trumpet blower88

I was trying to practice today, but I noticed everytime I put the mouthpiece up to my face, my lip starts to hurt. I tried to keep practiceing but I found the more I played, the worse I was sounding, and I was just getting discouraged. After about 15 minuets I give up for today, I walk into the bathroom and notice that my lip is all red and a litle bit bloody. I looked at it closer and I found out that there is a zit or pimple or something on my lip right where the rim of the mouthpiece sits. Now the big problem is that my band camp starts soon, I'll be playing probably 4 to 5 hours a day for the next two weeks, but there is no way I'll be able to last with this thing on my lip.

Do you know of anyway to get this thing to go away faster? I tried putting some ChopSaver on it, but that didn't do anything. I'm afraid to try putting some Carmex or something on it because of bad stories that my brass instructor told us about Carmex and killing your lips...

Theres gotta be something out there that can get rid of this... And hopefully it works in just a couple days. Band Camp is comming and I can't play!

musicalmason

this is gonna sound really wierd, but I have used preperation H on this times many times with much success. of course you should use a good astringent and keep it really clean and it will go away, but if you need to play with it, preperation H will keep the swelling down and should let you play with it. its worked for me.

trumpet blower88

Haha... I can't believe I just put butt cream on my mouth...

Manny Laureano

Well, how do you follow that?

Yup, I've heard about the Prep H as a shrinking agent. too. Assuming it's a pimple it'll go down soon. I don't know what "a few days" means but I would try something else in addition.

If you don't have an oversensitivity to ibuprofen it works wonders in getting swellings down. Advil has always worked well for me when I've had to go that route. Also, ice it down some, too. Can you afford to take a day or two off? That would be great if you can swing it.

Otherwise, don't get too exotic with remedies and things. Explain to the powers that be that you have a temporary injury to your lip. You won't be the first young person to have to deal with it at that camp, I assure you.

Don't push it but don't baby yourself too much, either. Find a balance.

ML

trumpet blower88

Thanks for your advice. If it's still there tomarow I think I'll keep the horn in its case. Camp starts on Thrusday so hopefully I can get some good practice in on Wendsday at least...

Dan Gosling

Dear T-Blower,

Dan the ChopSaver guy here! Boy, can I relate! Last week I played one of the hardest concerts I've played in quite awhile - music from all 6 Star Wars movies with the Cincinnati Pops! It was a blast in every sense of the word. Lucky for me, the zit was on my lower lip and really "reared it's ugly head" after the concerts. In my career, I have noticed zits and other mouth irritations can, on occasion, coincide with heavy playing. In my case, I was able to take it easy. And yes, I did apply ChopSaver, and it did help the healing process. But I knew it would also take some time.

Zits and pimples seem to take awhile because they are not just surface injuries. There's all that nasty stuff underneath that has to dry out. Maybe a good over the counter acne medicine would also help.

If you have been taking it easy, that will help a lot. But I would be careful about "getting in some good practice" the day before camp starts. In other words, don't try to make up for lost time or you will go into camp feeling sore and fatigued. I always try to go into a hard week "feeling fresh" as opposed to "feeling strong", like an athlete would. For me, "feeling strong" is one step away from "feeling stiff." It's a fine line we tread. Believe me, it took me a long time to finally figure that one out! But keep in mind that mararthon runners do not run marathons the week before a race. I feel that musicians are way behind the curve in terms of how we take care of our bodies. For too long, we have gone by the mantra "Practice makes perfect". Well, that's true only if you are practicing the right way. If any of you would like to read more about this kind of stuff, there is a fantastic book called The New Toughness Training For Sports by James Loehr. The basic message is recovery must EQUAL stress. We musicians can learn a lot from our athletic friends. And there are a ton of good, positive things you can do in a practice session without just pounding away. Mental practice is an amazing thing, by the way. While I'm recommending summer reading, you might also check out Performance Success by Don Greene. Great stuff!

So, I hope this helps a bit. Stay smart and have a great camp!

All the best,

Dan

robertwhite

Great post Dan! I've been thinking about this a lot, because I have a recital coming up that's a bit of a blow. Balancing stress and recovery seems to help a good deal. The ChopSaver helps, too! (free plug).

Hope you're well. Say hi to Noelle for me!

Bob

Clarence

ha ha, he said butt cream