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Originally Posted by jazz9  I don't know what it is, but I feel like I can't play very high, and my teeth are hurting a little after I play. I just had some chapped lips a couple days ago, and I used some chopsaver to get rid of them. My lips feel really weird, like they can't "work" to play the trumpet. I can't feel them tighten or loosen when I try to play high, it just feels like leather. Can anyone help me? |
Hello, jazz9. Something similar to this has also happened to me recently. Living in a now-warming-up Illinois, I blamed climate change :)
First off, I have had only two occasions when my teeth actually hurt after playing. The most usualy time is during marching band season, when I play hard enough to start bleeding in the gums. However, during sit-down band season, it happens if I use too much pressure.
Counteracting pressure is very simple. All I had to do was take my pinky out of that little ring, and rest it on the top. Your pinky should just be sitting there, putting NO downward pressure on your horn. At all. This is made more comfortable by raising your wrist. I used to have my hand physically touching the second-valve slide while I was playing. This is different nowadays.
Then there's the harder way- Pull the trumpet away from your face. I've not found any special technique to this. Just physically move your hands away from your body, and your trumpet shall follow.
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As for your lips... I really have no clue as to what's going on there. There is a chance that you have an allergic reaction to Chopsaver. My basson-playing friend did. Looking at your posting history, it looks like you've used chopsaver before. Have you noticed/felt anything strange? Check the lable for anything suspicious. You may also be using too much of it.
Has the physical appearence of your lips changed at all recently?
Here's something else I noticed. Use used the words
" can't "work" to play the trumpet. " You shouldn't have to be working too extremely hard to produce high notes. Just relax a bit and don't let the space between the note and the staff work you up. Don't force out the pitches-that doesn't sound good. Let them flow..
While my own lips don't feel "leathery," I myself experience difficulty in the high range due to a new embouchure, which is more comfortable and doesn't cut the inside of my mouth all over my teeth. The only reason I'm missing notes be because I don't trust it. I am not confident. Perhaps something has come up in your life, and your stressed, and it's hurting your confidence? I personally cannot play if there is something messed up in my life, weather it be a relationship or a death (we had an almost-school-shooting earlier this year, and I could barely play at all after that)