This is the lip now at 7 mos. It feels great and looks great considering it was a tore-up mess 7 months ago. There is still a bunching, for lack of a better term, in the center. Though, not nearly as bad as after the first surgery.

The 7 month itch

If curiosity kills the cat, then what does it do to trumpeters? Rhetorical question...don't answer it! Having played almost every day for the past two months and not ever going higher than the occasional C (3rd space), I wonder just how my chops would feel if I did?

Okay, rewind for a minute and let's look at what I've been doing. I have stayed tight with my Schuebruk No.1 only. I like this because it helps me find the setting consistently. I usually repeat this exercise 4-5 times. Can't wait to go on to No. 2. Then I move into Schlossberg No. 5 and only the first 15 measures. I continue with Schlossberg No. 11 and just the first 7 measures. From here I go to the Stamp No.3 starting on G and working my way down to C. I move on to the Chicowicz flow study up to C (3rd space) and end with Schlossberg No. 12 and only the first 7 measures. All this while trying to not exceed mf and not use the tongue. As I might have stated in an earlier post, I am looking to establish a solid, consistent setting and get into the good habit of breathing and control of the breath. For this reason, I have chosen not to "short-cut" my rehab by starting with tongue. That will come back into play soon. Besides, every time I try to tongue, I hack the note, blow air out of my nose, and have a sh#!@y tone. This routine gives me good information on where my chops are and what they are doing...but it is getting boring!

I know now that I can make a sound. I know now that I must continue on and begin the process of introducing the tongue and start playing exercises that will strengthen my chops and increase my flexibility. Today I stretched it a bit and worked up to E (4th space). Overall the feeling was good and the sound was as well. It felt good enough to actually play even higher or try a new exercise or two...but I will not let my curiosity divert my progress and kill this cat.

The process...

For the first month I did nothing with my lips that was trumpet related. I tried to keep everything that I did with my lips i.e. eating, brushing teeth, drinking, kissing, etc. limited to the smallest motions.

The second month is all about the isometric exercises that Dr. McGrail recommends. These are very basic but very effective in shaping the lip . Out of respect for Dr. McGrail, I will not post these exercises here. However, I did come up with exercises on my own. One is simply saying "X" and "O". Another is a mock embouchure set up without really engaging the muscles. I do this by saying and holding "M" and following it with "POO". I don't form my embouchure or make any motions that will tighten the lips. It comes out like "MmmPoo". I also move my jaw back and forth with my teeth slightly separated.

The third month brings the mouthpiece into play. I continue the exercises but also begin to buzz. Starting very low and slow and just slightly increasing the task everyday. I don't try to buzz high or loud ever. The goal is to retrain the muscles. I have taken to the Stamp, Schlossberg, and Shuebruk methods and I am starting every note with the air. I am only buzzing the first and lowest exercises and NEVER exceeding 5 minutes at any one time.

The fourth month has seen me begin to play the trumpet again. While the buzzing feels great something about putting the horn to my face feels strange and uncomfortable. I feel this discomfort must be overcome before I can move on. I feel slight pulling of my muscles and an unfamiliarity with the mouthpiece once it is on the horn. I am keeping it low and slow. Not going higher than a second line G. I use the first exercise in Shuebruk, Stamp, and the Schlossberg exercise in fifths.

Here is where I am today. In the early stages of reacquainting myself to my trumpet. Thirty years of playing trumpet has led me to acquire a great deal of knowledge but I/WE must remember that trumpet is a physical instrument and the knowledge (at this time) only serves to rehabilitate. I equate this to an astronaut going to space for, say 8 months, tearing his ACL and coming back to Earth and having to deal with recovery from a reconstructive surgery, re-learning to walk (due to atrophy), and rehabbing the knee. There is a lot the mind and body have to deal with.

photo @ 3 weeks

This is my lip now three weeks after the surgery. Looks much better and feels very good. There is still some swelling and during this time I have to be very careful not to smile to big or open my mouth too wide.

post-op photo

This is the picture taken immediately after my surgery. You can see that the cut was made along the lip line. There is obvious swelling and (I am not going to lie) quite a bit of pain. The surgery takes maybe 30 min and within 10-14 days the lip looks amazingly better. It feels better too. The scar does pose a problem in recovery but not as much as one would think. The largest obstacle is the atrophy. Remember, our minds still know how to play and what to do to prepare the embouchure to make a sound. However, the muscles do not remember and have to be retrained.

