I am almost 15, and I play the trumpet. Well the only bad part about that is that I can`t play any thing higher than a high D without fracking. I`m getting slight;y better, but not much. Does anybody out there know what I could do (besides wear wax) to play the higher notes without fracking. Please help, I am in desperate need.

ok I heard of this one really really good idea once. Ok do you know the mouth guards that football players wear? get one of those and cut a piece just big enough to cover your front braces. Well, you take the mouth guard and boil till it gets soft enough to mold. let it cool just enough so you don`t burn yourself and press it to your front teeth. You might have to mold it a few times to get the right fit but once you do it should just kinda form to your teeth when you put it in. This will help you tremendously because unlike wax it creates a smooth surface like you would have with out braces. I hope this helps you!!! good luck and if you have any questions just e-mail me at kats_meow14@hotmail.com ------Linds

cooooooool! i have the the same problem but i can play higher. linds, mouth guard thig is so coolhee hee

I had the same problem when I had braces.
Next time you go to your orthodontist ask him/her about bumpers, they help a ton. That`s what I used.
They attach onto your braces so they don`t slip around.
Hope that helps.

Im 16 i play trumpet been playing scince i was in gr 6. I had braces for the bulk of my years learning. I had the bumpers they always fell off, be careful with the mouthguards see ifyou can do it with elastics off ( The two plastics may melt together :P) What did was get a helluvalot of numbing cream (Like for teething babies) And i sucked it up and played after the first month or so i was fine you just build up a tolerance :P I had cool little indents in the inside of my mouth :P

Ahhh the famous braces issue. I recently had the problem and had the braces since 7th grade and had them for 5 years.....could not play worth crap when i got them off.......best thing i`ve thought of so far is to put in my retainers while i play seems alot easier than without them because it still leaves the small gap between your teeth and lips hope this helps!

Get some "morgan braces bumpers." Ask your orthadontist about them. They are extremely cheap and help a lot. I had braces and played the trumpet, these things saved my life! Oh, and another thing, once you get used to playing with your braces, just wait and try to play when you get them off. Hahahahaha. (sorry)

I got braces on half way through my seconed year of learning. It was a little bad at first, especially right after they got tightened, but soon I was up to speck (the small bit there was in my Jr. band). With them on all you have to do is just practice. Once you get them off people say its harder, but it just accented my playing even more, bumped me from 2nd to 1st trumpet in my third year of playing, and now im moving up the Ladder in my Sr. band fairly fast.

i still have the scars from my trumpet braces combo. I just toughed it out, and when the braces have dug half way through your lip after you`ve been playing for an hour you can play really high, no slippage at least for me thats what happened. My braces came off and i lost my range

i have the piece of crap things to and i play trumpet so all i can say is just be real consintradeiv and if u in oklahoma and use pipkin change orthodontist now! if i do not know him he is bad with braces! so just consintrade.

Braces do suck... I got them about eight months ago, and I had to build up my range again with longtones. Loads of those...

I play the trumpet and had braces for 2 years. I tried the morgan bumper but it still didnt help me get the high notes. it didnt hurt but it was the position of the mouthpiece that made it difficult. i could never play higher then a G but looking back I probably should have been more perseverant!!! Keep trying!!!

I have the braces trumpet combo and yes it really sucks... I keep getting strange vibration and I can`t play E above tuning, yet I can get up to like high C... so unpredictable! But my friend had them too and she said when she got them off she could play super high.

Yeah, just got braces a few weeks ago, lost an octave of range. Morgan bumpers don`t seem to help, they push my lips out WAY too much and mess with my embouchure. Anyone have any suggestions? Golden Empire`s in 5 days. Can`t miss that...do I just keep trying?