Mouthpiece/ Embouchure Issue?

[Ianmq]

Hi all, I’m having some trouble playing on my current mouthpiece. I play on an SMX4, and it might be the mouthpiece or me, and for some reason my upper lip starts hurting and gets tired when I play above an Eb above the staff, and I used to be able to rip out high notes (Bb, C) with ease. And it didn’t hurt at all. But now I am using as little pressure as possible and using only air and I can get them out but I just feel so heavy in my mouthpiece and it’s concerning me a lot. Even in the middle range like in the staff it still feels very weird and unnatural. I spoke with my professor about it recently and he said it might be the sharp rim on the SMX4 and he advised me to try a Bach 3 or 4G instead. I was wondering if you’ve heard of this problem or experienced it yourself? It made me feel like I had revered to how I played in highschool, not able to easily hit high b flat without hurting my mouth. My teeth seem to be digging a little into the right side of my upper lip. It feels like I’m fatigued after just half an hour of practice and I used to practice 4 hours a day on occasion! Any advice? Please and thank you !

[dsurkin]

Hi all, I’m having some trouble playing on my current mouthpiece. I play on an SMX4, and it might be the mouthpiece or me, and for some reason my upper lip starts hurting and gets tired when I play above an Eb above the staff, and I used to be able to rip out high notes (Bb, C) with ease. [snip]

It may be worth your while to do a consultation with Doug Elliott. He also manufactures a number of different rims at the same 1.02 inch (26mm) size.
http://www.dougelliottmouthpieces.com/series.html

[ghmerrill]

Sounds like you're pressing the mouthpiece too forcefully against your lips/teeth. The Doug Elliott suggestion is a good one.

[Ianmq]

Well I mean, I’ve never really had this problem until I got this SM4X, I don’t use a lot of pressure at all I just think the way my mouth has to move to set for high notes is just pushing against something. I will continue to try and use less pressure though.

[davewerden]

A change of mouthpiece can have unexpected effects on your physical "habits" or whatever you would call them. I suppose it is possible you ARE unintentionally using more pressure now because of some subtle different in how the mp feels. For example, a very rounded rim can make a mouthpiece feel larger because the inner rim curves away from your chops sooner. Taking a given mp and changing from a flatter rim to a rounder rim, or vice versa, could perhaps make a difference in how much pressure you use. Just a thought.

As I mentioned on Facebook, I found my SM4U had a sharper rim. For me the discomfort was on my lip surface until I got quite used to it. If the X has the same profile as my U, perhaps the different pressure distribution causes some extra scuffing inside your chops. Just another thought.

Still, I like the idea of having a session with Doug. I think he does web sessions.