Veterans & Military Musicians

@flugler Quoting us a price from Japan is very unrealistic as the market there is primarily for collectors - not players. Everywhere else in the world, people are looking for deals. 6 grand+ gets me a Monette or a Martin - both certainly in a different league than the Calicchio. Maybe I have not been paying attention here at TrumpetBoards, but I do not know of anyone here in that "more money than common sense" market.
The price is fine for Japan. That type of money here would be banking on the price going up. I do not see that happening. Calicchios reputation at the time was value for the price and Dominics service.

By the way, this is the wrong place for your post. It belongs in the classifieds section.

@Dr-GO said in Unable to simply hear that I'm out of pitch:

Hard to advise without more detail and being there to watch and hear.
The most important question is: How long has it been since you have been back on the trumpet? It takes weeks (on average 6 weeks) to tone muscle to the point of getting a consistent response. Time playing may be a relevant issue.
--> It's been about a year now redeveloping the embouchure. I've taken lessons with a trumpet player locally. I've also taken lessions with Ethan Chilton on Tonebase.

Once the basic embouchure development is well underway, than yes, playing with others and listening and then hearing the changes you need to make would be of high value.
--> I agree. This is what I've been thinking may be the main problem. 40 years ago, I played 1,000's of hours with others. One year we had 426 gigs logged with performances 7 days a week. Then of course practicing for hours together every weekday. The ear just may need to be retrained.

Is the trumpet in need of repair? Have you had other experienced trumpet players play your trumpet and if so, is the intonation fine when others play? If so, we can likely exclude instrument contribution out of the discussion.
--> Trumpets and Flugel are all brand new. No problems there. I am educating myself on technical design of the mouthpeices and instruments. Being an I.T. professional for the last 30 years, I think of the entire "noise" organism as made of up 3 primary systems: Human, Mouthpiece, and Instrument. Each of these systems can be broken down into subsystems. For instance, the mouthpiece can be affected by diameter, rim/cup shape, material, throat, taper, length, mass, etc. I've got a micrometer, throat, and Warburton gap measuring tools. I'm taking a look at how much gap I have playing on a specific trumpet with different mouthpieces and how it affects slotting and tuning. So it's a work in progress.

We have several concepts for pitch. They all need a certain degree of familiarity before we can be "successful".

Playing alone with or without a tuning device is dangerous as we do not play "well tempered". The tuning device is to get our concert Bb "in the ball park". If we play to all the other notes, they will never sound right.

Our performing pitch is always relevant to something else - it can be the last memory, or it can be another instrument or recording.

In addition, if we are playing with serious upper body tension, the pitch will sound sharp even although a tuning device would measure just fine. If we do not have enough tension, the sound is dull and it sounds flat although it may measure OK.

If you are not taking regular lessons, then just play along with recorded music. That can be a a CD with concert band music or marches. It can be church hymns or jazz standards. The important part is that you rediscover having your pitch relative to things around you (accompaniment) as well as playing enough to get a good resonant sound throughout the registers that CAN sound in tune.

Your actual problem is the ear/brain not talking to the body/lungs/embouchure, or the body/lungs/embouchure not reacting predictably to the signals coming from the brain. If you had these skills at one time in your life, then a lot of the work is already done. Simply play enough and those skills will move to the short term memory and become more automatic.

After sitting the trumpet down for 40 years, I find myself struggling with finding the pitch on various notes. I don't have perfect pitch, but I don't ever remember struggling with this in the Marine Corps. I have a tuner and microphone attached to my bell so I can keep an eye on pitch now. I'm wondering if it's a symptom of possibly the following:

1. Ear has simply become untrained to hear the correct pitch
2. Hearing is not as good as it used to be.
3. Not playing enough with others. When I'm playing with others (who can themselves be in tune), then I can tune myself with others.
4. combination of the above or something else...

Anybody with teaching experience comment on probable causes?

@Trumpetsplus I remember you bringing the ascending C when you visited. Wonderful horn!

@Shifty said in Flugelhorn Trigger Mod:

I'd share this on the oTHer site, but they're too judgemental.

Yes, I've noticed that about the "other site" as well. Being a mediocre player now after being away from the trumpet for 40 years, they would eat me alive.

I have an early generation ACB Doubler in rose brass. It's much like a Yamaha 631. I also have Dupuytren's contracture of my left pinky, which is now bent to 90°.

I had been holding the horn so that I could could use my pinky and ring finger together to work the 3rd valve slide. But it finally got to the point that it was painful for the pinky, and the ring finger alone couldn't work the trigger very well.

Changing the grip to use the middle finger with the index or ring fingers didn't work for me; either the trigger wasn't long enough or the fingers got tangled up. I'd long thought that a longer trigger might be a solution, but couldn't figure out how to mechanize it.

The other day, I cut off about 2 inches of half-inch copper pipe. It would fit over the existing trigger, but wobbled all over and wouldn't stay put. So I cut about 1 inch of a half-inch wooden dowel and sanded it down to the point where I could slide it up into the copper pipe from the bottom.

The result fits snugly with no wobble and yet it is removable for cleaning. I compared the result to the trigger on a Getzen 4985, and I think it's a reasonably good functional match. If I hold the horn with one finger over the exit pipe, I can curl the useless pinky out of the way and operate the trigger with the middle and ring fingers. My hands are small, but even so, I can both fully release the trigger and fully engage it.

Bonus points for the fact that, with a bit of polish, the copper pipe will nearly match the rose brass.

I'd share this on the oTHer site, but they're too judgemental.

@annapants Mike Thompson has very attractive conditions for selling used instruments. I know him and he is the real thing!

Thompson Music Co.
14220 Fort St. Ste. 103, Omaha, NE 68164 (402) 289-9699

When people that we love and admire die, it gives us the opportunity to figure out what they really meant to us. In many cases, towards the end, we see them less and do not "live" the deterioration. The lasting personal memory is of a person getting stuff done.

As we are the sum of all influences in life, we have a lot to be thankful for - but only limited means to "pay back" the debt. Honor the giants on whose shoulders you stand - each in her/his own way. We do not need huge public displays although if the opportunity arises, take it with humility and reverence.

I see death as the release from the earthly state, going to a place with no pain and no need to answer any more questions or solve problems. Our influence can (and should) long extend after death.

Very sad. Thanks for posting this.