Playing Tenor after injuries to face, lips following acciden

[Doug Felden]

I had a nasty bicycling wreck in early June. Broke my jaw, nose, eye orbit, both sinuses, and major lacerations to face and lips. My lower lip was just about cut in half and I lost a large portion of tissue on the inside of my lip. I'm dealing with scar tissue on both upper and lower lips and also numbness of lips from nerve, muscle trauma. I'm trying to play again and each day is getting slightly better. I switched from my metal link ( 6* ) to a old selmer ( 5* ) with good results; i.e. better tone. MY main problem is being able to get a good seal around the m.p. Most of my air is escaping through my lips out and around the m.p. Any ideas ???? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I don' even want to talk about my Flute playing. furgettaboutit! Thanks for reading this.

[MS]

Doug - there are some embouchure exercires in the Larry Teal "Art of Saxophone Playing" that might be worth a try. The advantage to them is that they can be done away from the saxophone , possibly even when driving, reading, studying, etc. I use them when I travel and can't practice. Might help you get in touch with muscles/nerves and develop control as sensitivity returns. You might try only short sessions with the mps/reed/horn, several times a day for a while. Quit when tired or frustrated. Good luck and best wishes for a healthy and speedy return to saxophone playing. :D

[Doug Felden]

Thanks I'll order the book and check it out. Doug.

[MusicMan]

Doug,

I had to have grafts taken from the inside of both my upper and lower lips (bucal mucosa). The lower lip scarred pretty badly. I had my dentist make me a night guard for my lower teeth. The additional padding around my teeth helps support my lower lip and I seem to have an easier time with my embouchure now. Luckily, my dental coverage paid for the cost ($250). It might be worth checking into...

[Sigmund451]

What about reconstructive surgery....artificial tissue replacement...might not feel the same....but may offer some options...tho expensive its a lifetime of playing ahead of you. Bug the doctors....hammer on the insurance company doors (if you have any)

[Doug Felden]

Thanks to all for your thoughts. As an update on my progress; I've been playing ( struggling ) every day and it is coming back faster than I expected. My embrochure is different than before the accident. Actually it is a more " correct " form, in that I no longer puff out my cheeks like I use to. My tone is weak and I leak air around the mp. but it is getting better. I SEE AN IMPROVEMENT ALMOST EVERY DAY. I'm having some problems with squeaking especially whea I play my metal link. I have to remind myself constantly that I'm lucky to be even playing at all, and that time heals all wounds. As you all know, we musicians are our own worse critics. So I'll keep on keepin on as they say, cause I can't do anything less. Doug ( Lockjaw ) Felden.

[Bloo Dog]

Doug,

You are to be commended on your determination and progress. Keep it up. Make the setback become a source of strength and knowledge.

It seems that the smaller diameter metal mouthpieces are more tiring for me to play, especially my Berg Larsens. The small chamber calls for less breath expenditure, but the small outside diameter of the mouthpiece tires my mouth out. I find it difficult to maintain a good seal around it. I recently underwent oral surgery (it's healing satisfactorily), so i have a some understanding of your challenges.

You may want to look into a hard rubber mouthpiece with a small chamber. Since hard rubber mouthpieces tend to have larger diameters, they are less tiring to play and it is easier to maintain a proper air seal around them.

When my surgery has healed and i can resume playing, I intend to revert back to playing my hard rubber Otto Link. The chamber is a little too large and will undoubtedly challenge the oral modifications attendant to soft-palate surgery, so I have cast a plastic baffle to reduce the size of the mouthpiece and reduce the required airstream support.

If you want, I can cast a removable baffle for an Otto Link which you can modify to your own liking, or I can tell you how to make and modify your own. It's really pretty simple.

Let me know.

Bloodog

email: tmugwump@yahoo.com