I have been learning clarinet for about 4 years, and now that I want to practice more I find I am limited by a very sore patch on the inside of my bottom lip (where my teeth touch). Is this something that everyone gets and that goes away or am I doing something wrong?

Everyone gets this. MY teacher gave me some good advice on it.

Get dencher cushions. You can find them at a pharmacy. cut a piece into thirds and wear the piece over your lip. It really helps!

I don't agree that everyone gets this, because I've never had it - and I practise a lot!
I reckon it's to do with if your lower front teeth are sharp (mine aren't). Your dentist can probably make you something to fit over those teeth if you explain what you need it for.

Well, I have sharp teeth, and so does everyone I know. So lemme rephrase that: Lots of people get it.

and you don't need a dentist made thing. Denture cushions, I say! 30 reusable teeth-covers for $2! Yarr!

Hi
I don't have this problem because I don't practise enough.
However some one I know always uses a cigarette paper between her lip and teeth - she uses a fresh one every time as it gets soggy inbetween.
Also my daughter who plays clarinet is soon to have a fixed brace and I have been looking for some type of "lip guard "for her. I have noticed that "Reeds Direct" advertise something for this use - it's in their printed catalogue. They have a website and maybe you could ask for a catalogue and look for yourself.
Janet

Oh I thought of something else...............
I have had a "toothguard" made for me to sleep with as I grind my teeth and I am wearing my teeth out! - although i don't like to wear it.
It cost £48 and is a like a latex mould that fits over my bottom teeth.
I suppose a dentist could make a smaller version to fit just over the front bottom teeth and save your lip.
Janet

Thank you for all the advice. I'll let you know how I get on.

does having a fixed brace prevent people from playing the clarinet well coz i might be having one and im worried it will affect my playing, especially as I want to do music at uni( i will be going to uni in a year and a half)
Any answers would be helpful

Nat

Natalie
I'm not sure if a fixed brace will affect clarinet playing as my daughter hasn't got hers yet - I'll let you know when she gets it at the end of March.
It definitely affects flute players until they manage to adapt their embouchure - and not everyone manages this too well.
Janet

My teacher told me that you'll have to work out a new emboucure; she says, "it stings horribly."

I unfortunately got a brace on the top many years ago. I played for 3 years with this on the top, with my embouchure suffering, and then when it was removed, I got a brace on the bottom, which I have now had for 3 years (and by god adults with braces get no respect!).

The thing is, I now have constant blisters on the inside of my mouth, and cuts, scar tissue, and am basically I was in a lot of pain while playing clarinet or saxophone. BUT the inside of my mouth is now as hard as a brick (which isn't nice)

Natalie - Basically the thing is, if you don't want it to hurt, you'll have to take a considerable amount of time changing your embouchure. If you don't care about the pain, you have no problem.. But it's a lot of pain!

I've been trying out denture cushions as suggested but I bit right through two so I think jo.clarintet is probably right and I have sharp teeth. I will ask my dentist what he can do. Maybe DavidMusic has the answer to my question which is simply that you either give up or you carry on in pain until you build up a mouth as hard as a brick.

Oh you probably can remember - having the inside of your mouth like brick isn't that nice, but it goes within 6 months or so if you stop playing, so it's not that bad.

QUOTE (mr Mopo @ Mar 8 2004, 07:12 PM)

I've been trying out denture cushions as suggested but I bit right through two so I think jo.clarintet is probably right and I have sharp teeth. I will ask my dentist what he can do. Maybe DavidMusic has the answer to my question which is simply that you either give up or you carry on in pain until you build up a mouth as hard as a brick.

wow. Your teeth are sharp

When I had fixed braces I got a whole load of ulcers on my lip if I practiced too much for too long!
I found it helped if you do little and often and then the brace wont cut you, and normally you get given wax to put on the sharp bits on your brace. Its probably best that if you choose to use the wax that u take it off afterwards before you end up eating it!(its not really very nice!)
You eventually learn to adapt...but then have to un-adapt when it gets taken off again!!

Kate

I really sympathise cos i've got really sharp teeth as well. If ur getin a brace you can get lip protectors from John Myatt which cost about £12 and save you from having to go to the dentist.

If ur mouth gets sore from playing, just stop and have a rest. Last grade I was practising so hard so i wouldn't fail, then slit my lip open with my teeth and couldn't do the grade anyway. If it hurts stop, that's the only advise i can give.

You no i said about that lip protector when u hav a brace? Do u think that you could use one even if u don't have one?

Dear Purple Dolphin,
you poor thing that sounds reaLLY PAINFUL. I saw a clarinettist yesterday use a protector made from folded up cigarette paper. All I can say is that experiments are continuing!

some sort of steel might be up your alley, Purple dolphin

janets daughter here. does a fixed brace really make that much difference? i've had a removable one for both top and bottom(which i have to leave in) for about 5 months now and the only difference i noted was high notes being slightly flatter than usual! Now when i play without it in my teeth dig hard into my bottom lip as i must have been biting when i wore it. has this happened to anyone else? what did you do?

I have kind of a double problem when it comes to playing, because I have bridge work on my top three teeth (I had a tooth knocked out when I was ten and the gap has since been bridged) I find I can't no matter how much I try play the top notes, they always come out flat or not at all. I have a friend of mine who is tutoring me and even she says it's unlikely I will get the high notes because of the bridge work in the place it's in. So I just have to get used to that one.

With my bottom lip when I was young I fell down some stairs on a bus and put my teeth through it which means I now have a lump inside my bottom lip which makes it uncomfortable at times to play because my teeth catch right under the lump. So for that I will certinally try a 'teeth guard' approach.

At least with a brace it will be removed at some stage, so while it may hurt for a while there is light at the end of the tunnel.

With me at the moment it looks as though I won't be able to hit those high notes because of my bridge work

Natalie - Basically the thing is, if you don't want it to hurt, you'll have to take a considerable amount of time changing your embouchure. If you don't care about the pain, you have no problem.. But it's a lot of pain!
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I kind of agree, I mean, I've played flute for about 3 years as my first instrumant and I'm doing my grade 7 this year some time, and when i got my brace on, it was pretty painful anyway, without playing my flute.

Does anyone know how much it will affect me when I get my brace taken off... I'm rather worried that it will totally kill my embouchure and wreck my playing... i'm SOOO! scared... *argh*

My teeth leave a huge ridge for a few days if i spend more than an hour a day practising

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I had to give up playing the clarinet some months ago because of the pain I was getting in my front teeth (the top ones). According to my dentist this is quite common, although my clarinet teacher hadn't come across it before. The dentist said it's caused by the pressure from trying to reach high notes pushing the teeth forward slightly which leaves a small gap between them and the gums. It still hurts like mad anyway! He suggested I should take up the trumpet instead as this would push them back in the opposite direction!

Hmmm I'm not doubting your dentist has seen other cases of this but to get the high notes you really don't need to apply pressure.