Lip Injury?

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TokenBone
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu May 23, 2024 3:05 pm

Lip Injury?

Post by TokenBone »

Hi everyone,
I recently had a few rather interesting moments while playing, one of which made sense(I knew what caused it) and others not so much.
The first was in marching band, I did the usual trombone thing and played way WAY too loud and felt a sharp sting in my upper lip. Took a few days off and then everything felt fine for the most part but off. I had most of my range, double pedal Bb to high f no problems but my endurance was gone. An hour long wind ensemble rehearsal absolutely thrashed me. Then, at different points of my lip I would feel immense fatigue, namely where my rim sat. Now recently I had a moment in brass quintet, I felt another sting at another spot on my upper lip. Now, I start to over think and use muscles differently, so I am now engaging muscles I had not used so I feel absolutely awful after about 30 minutes. I know it is basically impossible to tell what is going on without seeing me play but I am more so intrigued to see if anyone else has had some experiences like this.
Thanks!
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Doug Elliott
Posts: 3415
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:12 pm
Location: Maryand

Re: Lip Injury?

Post by Doug Elliott »

Actually I've seen it dozens of times and I've experienced it myself long ago.
The immediate cause is too much mouthpiece pressure, but that's only a symptom of the actual problem, which is incorrect form for your enbouchure and what's called type switching., Mechanically, things you're doing are wrong for the way your embouchure actually needs to function.
I teach this stuff in Skype lessons.
"I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two."
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baBposaune
Posts: 264
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2019 4:55 pm
Location: North San Diego County

Re: Lip Injury?

Post by baBposaune »

Not that it matters if you are playing in those groups at the high school or college level, but if you can, take a long break and let it heal before you embark on fixing the problem with a Skype lesson. I never had a lip injury from playing or excessive mouthpiece pressure but I DID have a lip injury where my lower lip got hit and my playing wasn't quite the same for weeks due to the fact that I kept on playing. In hindsight I would have been better off in the long run if I had just let the injury heal for a week then gradually started again with everything "correct" with my embouchure. As a high school student at the time I felt pressure to perform in my school groups, All State Honors Jazz band, prepare for college entrance audition, etc. By not resting it took 5-6 months before the chops felt okay and I sounded like I did pre-injury.

Not sure if any of this helps much but it's just a thought. Since it may not be practical to take a break you might want to get with Doug so you don't keep doing more damage by playing incorrectly.
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