Preface

Here I go again. After tearing the muscle in my lip and taking years to recover, I've done it again. Although this time was much less debilitating. To make a long story short, I've played trumpet for 32 years and professionally for the past 22. I've chosen jazz and commercial music (or it chose me-different posting) as my profession. This genre requires immense knowledge and versatility. While jazz is my true love and passion, I am often hired to play everything but jazz. Many times I am asked to play the lead chair in a large ensemble, or the single trumpet chair in a pop/R&B group. Latin music has really taken off and provided a lot of work to trumpeters like me. Sometimes I am hired as a section/supporting player and if I'm lucky I'm hired to play jazz. All of this playing, combined with practice (I love to practice) and very little rest has worn down the muscle tissue causing a rupture. This can only be fixed by surgery...and I've done it twice. OUCH! The second time, luckily, was not as drastic as the first. I believe this is because the second time was more or less an extension of the first injury.

The first injury occurred after an amazing three year schedule of playing that had me working well over 1000 gigs in that time. Many gigs were doubles and most were requiring me to play loud and high. As fun as that is, that kind of playing takes it's toll on the very delicate muscles of the lip. Particularly that of the OBICULARIS ORIS or the upper lip muscle. While on tour with a very popular latin/r&b artist I started to notice that I was missing notes and struggling to play passages that I had played rather easily throughout the tour. I also noticed my upper lip (left of center) was swelling. As the tour continued, my chops worsened and eventually I could not even play a 2nd line G (probably the first note beginner trumpeters learn). After a year of struggling with no answers or results I figured it out and began the journey or repair and rehab.

This Journey saw me relearn the trumpet from a physical sense as the surgery left me with a whole new architectural set up. My mind was much further along than my body. Once I found a set up I began to train my lip muscles to again, form an embouchure. While I eventually found my way, I never felt comfortable playing. At least, not like I had before the injury. I resumed my career and took many of the same jobs I had once had....only in much smaller doses. After a few years of this new set up, I began to look very closely at what was really happening with my lip. My playing had reached a plateau and began to decline. Not as rapidly as before, but very noticeable to me. My flexibility and articulation went missing. Oddly enough, my range was great (high G and A above high C). I never felt comfortable playing and this began the process anew.

It seemed that while my playing wasn't completely ruined, a small bit of scar tissue and bound two areas of my upper lip directly in the center. I could see it. I could feel it. But worst of all, I just couldn't make the adjustment in my embouchure set up. I made the decision to go through the surgery one more time. Now having done this, I look at my lip today (4 mos. after surgery) and can honestly say that it looks and feels great! The difference between this surgery and the first is that now I feel my lip is fixed. It is on the mend and I begin the second half of the repair and rehab plan.

With the help of my friend and musical mentor, Dr. John Wacker, I will document all the details of my rehab. Dr. Wacker is a nationally renown trumpet artist and professor whose insight and experience will make this an opportunity for me to not only come back but to be better than ever. We will post all of the lesson plans and the discussions. Pictures, videos, and stories will also be added to illustrate to myself, Dr. Wacker, and all those interested just how this recovery can be overcome. This blog will act as an online lesson and, we hope, as a guide for those who have found themselves in the same predicament as I.

I would like to, in advance, thank Dr. John Wacker, Dr. Simon McGrail, Bob Montgomery, Bobby Shew, Laurie Frink, Brad Goode, BLu7, and all those who will participate in this blog or in person.

Now let's do this!!!!