For parents with students who are just starting to begin their musical journey, a consultation with Anatowind to get your student set with the correct relationship between the teeth, lips and jaw would be invaluable to ensure that the beginning player is on the path to success
I can personally relate to this topic in my own performance. As a young performer, I was lucky enough to find my crown tooth and ba se my performance on it. I did not know why I could play longer or higher than others, I just could. First chair positions came easy without long hours of practice for me to work things out. I was considered one of those people who just “had it”.
I did have orthodontic issues with my teeth and was told that without braces, I would end up with serious issues later in my life. I fought this medical issue for years as I had seen what braces had done to others who were trumpet players and I was already set on a course to head for a college as a music major. Finally, I had to submit and accept the braces as part of a correction that must be done.
The effect on my playing was catastrophic. I had no understanding, nor did any of my instructors, on how to deal with the changes that were made upon my physiology. I had radical changes made upon how many teeth were in my mouth, where they were located and where they were being moved to as a result of my orthodontic treatments. During this turmoil, I lost contact with my crown tooth and my performance became a struggle; my range was limited; I lost almost a perfect fifth off of my range. Endurance measurement went from hours to minutes I no longer was nominated to receive playing opportunities like All State Band. Those honors were given to others.
I still competed in solo ensembles contests and worked my way through college as a music major. I was never able to compete with other players for the top playing positions within my college. I was awarded first chair positions in the general concert bands at the University. I was able to maintain my position with in the jazz ensembles because even though the director did not carry six trumpets, because I would not leave. I stayed and learned until I could earn my way in. I had at one point considered quitting entirely as I could not realize my goals of performance the way I wished to. I could never come to grips with the burning question of what happened… how could I go from “having it” to “not having it”? No one seemed to be able to explain what changed, but the nagging drag of this issue haunted my musical performance for many years.
It was not until late in my junior year in college that I encountered another trumpet player who had training through Anatowind who helped me eventually come to the clinic for several years to study and start to understand why I was having the problems I was having and to set a course to correct them. I cannot believe that my case is unique. It’s never too late to begin to address one’s physiology. The Anatowind philosophy starts with the person. It is my hope that Anatowind’s knowledge in music study becomes more common to all so that others do not have to follow the same path I did in my musical studies. I can only wonder how my outcome could have been different if I had access to the physiological understanding when the changes were occurring in m y performance and I had been able to address those changes properly during my early development; rather than waiting almost 10 years to begin to gain an understanding of what occurred and chart a course of development from that point.
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