Veterans & Military Musicians

@Anthony-Lenzo

1. Oil floats on water. That makes oiling after playing useless because the bore is covered with condensation. The only oiling that reduces wear is the oiling that prevents two pieces of metal from touching one another.
2. petroleum based oils evaporate mostly within 24 hours making a daily oiling sensible
3. synthetic oils do not evaporate like petroleum based ones, so we really do not need to oil daily. That being said: if we do not brush our teeth really well before playing, the aerosols in our breath will collect and turn the oil to sludge over time. Just adding oil on top of that just makes the sludge thinner.

For valves, I swab the casing every other day and wipe down the valves then when everything is bone dry, reoil. The oil is attached to all moving surfaces and protection is best.

Depending on the make, age and provenance of the horn, a valve job can transform the instrument to even better than new.

@55Yr-Comback
I hope that video answered the questions that you actually asked. But wait--there's more.

In Charlie's demo, he has his jaw set so that his upper and lower teeth are aligned. He also has the mouthpiece centered vertically (50-50) on his lips. That's a good place to start, but it might not work for you.

Some folks play with overbite or (less likely) underbite. Some play 50-50, while others use higher mouthpiece placement or lower placement. Some even offset horizontally. A lot has to do with your oral and dental structure. There's really no right or wrong if it works for you so, unless you have an instructor, you just have to experiment.

Sometime in the future, you may find this website interesting:
https://wilktone.com/?page_id=5619
From that site:

*Where no obvious reason seems to exist for the adoption of any particular method, it is in order to ask “Why?”.

And if the “experts” provide you too readily with an answer, bear in mind that they may not, in fact, have any clearer understanding of how successfully to perform the task than you do yourself.*

@55Yr-Comback said in Proper Embouchure?:

@administrator Thanks! But two questions though.

1st one....After the MMM, do you firm your corners, bring them slightly in toward center firm against you teeth, & then have your lips firm against your teeth & are your lips just slightly touching? And when I say this, I don't mean rigid or in a stiff manner. In other words, if you measured "firm" for doing that on a 1 to 10 scale, it would be at a 3 the most.

2nd question is... after you've placed the mpc, do you put your tongue through your lips to open your lips slightly, or do you let your air stream open them.

Understand I'm not trying to be technical or mechanical. I just want to know if by doing this, it results in an embouchure that's not loose & sloppy. THANKS!!

Caveat: I'm not an instructor or even a very good player, so take this for what it's worth. I was going to opine that you're overthinking it, but then I started overthinking
it, too.

I'll offer up a video by Charlie Porter. After setting the mouthpiece on his closed lips, he consciously pulls them apart just a bit. I didn't think I did that, but it turns out that
I do (unconsciously).

IMHO, if the lips are truly touching without airflow, then adding airflow could allow the creation of a buzz on just the mouthpiece (or visualizer, in the video). If that buzz already exists with the mouthpiece in the horn before the horn itself starts to respond, you get the dirty articulation that Charlie describes. If you've formed a good embouchure on the mouthpiece alone, it should not buzz when you add airflow. But keep blowing while sliding the mouthpiece into the horn and you should get a
nice tone.

Charlie pokes his tongue out to wet his lips, but I don't think that will keep the lips open if the aperture is closed to start with.

I learned a simple method. Say "m" like your about to say "mickey mouse". Now keep your lips in that position. They should be a bit moist. Now put the mouthpiece to your lips without adjusting anything. Blow.

That's about it. When you breathe, be sure to NOT reset your embouchure. Breathe from the sides of your mouth.

@Dr-GO said in Proper Embouchure?:

Neither. I form an embouchure by firming my upper lips with the facial muscles attaching to the zygomatic arch of the orbits of my eyes. Why? More muscle fibers attach hear distributing force more in more directions, with more insertion sites increasing the efficiency of muscle action while increasing embouchure endurance with more effective distribution of work load.

Methinks perhaps the good Doctor's description may be (although precisely accurate) offered somewhat lingua-in-bucca.

@55Yr-Comback
Option 1 for me. Option 2 makes a sound like a duck being tortured.

Some folks like to lip buzz (sans mouthpiece) to get their blood flowing (I'm incapable). Some folks like to buzz the mouthpiece as an embouchure exercise. Some put the mouthpiece into the leadpipe (only) or into a Warburton "buzzard" or similar device (https://warburton-usa.com/products/the-buzzard).

But only Option 1 is playing the trumpet and is, IMHO, the way to go for making music. You'll probably hear some alternative views here, but they won't try to chop your head off for asking like they do on the oTHer forum.

There's a YouTube video out there somewhere in which we demonstrate that Option 1 (without a trumpet attached) produces nada, but slide the mouthpiece into a trumpet while continuing to blow and PRESTO- music happens.

I didn't watch it. I was too busy watching the paint dry in my apartment.

Unfortunately, if you signed his contract, legally, there is almost nothing you can do. He DOES give you what you paid for, it's just that it's not worth anything close to what you pay for if you look at the marketplace as a whole.

I appreciate you coming here and telling your story.

@barliman2001 said in European Folklore Festival Bitburg - Call for Players:

@administrator You coming? Splendid. Contact Nick Jones directly, will you? He is in charge of reserving accommodation - always the same 3* hotel in the centre of town, and all gigs are within easy walking distance. Most important is a good music stand - you can borrow one of mine if necessary - and a good music light: Some of the gigs are open air at night.

Well, I don't think that I can come but perhaps if I plan ahead I can do next year. I should have my Czech passport by then which would simplify things.

@barliman2001 That is why we have alternate fingerings...