my friend let me try some of the morgan bumpers... since we had a concert the next week, i didn`t have time to "tough it out". the morgan bumpers improve my tone and make playing painless, but i still can`t get out anything above a D, and the notes I can play are hopelessly flat. I only have braces on top (for now). Could this have something to do with it? Will it be a little easier once I have all my braces on? I have music scholarship auditions in a few weeks... any advice??

i think the only thing that fixes braces is time and lots of practise without pushing yourself. It`s the most infuriating thing to hear at the time, but its true...

I just got braces Yesterday and can barely get a note out of my trumpet and cant get above C. My band is relying on me to play in all of the concerts coming up real soon. ANY IDEAS it sucks

I`m on my tail end of the trumpet/braces combo... In 8th grade, i could hit an E above the staff with perfect tone (and even vibrato if you asked me to). I was going to be the first trumpet in the high school jazz band that I was heading too, but over the summer, i got my braces on. Lost everything above a G on top of the staff. felt like crap back then... still do. The only thing I`m hanging onto is my friends who say that when they got their braces off, their range was further than ever before. (fingers crossed)

Hey everyone...im 15 and i play the trumpet and i cant play any higher that a high g without cracking either!! if i wouldve seen this site b4 i would have been so much better off...but i get my braces off in 1 month so it doesnt help now!! lol...

I learned trumpet on braces so when I finally got them off I lost over an octave in my range. I could play a double high F with braces, and I went down to nothing higher then a fourth line D w/o braces. Wish they had an implant that would imitate braces when you play. I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Man..I just got braces 2 days ago and I dont seem to have the same tone or range at all...My parents don`t understand, they think in a couple of days I`ll be better..Glad to know I`m not alone...PLEASE HELP!!!!

Words of advice: When it comes to the trumpet, never listen to your parents (unless they happen to play trumpet).

About braces....I have braces too, and i can still reach a top A. But my braces are comin off soon, so i will be able to play like top D! Yay!

Hey um.. i understand where u guys are comin from, but u know i got my braces and for the first week i couldn`t paly, i went to the Berklee Jazz fest and faked my pieces, one of my teachers even thought i should quit, however after only 1 week i can hit high C`s above staff, with no difficulty.. its just that u gotta stick to it and keep tryin, find ur comfy zone where it doesn`t hurt

Alright the key to braces is AIR!!! AIR AIR AIR!!!! Braces, in my opinion, make you a better trumpet player. I got mine in 6th grade I think and am now in 10th. I had an A in me with braces if I squeaked for it, then I got em off and range soared b/c I had learned the "right way" (as my teacher called it) to play trumpet. Try not to press hard, just breath into your stomach and play with more air and less mouth. Eventually you`ll get them off and you can get higher notes, it`s really quite the learning tool. One bad thing about them is that they screwed up my embrochure real bad, but other than that braces really helped me get better.

I don`t know what it is, at first playing wasn`t hard it was just really weird. Now that I`ve looked in the forums I`ve gotten more and more advice. The secret for me is air. I pressed when I played before the braces to get the notes like c`s and d`s above the staff. Now I`m starting to sound even better each day by first finding the key, which is nothing but air.

One more thing that helps me is wax. I dont think using bumpers help, well maybe for a short time, but once you get the braces off your lips will go back to your teeth and won`t push out as far.(which could make it difficult to get back to normal)

Hey , i have played trumpet for 2 1/2 years and my teeth stick out and i know it sux just b happy someone feels your pain!

i have had braces 4ever and played with my trumpet perfectly just keep practicing