For years, I struggled with pain and discomfort in my temporomandibular joint, to the point that I could not open my mouth wide enough to eat a sandwich or hamburger, eat toffee or chew gum – simply because it caused too much discomfort. It finally got to the point where my jaw actually became misaligned. My jaw is fine now but the one thing I notice is that it cracks…a lot. Now I have become hyper-aware of tension in my jaw when I practice and really reinforce relaxation with my students by having them do a few simple and sometimes silly exercises.

Exercise 1

Get a brand new pencil and hold in your mouth with your teeth while you practice. If you are leaving teeth marks on the pencil, it means you’re clenching your jaw and teeth.

Exercise 2

Try sticking out your tongue while you play. This forcibly keeps the jaw and teeth from clenching. Make to avoid biting down on the tongue with the teeth.

Exercise 3

As a variation to Exercise 2, you can try touching the tongue to the roof of your mouth but avoid touching the top teeth to the bottom teeth – keep some separation.

Exercise 4

Smiling while practice naturally relaxes the jaw and keeps the upper teeth from touching the bottom teeth. Give it a try! Show those pearly whites and smile or grin 🙂

Exercise 5

Try chewing gum while you practice. This keeps the jaw from being locked but avoid chewing gum in your lessons, rehearsals and performances – it’s annoying.

Exercise 6

Practice first position scales without your chin placed on the chinrest. As a variation, try saying either the beats or the notes. This forces the jaw to move rather than remain closed and clenched.

Exercise 7

If you really cannot stop clenching your teeth, then try using a mouth guard. I have used this in the past. It’s annoying enough that you will want to stop clenching your teeth ASAP.

If you have been struggling with tension in your jaw for awhile, then have a serious look at your setup. It could be your chin rest or shoulder rest or a combination of both. Speak with your Teacher about trying different shapes of chin rests and shoulder rests. Play with the heights of each and figure out which works best for you.