[jtyler]

Ahh! I have these braces (and I've had them for a long time, but I don't know when they'll be leaving). The rubberbands are changing my embouchure and tounguing. Has anyone else been in this position ever? Should I just keep adjusting to the new jaw positions that are resulting from the rubber bands and braces? What should I do during this period of time?

 

[Buck Laughlin]

What should I do during this period of time?

Learn to adapt and overcome.

 

[jbtsax]

I taught band for 32 years and worked with hundreds of students who got braces. They seem to affect brass and flute players the most. My advice is to do the best you can with them and to not get discouraged. They will not last forever and the problems they cause with tone production and tonguing quickly go away when they are removed. In other words, what Buck said with a lot more verbosity.

 

[jth121]

Yes, I have the same issue. I waited until I was an adult to get them. I have had them on for about a year and a half and I am about half way through wearing them. Some adjustments at the orthodontist and what follows are better than others. I only had a few weeks here and there where it was horrible. It was/is hard to develop a base to build from when everything is changing and sore at times. I found it helpful to talk with my orthodontist and sax teacher about this. The orthodontist had me only wear the bands at night so that there was less tension overall and my sax teacher kept an eye on how I was playing so that I did not develop bad habits (which I was doing with the extra tension on the jaw). Other than that, the 2 previous posts suggested doing what I did and played through it. Again, the worst times seemed to be early on when things were moving the most.