Am posting this as a mum. My son started the trumpet a while ago... it definitely is his instrument.... he practises and has played in school bands and so on. He did his first grade once it all fell into place...and got a dist... He started working for the next grade but his teacher became ill. He missed at least a term and in that time my son had a brace fitted. We knew it would be tricky for him.... but kept him practising and building up playing time.... it did/does cause him a lot of pain. His teacher had decided to skip G2 and he started looking at Grade 3 pieces.... musically he can cope with them. When he started back with his teacher a few weeks ago...he kept coming out of lessons feeling really dejected. He says his teacher tells him he is not practising....which he is.... and gets frustrated with him when he can't get the higher register. Has anyone else had experience with trumpet players with braces and if so...what can we do. He does have some plastic covers. I know I need to talk to the teacher but am holding back a little because he has been ill. Also my son wants to try and sort it out himself(he is 14)

Explain the situation to his teacher.
His teacher should have had problems about braces before. Even if the teacher hasn't, just explain anyway.

I'm surprised that the teacher didn't notice the braces, I never had them but they can be a bring problem so I've heard.

He knows about the braces but I think he forgets...he has been ill. Having found an instrument my son loves I don't want him put off.

The braces will only be on for a limited time (about 18 m to 2 years?). If they are really causing problems for your son, how about encouraging him to take a break from the trumpet and play something else until the braces come off? He could work on keyboard skills, theory, try a stringed instrument? You could take him to some concerts etc featuring trumpet, to keep him in touch with his preferred instrument.

My sister played the oboe and had to take a break while she had braces. Her enthusiasm for the oboe continued unabated (she hated the violin that she played in the interim!) and she returned to it, successfully once the braces were off.

Don't let your son become so frustrated that he gives up altogether. 2 years seems like for ever at a young age, but the time passes quickly and he will soon catch up, especially if he has done some kind of musical activity meanwhile.

Why did she have to stop while having braces? Was it a different type to nornal ones? I have braces, but I don't find that it affects my tone too much, and I got use to the enbouchure with braces.

My son has read these comments...they are helpful...it's good to hear others have similar experience. He doesn't want to stop playing. He has stuck with it since January and it comes off next Jan. We really need to get his teacher being a bit more sympathetic. lizbun thank you for your comments... makes him feel better. He has taken up the keyboard again...and is taking Grade 6 Singing in a few weeks...Trinity... with his new voice. His brace hasn't affected his singing too much. But he does love the trumpet... and is looking for ways to overcome it.

I think that you should expect help from your son's teacher to manage his trumpet playing whilst in braces. I am not a brass player but my understanding is that the thing which can suffer in braces is the top register. Your son's teacher really should be aware of the problems and either be patient until they come off or help him to work round the problem.

I had one oboe pupil who simply couldn't cope with the wires in his mouth (but he was having massive amounts of metalwork done in his mouth) but I've managed to keep many, many others going, recognising the limitations such things bring for the period you are putting up with the braces. One further thought though is that the mouth shape will change as the teeth move so there is often some adjusting to be done to the embouchure when the wires are removed.

It is always such a liberating time when they come off . Almost universally, my pupils usually arrive (especially if they haven't told me they're getting the brace removed) at their lesson grinning from ear to ear and then we start to repair and reshape the embouchure which has been changed by wearing braces and then a new shape to the mouth.

So maybe difficult now but exciting times to come - but I do feel your son's teacher really should help not criticise in this period. I'm sorry to hear he's not been well but if he's well enough now to teach again then he's well enough to deal with his student's problems really, so you might well have an informal chat about the problems with him.

Some teachers who've not experienced a brace for themselves really don't appreciate the problems it can cause. I went through music college for one year with a new brace on my teeth (not recommended ) and made it work but it sure wasn't easy. However, it did help me appreciate better what my pupils go through now.

Hope you get this sorted.

It was a long time ago and she had very complicated braces which made it really impossible to play. I dare say braces have moved on since then! (Also she was a bit of a wimp about the whole thing....)

Well, if the braces are a major problem you can go to the dentist and get a seat of invisline denture type things. They cost a lot more but I don't think they interfere with playing.

Thank you...have had some excellent advice.... hadn't even thought about his mouth changing shape already... and it certainly has... I will let you know what happens. Thank you.

Hi

Im a trumpet player and I had braces fitted just after I took my Grade 5 exam. They did cause me problems and did hold me back, but the last thibg I was going to do was stop for this time, so I had to change some things.

Me and my teacher thought it would be best if I was to do the grade 5 jazz exam instead of grade 6 normal exam. I doubt I would have coped with grade 6 because of the step up to the slightly higher regeister. The jazz grades don't have higher stuff because it focuses more on the improvising side of things. So this may be a good way foward?

When your son got the brace fitted he should have been given some of that white/grey wax to stop friction etc? What I did was put a bit of that (half of the 'pee sized amount') over the 2 front teeth on the top and bottom. This will mean that there is a lot more unwanted stuff in the mouth but it will become MUCH more comfortable to play.

If you do this you will have to fight it out with the orthadontist people to actually give you the producers of this wax, so you can actually order a big box of it which will last you months. (This stops you going back and foward to the sergery every week to get more!)

Technique wise, tensing the tummy muscles when you progress into the high register helps, because this will take away any excess pressure from the mouth. Deeper breaths and forcing more air through will hep, as well as arching the tounge.

Hope this is helpful
Good luck!

Hey, I'm a flautist so i can't really empathise completely with your son. However i do have braces, and it is so frustrating- however when they come off it will be totally worth the wait. some trumpeters in my youth orchestra get braces so that when they come off it will be far easier (My friend said that braces will give him the strength and focus in the emouchure to be able to do grade 8, he passed with distinction and is now in the national youth )
so persevere! it really is worth it .
thomxxx

I went through exactly the same thing when I had braces, I felt exactly the same - I got so frustrated with myself because I knew I could play the pieces, just the notes wouldn't physically come out > and it did hurt, and I used the plastic cover things which eased it a little...
Explain to the teacher that your son is practising, and they need to be a little more sympathetic to the difficulty he's having playing with the braces, because it is disheartening when you come back from a lesson knowing you could have played better, but the teacher seems to just expect it of you...

I played for about 2 year with braces and did my grade 3 with them on and got a merit!
Once they have been fitted it takes a little while for the musles to adjust and the mouth to become stronger, I was sooo frustrated when i had them on, and tried to do the same amoutn of practice each day which just made things worse, so i cut my practice time in half from an hour to 30 mins it was as much as my lip could stand, my dentist gave me a red wax to put on each time i played and that really helped. Then once i had them removed i had to readjust and go through the whole thing again! i was over pitching and blowing too hard as i didnt need to compensate for the braces!

I wouldnt stop playing altogether i think that would be very detrimental, trumpet playing is a bit like body building if you dont keep training the muscles will weaken and you'll be back to the beginning again along wth your stamina.

Good luck!

Thank you everyone...my son has read these and has had some good advice. He had a lesson last week...half term...and so managed to warm up first before he went to his lesson. It was much better... he is going to explain this to his teacher... you would expect to warm up as the lesson goes on....but I think it just takes longer to get where he wants to be...he's taking G3 next session...I haven't spoken to the teacher yet...hopefully he won't make the comments again.