EXCELLENT tips Scott. Very clear and to the point, as always. Fantastic!

This is so weird! Years we’ve been making videos, and as far as I know neither of us have talked about sore lips, now tomorrow I’ve got a video on exactly the same thing! We’re so in sync bro 😎

Best thing to avoid thumb pain - don't hook your thumb under the thumb brace -. press below it. Mine used to really hurt until I saw this advice on YTube. Also, if you suffer neck pain, use a harness . It really helps. Thanks Scott.

My first experience using a Legere reed for an extended period resulted in the sharp edge of the reed cutting my lip. A cut takes days to heal, especially when you try to keep playing. I used some very fine sandpaper to round over the sharp edge but that artificial reed material isn't as amenable to sanding as cane.

My left thumb joint has become arthritic and swollen. It's at the base,the heel of the palm. I call it octave thumb. It's twice as thick as the other thumb and hurts enough to make me quit for a day. It might be from not using a strap and holding the sax but it's supported by the chair and I elevate myself a bit with a cushion. Standing with a strap it still hurts and sometimes my neck too. It's likely from years of crashing or even holding my darn cell phone too much. Other players don't seem bothered by it and nobody mentioned it here but it's a real pain. At least guitar doesn't hurt my thumb but that heavy Gibson gave me the sore neck and shoulder. Funny because music was my escape from the damage of action sports.

2 was common for me when I played both the clarinet and sax in elementary and high school during holiday parades and marching band. The good old days.

I always takes regular breaks during practice sessions. This way I can play as long as I like!!!

Lip blowout! A few years ago I had a gig, but hadn't practiced for 3 or 4 days before the gig, so my embouchure was out of shape. When the song with lots of long-tones came, the cameraman, who was filming the event just happened to zoom in on my face. So embarrassing -- close-ups of me sputtering to get the notes out. Ha. But it helped me to be better prepared for future gigs. A couple of other injuries that I experienced: Someone bumping the sax when the mouthpiece is not in your mouth, but close to it -- ouch. I also sometimes have pain in my left thumb from rotating a lot it for the octave key.

Hey, I was just noticing right forearm pain for the first time last night. I’m a tenor player, but just got a bari in September. I use a Jazz Labs harness. The arm pain is something I’ve had before from skiing or fishing, a little higher than carpal tunnel, lower than tennis elbow. I call it fisherman’s wrist because you can get it from pulling gillnet. Your arms are in cold water and you are repeatedly pinching hard with your thumb. It has been a little cold in my studio, so my solution will be to warm up a little first, do some wrist flex, wrist rotations, and wear long sleeves. I should also check that I maintain a straight forearm hand alignment on the new bari. A problem I’ve had with bari is for the horn to roll away from me and roll more upright when I hit a C#, Potentially putting more weight on my right thumb. To counter this, I sometimes hold on with a right pinky on the D# key, or other right hand fingers. This is something I know because I used to be a flute player.

Great video Scott. I removed my right thumb hook. I put 2 clear thick mouthpiece patches on the screw to make it somewhat comfortable.

I got focal dystonia in right index. Hard to cover for on the night. Went on 2 years. Comes back if I play too much. I don’t do repetitive practice. Instead I circle around maybe 5-10 different exercises.

Front teeth. One a tad longer than another so feel pain sometimes and I know this is a tendency to bite...very bad habit! Trying to reduce biting, but even after years, still hard to correct it. Tooth cushions help a lot.

The first time I had a blow out was back in high school. The 60s. I was in the marching band for a small town in eastern Washington, playing alto. The whole band was in the big city of Spokane for the Lilac Parade. We got to the staging area way too early. Where we were holding happened to be under this big overpass, and a couple of my buds and I were getting off on the reverb effect, and were trading off licks and songs we had learned from the radio, rock and roll Beatles mainly. Some bands from some the big city schools were under there with us, so those dudes were getting it to it too. It was kind of a completion, but sometimes we’d find something we all knew. The louder I played under there, the better it sounded. Hours later, it was our turn to get into the parade route. We were playing some stupid march. But my lips were like jello by the time we marched by the judges.

I found that the sharp edges on both sides of the read just down from the tip was cutting my lip . So I use a lil fine sand paper to sand those down . Don’t be aggressive use a very light touch . Hope it helps , happy new year

Fino!!! creí que era el único con esas dolencias, no decía nada xq como no escuchaba a nadie más quejarse, no quería quedar como una neneca!!!

I've been playing for around 2.5 years and for the last 8 or so months, both of my thumbs have been quite sore. I make sure to apply as little pressure as possible and don't use the right thumb hook to hold the instrument up. Very sad. I've been playing less and less because of it. I talked to my teacher that I see from time to time, and he mentioned that I'm the first student of his that has ever had pain in the left thumb (my biggest source of pain) :(

Now I’m developing tennis elbow on the left side. I wasn’t sure where this tennis elbow was coming for, and I’ve been fighting it off with some PT exercises. I thought maybe it was from moving furniture, or playing the piano, but after a long practice session today, it seems to be the baritone. Using a Jazz Labs now. Got to try a body harness.

My injury was unusual - dislocated jaw. It got diagnosed when I went for dental surgery - at the pre-op assessment the surgeon told me my mouth should not be able to open so wide! I stopped playing for a year to do the prescribed exercises and to wait for the muscles to atrophy. Then I figured out I was pushing my jaw forward instead of taking in more of the mouthpiece. Problem solved.

Good evening Scott l have had my strap ring raised a little on my tenor sax to ease the pressure on my right thumb.

Great tips as usual, thanks a thousand Scott! And by the way, Happy New Year! 🥳

Wrist pain - age adds a bit to the issue. Just got steroid shots (first time) to reduce the inflammation. The “injury” probably wasn’t sax related but it didn’t help. I’m trying the new Key Leaves product (I’m a gadget sucker) and - so far - it’s working

Hello Scott I have a question What is the correct position for playing while sitting , The reason I ask is that I see a lot of sax players playing with there instrument between there legs while sitting (me included ) . Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I've had all of the above!! Lol I'd like to add #5 though! 😭 Tooth injuries!!! I've, thank God, never hit myself too hard, but i does happen... Lol

Nice points, Scott! One question. What product is your strap?

My bari weighs 15 pounds. A couple years ago, I had muscle cramps that traveled from my right shoulder to my neck, to my chest, to my middle back, that lasted about 3 months. Rough times.

Why is my neck worse in my adult years. As a teen, I had 0 problems

I poke myself in the eye with my mouthpiece failry regularly. It doesn't hurt so much if the cap is on. What I really need is a new brain which learns from previous occurrences.

Soprano thumb is tricky, because slings don’t really work at the playing angle.

Is it advisable to use a hand brace if u r a beginner to develop proper hand posture?

I get tennis elbow when I play!

Bro, my left pingky got injured coz low b flat fingering. Any suggestion to cure or to fix it?

Is there dental guard to prevent lip pain?

Thanks for the advises!!! But harness looks so nerd!!! 🤣🤣🤣

My lips right now are painful hahaha because of practice it's looks bigger hahaha

When I play my tenor for long periods of time, my voice gets strained and sometimes goes hoarse. Does anyone else have this problem?

A really long session of an hour an a half? 😂 why am I here?

🍷🍷🎷🤙

No hemorrhoid ?

My most common injury is smacking myself in the mouth with the mouthpiece. It usually destroys the reed too.

00:57 min.: ...................................................AND EVENTUALLY FALL OFF , TIMMY