Metal Mouth Message Board

I saw this online today and thought you guys might get a kick out of it:

From www.orthodonticproductsonline.com:


SDSU Professor Publishes a Book for Musicians Who Wear Braces

The challenges of wearing braces while playing a brass instrument can be enough to derail some promising musicians, but they don't have to, according to John Colson, professor emeritus of music at South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD. Colson, who spent 34 years as the conductor and music director of the South Dakota State University Civic Symphony Orchestra, offers advice to trumpet and French horn SPAMMERS LIKE ME who wear braces in his new book, Braces & Brass.

The book offers study materials, practice procedures, and an assignment guide that leads students through gradually more strenuous stages. The focus is on French horn and trumpet because musicians who play other brass instruments don’t have the same difficulty coping with braces.

It started when triplet sister trumpet SPAMMERS LIKE ME, Mary, Kristin, and Sarah Stoneback, got braces and experienced difficulty playing their horns. Known today as the Stoneback Sisters and Stoneback Brass, they are acclaimed professional trumpet SPAMMERS LIKE ME. They say that Colson's exercises helped them through the difficult time they had playing their instruments while wearing braces.

Their father, Ron, a professional musician and author of instrumental music books of his own, suggested that Colson publish his helpful methods.

Braces & Brass is available online at www.rbcmusic.com.

I have played the flute since I was 10 years, but the last 15 years or so, I have only played around Christmas time. I guess that life gets in the way including work, kids and so on. Anyway, this past Christmas was my first in braces, so I put on some Christmas music, got inspired to play and took out the flute. Low and behold, I could barely get a sound out of it . I had thought that I would just adjust my lips a little to compensate for the braces, but boy was I wrong. I tried for a little while, finally said "forget it" and put it away. I was acually quite upset since I LOVE to play along to some of my Christnas CDs. Anyway, I am hoping to be debanded this month or March, so I am just going to wait. I am worried though that it will still be different since my teeth have moved and changed the shape of my mouth a little. We'll have to wait and see

I guess trumpet and French horn will present more difficulty because the mouthpiece is that much smaller and the lip pressure needs to be higher. I didn't think I'd be able to play my trombone with braces on but actually it doesn't seem to make much difference - I still sound terrible!

I couldn't find that book on the link Lynn gave, though.

Yeah I use to play the trumpet . Now I just play the piano. It was too difficult to adjust after I got braces.

Thanks for this posting. Too bad it only covers brass instruments, although perhaps some of the ideas might work on other wind instruments. Swede, I also found that flute playing was really hard at first, esp. with bite bumpers. The profile of the brackets messes up the embouchure. I'm doing a little better now, but it's harder to get a good tone. It's taken me nearly a year, but I can also play bassoon now without so much wax. Today I got elastics, so I'll have a new challenge with my instruments!

I used to play the trumpet in music class last year. I stopped playing because of braces. I wasn't very interested in it either. You have to do the correct embrochure for the instrument. It's hard with the trumpet because you need to need to pucker your lips a certain way that you can't do with braces. I can't do it because I have so many hooks that make it hurt. I don't miss the trumpet since I just started last year in secondary school music class. I wasn't very good anyways. I still play the piano, I also sing. My favourite "instrument" is my voice. I sing very well and I've learned to sing with braces just as well if I didn't have them. I'm passionate about singing so I learned how!

I used to be in band. That was in grade 6 and before I had braces.
I didn't like the teacher and I sucked at band . I like to sing. My favourite songs to sing are Feist songs!!! I love to sing 1234 and Mushaboom!
- mariah