TromboneChat

For the past 6 months I've been taking my playing very seriously (At the college level), and developed a problem with mouthpiece pressure. After about playing 15-30ish minutes my teeth start to move back slightly. After playing I can use my tongue and press the back of my teeth, and feel them move very small amount. In some of my practice sessions my teeth even start to ache whilst playing and even after (for the rest of the day). It feels as if the skin above my lips is so thin, that there is no cushion, between the mouthpiece, and my teeth. My endurance also seems to be getting increasingly worse, but better? I can play more through-out the day, but again after about 15-30 minutes, every-thing seems to become very fatigued. I've tried taking days off, even as much as a week. However, it seems like it's not as much as muscle recovery thing, but again, a mouthpiece pressure, or embouchure issue. I've also tried playing with less pressure, but I've seen little improvement. Does anyone have any exercises, or thoughts, on how I can improve my situation? Any kind of help would, be greatly appreciated!

-Thank YOU!

In before anyone else recommends taking a virtual lesson with Doug Elliott.

Take a virtual lesson with Doug Elliott.

Never mind the trombone - you need to see a dentist ASAP. Teeth should not ache, and definitely should not move.

Not to worry! They don't really move that much! They just shift a microscopic amount, enough for me to kind of fell them move. Also, they haven't ached in a couple of weeks now!

I had a similar issue for a while... before I got a lesson with Doug Elliot

I had a similar problem about your age. It's called Wisdom Teeth. They come in behind all your other molars. They shift around your teeth and your embouchure for people in late teens early twenties. Most people have their wisdom teeth taken out. Mine are still there. It caused some wacky problems with playing that I just had to live through during some of the heaviest playing of my life.

Go see a dentist first. The process of letting them grow in or taking them out takes a while. You may need Doug's help to adjust during and after the process, but there's nothing he can do about your teeth.

hyperbolica wrote: ↑Wed Mar 31, 2021 3:58 pm I had a similar problem about your age. It's called Wisdom Teeth.

I had a similar issue to OP, but 10+ years after my wisdom teeth were removed. It was definitely playing related.

I'm around

I think that you should address any underlying medical issues as a first step. Lessons from a real pro would definitely help, but I would consult a dentist first. There could be a periodontal situation brewing. Good luck.

If you can play some freebuzz notes, those would be no-pressure notes. They would give you a place to start trying to expand whatever that range is higher and lower.

I had difficulty with pressure in higher ranges, some kind of habit picked up young I think. A little exercise opened my eyes there, by Rene Lamart, recommended by Les Benedict. It goes like this. Play an easy note in time four beats, then gradually pull off four beats but not so far as to leak, then the reverse in time, 16 beats altogether. Do other notes. This one reveals what the effect of pressure is, so pay attention for the lesson to show up.

Doug Elliott

Excessive mouthpiece pressure is usually a symptom of something else. Just trying to reduce the amount of pressure you're playing with won't work if you're not also making the correction to what's leading to that situation in the first place. In order to give you any real advice we'd need to see how you're playing first.

At risk of just making this another commercial for Doug's lessons, he can sort out your problems. I've been taking lessons with Doug off and on for about 25 years and I always learn something to improve my playing and to help me become a better teacher.

If you see a dentist, ask him if has any advice about the timing of when to take out dental insurance. If he says you will likely need them taken out in a couple years, take out insurance first good opportunity to do so (you will need to do so roughly a year before the event).

Wilktone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:48 am Excessive mouthpiece pressure is usually a symptom of something else. Just trying to reduce the amount of pressure you're playing with won't work if you're not also making the correction to what's leading to that situation in the first place. In order to give you any real advice we'd need to see how you're playing first.

At risk of just making this another commercial for Doug's lessons, he can sort out your problems. I've been taking lessons with Doug off and on for about 25 years and I always learn something to improve my playing and to help me become a better teacher.

I think this is right on the money. Exactly right.

Your teeth are important - and not just for trombone playing.

They shouldn't hurt or move when you play, or from playing. That's definitely something you need to sort out. See a competent teacher - Doug would be my first recommendation, but Dave or I (or someone local to you) could help, as well.

First of all, Doug knows what he is talking about and will be able to help with the brass playing aspects of this.

Secondly, do see a dentist and explain what's happening. Your wisdom teeth may need to come out, but this might not be related to that.

My wife is an amazing flutist. Shortly after finishing graduate school she was experiencing playing difficulties, and she realized that her teeth were moving, which was making her musculature overwork to compensate for the constantly changing structure. She found a dentist who confirmed that indeed her wisdom teeth needed to come out (and took them out that very afternoon!) but who also told her that the reason her teeth were shifting was not crowding from the wisdom teeth but the fact that the orthodontia she had when she was younger was not completed 100%, leaving her teeth less than perfectly aligned side-to-side and making the entire arch structure unstable.

He offered her two options: they could give her a year or more of orthodontic work to complete what had been left unfinished, or make retainers to wear at night that would keep her teeth in their current position. She opted for the latter, and it has worked beautifully.

You may or may not have a similar issue, but only a good dentist can address an underlying medical problem if there is one.