Mariachi trumpet
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Disappointed with a Google search, I am asking here. What design and construction characteristics make a trumpet specifically mariachi. Bach and Yamaha have mariachi models, as I’m sure some other brands do, but I can’t figure out what makes them mariachi.
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They were built with input from mariachi players. I think the Bach was built for a specific player whose name escapes me - the Yamaha just specifies input from players of that genre. They don’t play anything alike - the Yamaha is closer to a lead horn, the Bach is quite versatile.
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Hi Curlydoc,
Like flugelgirl said, some were built with input from mariachi players but I can't find any such particular horn on the internet but it is very common for big companies to seek input from famous trumpet players about design. For example Bergeron, Doc, Ferguson all had/have given advice to big companies about design. For the most part, Mariachi is a style of music. I can play mariachi style on a Bach strad or a Holton MF Horn.
I went to the Berklee site and found this; Mariachi is a type of music from Mexico and the trumpet is a standard instrument used in the mariachi. A mariachi has one to two trumpets in the band. The trumpets and violins play the melody of the mariachi songs.
Hope this helps -
Bright horns and mouthpieces help, but concept and characteristic articulations are most important.
Benge 3X
Martin Committee
Getzen Capri Cornet
Adams F-1 Flugelhorn"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn."
Charlie Parker"Even if I could play like Wynton Marsalis, I wouldn't play like Wynton Marsalis."
Chet Baker -
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@Kehaulani said in Mariachi trumpet:
Bright horns and mouthpieces help, but concept and characteristic articulations are most important.
Hit the nail on the head!
The Jens masterclass video posted by Dr Mark the other day included a small bit about mariachi playing that specifically mentioned (and briefly demonstrated) what you’re talking about.
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Over here in Holland there was a guy who was looking for a specific trumpet to play Mariachi. I convinced him to buy my Buesscher True Tone Custom peashooter from 1927
He told me he could not play M-bore instruments so I told him the Buesscher was ML-bore. He bought the horn and was very happy! Perfect trumpet for Mariachi he said to me.Later I told him to measure the bore since it was in fact a M-bore horn that I sold to him. He didn't believe me until he checked it out
I am happy to sell the horn to the right person, to me she played and sounded like my Bach ML 180-37, a very good horn
A friend of me went to Guardelajara to participate the Mariachi fest, he played on a Bach 180-37, his fellow trumpeter played a Schilke B5
So, in a nutshell, a decent player who can play like a Mariachi can play Mariachi on every bright sounding trumpet
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A few years ago, I was asked to play in a newly-forming local Mariachi band. It was to be a band that played from printed music, not from memory, so I said ok. Sounded like fun and a way to make a few extra bucks.
I spent the next few weeks before our first rehearsal listening to Mariachi music and studying the vibrato, style, articulations, and tone of the trumpet players, and practiced emulating it. I picked my small-bore Conn 6B with a Bach 3C mouthpiece as the weapon of choice.
Well, the first rehearsal rolled around, and it appeared that about half the band had no idea what Mariachi music was supposed to sound like. It was pretty square, and didn't get much better in subsequent rehearsals. We played one gig, and then the leader of the band had health problems and that was the end of it. So much for my Mariachi career...lol
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This is a wonderful example:
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Hi Curlydoc,
Here's a little more about your question about Mariachi;
I live in Central Florida where there is a thriving Latin/Mexican community. Mariachi isn't a instrument or type of trumpet. If they tell you it is a type of trumpet, tell them I've got some dry land in the Everglades for sale. Mariachi is a type of traditional Mexican folk music, typically performed by a small group of strolling musicians dressed in native costume. With that said, I've spoken to many trumpet players in mariachi bands and I've seen everything from Bach Strads and Yamaha to cheap Chinese/Indian trumpets. The "sound" that I think you're looking for unfortunately can not be found in a trumpet just like a Martin Committee won't make you or me sound like Miles Davis. The articulation is more of a "tat" "tat" instead of what we were taught which is "Ta" "Ta".
The "Tat" "Tat" interrupts the sound with the tongue. Its not always "Tat" "Tat" but you'll hear what I'm talking about.
Hope this helps -
Just an aside - where in the evolution of Conns does the Conn 6B fall into place with the Connstellation 38B? Predecessor, successor or contemporaneously.
Benge 3X
Martin Committee
Getzen Capri Cornet
Adams F-1 Flugelhorn"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn."
Charlie Parker"Even if I could play like Wynton Marsalis, I wouldn't play like Wynton Marsalis."
Chet Baker -
@Kehaulani said in Mariachi trumpet:
Just an aside - where in the evolution of Conns does the Conn 6B fall into place with the Connstellation 38B? Predecessor, successor or contemporaneously.
Produced concurrently, starting in 1955. My guess would be that the 38B was the high-end version of a more budget-friendly 6B. (pro vs intermediate conceptually I suppose)
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Thanks. The looks are similar.
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Yes, the 6B was very similar to the 38B. Same basic specs, valve block, leadpipe, and bell shape. It had less nickel plating and no trigger or slide stops. Nice playing instruments.
