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trumpetmike · 12-02-2006, 02:33 AM

I have had a large number of students experience the "joy" of braces and it doesn't usually affect two people the same way. I have had one who didn't experience any changes between pre-brace, brace and post-brace. His range stayed the same, his tone didn't change, it was easy. On the other hand, I have had a student whose playing was destroyed by the brace - he couldn't produce a good sound and his range was reduced to about an octave (when he had been on over two). He wasn't a "pressure" player, it was just that the brace placement matched perfectly with his embouchure.
When dealing with cases such as the second, I have found that if the trumpet mouthpiece is not working out very well, try a euphonium. If you are reading treble clef then the valves are the same, much of the music is the same and you can usually find places in the same band. They then have the option of sticking with the new instrument or returning to trumpet when the brace is all finished with, depending whether your embouchure works as well on the new instrumnet or better on the latter.
I have had some stick and some swap back. The only person who has had real problems was a young lady whose parents desperately wanted her to be a cornet player. Her cornet playing was reasonable, nothing more - a nice tone, but real range problems. She had braces and swapped to euphonium (under my advice, with her parents not at all happy). She was a stunningly good euphonium player, an absolute natural, and achieved good placement in the local bands. When the brace came off, Mummy and Daddy insisted she returned to cornet. That was the end of her playing. She wasn't able to match her euphonium playing standard, got very frustrated and has since given up. A real shame, she would have been a first class euphonium player.

I am not saying that you should give up the trumpet, but it is another option to consider, especially if you find that the brace is causing problems.

I have tried a number of braceguard/wax type coverings and have yet to have any student who finds that these work well.

Basically - keep an open mind and be prepared for whatever happens. If another solution presents itself it might be worth trying it out.

12-02-2006, 02:33 AM	#8 (permalink)
trumpetmike Forte User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Farnham (a place too smal Posts: 1,202	I have had a large number of students experience the "joy" of braces and it doesn't usually affect two people the same way. I have had one who didn't experience any changes between pre-brace, brace and post-brace. His range stayed the same, his tone didn't change, it was easy. On the other hand, I have had a student whose playing was destroyed by the brace - he couldn't produce a good sound and his range was reduced to about an octave (when he had been on over two). He wasn't a "pressure" player, it was just that the brace placement matched perfectly with his embouchure. When dealing with cases such as the second, I have found that if the trumpet mouthpiece is not working out very well, try a euphonium. If you are reading treble clef then the valves are the same, much of the music is the same and you can usually find places in the same band. They then have the option of sticking with the new instrument or returning to trumpet when the brace is all finished with, depending whether your embouchure works as well on the new instrumnet or better on the latter. I have had some stick and some swap back. The only person who has had real problems was a young lady whose parents desperately wanted her to be a cornet player. Her cornet playing was reasonable, nothing more - a nice tone, but real range problems. She had braces and swapped to euphonium (under my advice, with her parents not at all happy). She was a stunningly good euphonium player, an absolute natural, and achieved good placement in the local bands. When the brace came off, Mummy and Daddy insisted she returned to cornet. That was the end of her playing. She wasn't able to match her euphonium playing standard, got very frustrated and has since given up. A real shame, she would have been a first class euphonium player. I am not saying that you should give up the trumpet, but it is another option to consider, especially if you find that the brace is causing problems. I have tried a number of braceguard/wax type coverings and have yet to have any student who finds that these work well. Basically - keep an open mind and be prepared for whatever happens. If another solution presents itself it might be worth trying it out.