them when they are first making the switch. Singing simple intervals and then trying to buzz them, then depending on their pain level, playing the intervals.

hope that helps a little,
Bill

[pattonsj]

I got braces my 10th grade year and wore them until I was a senior. I never did anything different really. It did teach me not to pull the mouthpiece into my lips. While I had my braces my high range was much better. (Go figure) It was actually harder for me to get used to not having them.

[Arkietuba]

I had braces for about 6-7 years and started playing tuba in the middle of that time period. I never had a problem with the braces affecting me negatively. There was some discomfort when I played for over an hour at a time but nothing too painful. Your student shouldn't have a problem if they don't view the braces as an obstacle and just gets used to the feeling.

[ken k]

which instrument does he /she play? tuba or euph?

For tuba, braces should not be too much of a problem. The mouthpiece pressure on the embouchure is not very severe. Euph can be a little more of an issue, since the rim rides directly on the area where the braces are. Another problem could be other apparatus in the mouth besides just the braces on the teeth. I had a trombone student years ago who had extra hardware in his mouth to help move his jaw forward. It was very difficult for him to play. He worked through it however because it was very important to him. Sometimes this other stuff can negatively effect tonguing if there is hardware behind the teeth. Again just regular braces may not be too much of an issue for a tuba player.

Work with the student to buzz the mouthpiece separately off the horn and try to project the lips forward away from the braces a little. Focus the buzz to the center and away from the teeth. The same way you would without braces. In a sick sadisitic way having braces forces you to play with a proper embouchure. Some students get frustrated and give up. Some use it as an excuse to give up if they are not really into it. Some kids play like they don't even have them on. My son plays trombone and had them when he was in middle school. It effected his tone which was fuzzy then, but now that he has the braces off, he sounds fine.

It is a very individual thing with no one solution other than having to work throughit. You can get the wax and the brace guards and some other products out there, but they just add another layer of stuff on top of the braces and make it more difficult to play. These products can shield the lip from being cut but once the lips build up callouses that should not be an issue. Also there are ceramic braces which do not have the sharp edges, perhaps he can look into getting those. They often recommend these for athletes.

Again try the mouthpiece buzzing and focusing the buzz to the center of the embouchure. To get higher notes, buzz the note and tighten the embouchre to the center concentrically rather than just blowing harder and pressing harder for high notes. Also I usually tell the student not to play for a week or so after they first put the braces on. It will be very uncomfortable for awhile even if he doesn't play. Also when they periodiaclly tighten the braces there will be afew days of pain.

ken k

[USStuba04]

bump

[RadDad2005]

I've never had a tuba student have any real difficulties with braces, but have had trumpet students who felt much more comfortable with the Kelly Mtpc. To be honest, I'm not sure why that is, other than the feel. Usually, a switch to euph or tuba is the remedy.
I'd be surprised if you have too much difficulty on tuba, once you get used to it.