I play bass clarinet and occasionally soprano. I got braces on the second day of school this year. I'm not going to lie, it will hurt ALOT the first few days. however, playing doesn't hurt particularly much more than in general When i got mine, i went to school, and my band director told me "don't even take your mouthpiece outside for marching band for a few days." (i march mellophone). the next day, however, i was ok playing for marching band for parts of the rehearsal- if it got bad, i just stopped playing. my first band class actually playing was three days after i got them on (because it was the beigning of the year and all) and at that point, i didn't really have much issues, just had to get used to them.

wow that was long. ok, to sumarize and actually be useful: you'll be fine. after the first few days, your teeth won't hurt except right after tehy get adjusted. however, the most important thing playing-wise, i think, is to try not to get cut! wax will be your friend for a while untill your mouth toughens up. do what you can handle, and don't overdo it. your director will understand.

good luck, don't get discouraged if it's a little hard at first, and don't stop smiling!

the braces make it kinda hard but after a month or so you will get used to it. Wax is yourbest friend with braces,tooo!!!

I double the wax thing, it helps reduce pain..

When you first get the braces it may be painful to play, although i didn;t have much of an issue with it. You;ll just have to practice alittle more so the muscles in your mouth get acustom to the braces.

AKR

i have a question instead of an answer (sorry :P) but i have a different problem than other people seem to have. i just got braces 3 days ago or something, and i've gotten past the initial soreness. now i'm trying to start playing (i play euphonium, just got a trombone, wrong bore lol) and i just don't have the same range i used to.

the reason is that whenever i try to make my embouchure smaller, my braces touch my lips and all the vibration just stops. i know people who have complained of pain with this happening, but i can't even keep a buzz going. it's very frustrating cuz it'd be a breeze to get up that high without interference, but i need help. any suggestions?

practice. long tones/scales will probably help. Brass is a lot harder to deal with braces with. My (totally a guess) suggestion would be to maybe try putting more of your lips in the mouthpiece to begin with than you did before, so theres more there to spread out and they won't get as stretched. Though you probably ought to ask some knowledgable brass people, too. Good luck!