sore lip problem
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Practice harder.
Joking aside, maybe your teeth are too sharp - a dentist may smoothen them a bit, or you may fold a piece of baking paper (waterproof) over them, or get a similar contraption made of some plastic.
Short term solution: a softer reed.
It could also be from biting, which would be an embouchure problem.
Form time to time I slip into the tiring effects of playing and start biting. This creates some (sometimes significant) pain on the lower side of my lip.
When I was in high school (a couple years ago) I used to sometimes bite so badly that I would draw blood and it would get severely raw underneath my lower lip. My private teacher at that time was able to get my embouchure to be much looser by having me push my mouthpiece UP to my top teeth thus allowing my lower teeth/lip more freedom. Before that I would use my lower teeth/lip to push the mouthpiece UP to my top teeth .. the wrong method.
So now when I play I make sure the strap is tight enough which allows the mouthpiece to get pushed UP to my top teeth - one reason I use mouthpiece patches too. This just needs some fiddling as you have to see how you like the mpc angle, etc but after those fixes I really don't have the problems I used to have way back yonder in the caveman days, I mean a few years ago
I also used the paper on the teeth, but too much pressure was simply too much biting pressure and it really did not help too much.
Form time to time I slip into the tiring effects of playing and start biting. This creates some (sometimes significant) pain on the lower side of my lip.
When I was in high school (a couple years ago) I used to sometimes bite so badly that I would draw blood and it would get severely raw underneath my lower lip. My private teacher at that time was able to get my embouchure to be much looser by having me push my mouthpiece UP to my top teeth thus allowing my lower teeth/lip more freedom. Before that I would use my lower teeth/lip to push the mouthpiece UP to my top teeth .. the wrong method.
So now when I play I make sure the strap is tight enough which allows the mouthpiece to get pushed UP to my top teeth - one reason I use mouthpiece patches too. This just needs some fiddling as you have to see how you like the mpc angle, etc but after those fixes I really don't have the problems I used to have way back yonder in the caveman days, I mean a few years ago
I also used the paper on the teeth, but too much pressure was simply too much biting pressure and it really did not help too much.
The answer to your question is: yes it is quite common---especially with players who are still developing. If the skin inside the lip is quite tender, it is best to stop playing a few days to let it heal. I have found that ointments for mouth sores can speed up the process and make it feel better in the meantime.
Some preventative measures can be taken in addition to the tips already given to reduce "biting" with the embouchure:
Practice for shorter periods of time with rests in between rather that long periods.
Use EZO denture cushions that can be found in any pharmacy to make a covering for the lower teeth if the teeth are sharp or jagged. You simply cut an oval that will extend over the front lower teeth, heat that with hot water, and form the cushion over the teeth till the wax in the cushion hardens again.
Some preventative measures can be taken in addition to the tips already given to reduce "biting" with the embouchure:
Practice for shorter periods of time with rests in between rather that long periods.
Use EZO denture cushions that can be found in any pharmacy to make a covering for the lower teeth if the teeth are sharp or jagged. You simply cut an oval that will extend over the front lower teeth, heat that with hot water, and form the cushion over the teeth till the wax in the cushion hardens again.
Kanka works great.
I have broken one of my lower front teeth before and had to get it filed down to compensate. It didn't feel that great to play on. However, that's what got me into trying Anbesol, Orajel and Kanka. In other words, "Tested and approved." I find the taste to be better than Anbesol or Orajel, too. One of the little bottles will last you for years. (I'd recommend using a Q-Tip as an applicator -- or make sure you sterilize the included applicator after use.)
Makes me wonder, though, if Kanka, et al, could cause some buildup in the mouthpiece and/or neck and/or pads. I'd say, "Make sure you use a swab!"
Makes me wonder, though, if Kanka, et al, could cause some buildup in the mouthpiece and/or neck and/or pads. I'd say, "Make sure you use a swab!"
which is actually a good thing for such endeavors like chewing and biting food.
This. Be certain you're not biting before you do something like having a dentist make permanent changes to your teeth, or even before messing around with cushions or ointments.
It seems like there is a common perception that the lower lip is the only thing standing between the teeth and the reed. No wonder there are so many sore lower lips! Open your jaw a little, so that your molars are apart. Let your lower lip come up to the reed, while the teeth stay away. Your lip will thank you, and your tone and control will improve, too.
FWIW, I don't bite, and if I've been laying off for a while the inside of my lower lip gets very sore. I've noticed that I develop almost a type of callus on the inside of my lower lip, but unlike other calluses on non-mucus membrane areas of a person's body, this callus doesn't last any length of time. After only a few short days of not playing my callus is gone, and it has to form again anew--hence the soreness while playing.
A callus on the lipth? Now that I wanna see...
Wouldn't it look more like an aphta (google is full of yummy pics - be warned) that you could also get as a reaction to eg walnuts or pineapples?
(I remember having had these very often when I was a child; no fun. Yech, boo, hiss.)
Wouldn't it look more like an aphta (google is full of yummy pics - be warned) that you could also get as a reaction to eg walnuts or pineapples?
(I remember having had these very often when I was a child; no fun. Yech, boo, hiss.)
Perhaps callus is the wrong word, but it is a slight, rather subtle, hardening of the tissue in the area that comes in contact with my teeth. Perhaps I have sharp teeth? I don't know. I also have never looked at the area to see what it looks like, I just know what it feels like when I run my tongue over it. It feels slightly different than the other area not in contact with my teeth.
I think the way a person wears the sax on the strap maybe plays a role--the lower the horn, the more pressure on the mouthpiece/reed. Perhaps this has something to do with it as well? I do wear my sax low--we can get into the whole sound debate somewhere else--but I do this to achieve a certain sound. But in pursuit of this sound, the extra weight may contribute to the tougher skin I have on my inner lip???
Now I'm going to have to go to the mirror and take a look at this maybe-not-a-callus-thingy. I'm very self conscious now... Oh how will I ever show my embouchure in public again? ;-)
I think the way a person wears the sax on the strap maybe plays a role--the lower the horn, the more pressure on the mouthpiece/reed. Perhaps this has something to do with it as well? I do wear my sax low--we can get into the whole sound debate somewhere else--but I do this to achieve a certain sound. But in pursuit of this sound, the extra weight may contribute to the tougher skin I have on my inner lip???
Now I'm going to have to go to the mirror and take a look at this maybe-not-a-callus-thingy. I'm very self conscious now... Oh how will I ever show my embouchure in public again? ;-)
Long as you don't demonstrate Carl's air leaks in mid-solo... ;-)Oh how will I ever show my embouchure in public again? ;-)
Yes, that would be bad. :-D
I had an approximation of this happen once during a solo. It was a long drawn out version of Chattanooga Choo Choo, solo for about 2 to 3 minutes. About 35 seconds in there were some odd sounds coming from the horn. I firmed up the embouchure and kept on going, after all, what else could I do, I had 2 more minutes to go before I could stop. The sound gets progressively "dirtier" as I play and was downright raunchy by the time I was done! Never would have thought to play it that way, but, you know, it actually worked pretty well as it turned out.
The culprit? My fibracell reed had started delaminating seconds into the solo section, and by the time I was done, about 1 inch of the shiny underside had peeled away from the meat of the reed. I was lucky it had continued making sounds and not died completely.
In the computer world, we'd call that an "undocumented feature" and use it as a selling point in our next ad.