earnhart88

I had implant surgery to my upper teeth I wanted a solid base to play with.The problem is the upper teeth I got seems to block the needed air flow to make the trumpet sound good.Iv'e always had good sound quality until now .Is there any suggestions that would help me this deal was pretty expensive.Earnhart88-Neil

Patric_Bernard

So you hade teeth implanted? SOunds interestin haha...

Well one thing to do is start listening to pro's that wyou would like to have your tone sound like. Listen to them alot, and sooner or later your tone will start to sound like theirs.

Another thing that your gonna have to do is literally start over. Your embouchure will have to be a little different. You have to treat this as an embouchure change, not a sound change. Just start over with Long tones. Low C, nice long 8 - 16 counts. then down a half step and repeat. After that start on a second line G. and repeat down to the octave G. Over time, your tone will come back. It certaintly wont be right away, but will take some time to develop your sound again.

Dont be depressed, this has happened to alot of pro's. Just think of Sergei Nakariakov, he had an accident (car accident i think) and had to change his whole embochure, thats why he plays with such a slanted angle. Keep playing and you will make leaps and bounds.

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tatakata

How do the teeth stop the air?

Pedal C

A change to the teeth can DEFINITELY change your playing! It won't for some people, but don't let them tell you it shouldn't for you. If it does, it does. There are plenty of us who have had to deal with it...I know I did.

Anyway, I think the best thing I can tell you is to find a teacher you trust and make sure you're playing with good fundamentals to start out with. Sometimes when a change occours in your playing (intentionally or not), good fundamentals of breathing, attack without hesitation, embouchure, etc, won't sound wonderful to start with, but will take you farther in the long run. Cheating now to regain your sound or range can really build in some bad habits. Believe me on that one! Tension and manipulating the chops can get you "back," but it'll hold you back too.

Sooooo, I hope you have a teacher you can go to to guide you back. Start out slowly and remember that things have changed, so it isn't a matter of trying different things untill you play like you did. You just have to start where you are and move forward. Your ears and sound concept will get you there eventually. Keep listening to trumpet players you like, but don't worry right now if you can't sound like you want to. Give that time.

Jason.

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"The oboe's A is to make sure we still play it 1 and 2" - Bud Herseth

"One way or another, every patient stops bleeding." - Scrubs

earnhart88

Because the denture teeth are longer than they were,I have a nice smile but it sounds like the air going into the horn isn't enough,maybe I need to shorten the teeth up.

Pedal C

If it were me, I might give it a little time to see if your chops get used to the new teeth before messing with them. Shortening may help, but you never know, so it's obviously a bit of a gamble. If the new teeth can be adjusted to be more like your old teeth, it may help.

How are the old and new teeth different?

Jason.

__________________
"The oboe's A is to make sure we still play it 1 and 2" - Bud Herseth

"One way or another, every patient stops bleeding." - Scrubs

mrmusicnotes

Just a word of encouragement:Harry James had his teeth pulled,dentures slapped in,and played for hours that same night.Louis armstrong had to stop playing for a whole year professionally due to badly infected lips.He literally had to start from scratch.Dont do nothing drastic,its probablly a slight adjustment in you embrosure,maby a slight drop in your jaw to conpensate.Good Luck Don.

Patric_Bernard

Lol... he had a lip infection probably due to the fact that he put Cocaine on his lips as a pain reliever lol... crazy times back then.

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earnhart88

The difference in these teeth,they are longer in the front than the old ones ,I've used partial plate for years and played well.Thanks you all for the advice.

rowuk

Earnhart88,
your teeth cannot block the air. As long as there is ANY gap vertically or horizontally, the air will find its way out. What is happening is that your previous habits have your tongue directing air into your teeth causing a certain amount of additional "turbulence". Only new habits or shorter teeth can compensate for this.
Forget all of the BS about starting over again or "quick fixes" with specific notes from players that have not experienced what you are going through (or helped anybody successfully repair a similar situation!). If reasonable molds were made of your old teeth, the face muscles will still be working correctly and you only need to pay attention to the tongue. Play your old routine, just leave out the tonguing for a couple weeks (use breath attacks). Keep your breathing relaxed and the sound flowing. If you try to work on sound, range and tonguing at the same time, you have 2 old habits to fight. Divide and conquer! Do not let frustration hurt your breathing.

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.