Slotting: Tight v. Wide
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For example, a player likes a trumpet that slots tightly, meaning that the horn is designed to respond to input by resonating with the desired pitch with little possible deviation. Ideally, this would make such a trumpet easy to play in tune, thus making it easy to play overall, but due to the inherent flaws in trumpet design, the pitches of some notes would be out of tune unless compensated for by the player, with some effort. Might not this tendency make the instrument harder to play, since the horn allows little variation in pitch?
In contrast, another player likes a trumpet that has wider slots, meaning that more attention must be focused on correct pitch, since the horn does not assist in getting to the expected intonation, but acquiring the desired pitch is actually easier to accomplish, due to its designed flexibility. Wouldn't this trumpet be easier to play overall, because of not having to force a note to be at proper pitch? Hearing the proper pitch is the required skill here, but aren't we supposed to be doing this anyway? Plus, with this setup, bending notes at will would enhance one's ability to play Jazz.
Thoughts/comments/corrections?
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Been through this bought the tee shirt.
This is my take on it.
1 a tight slotting instrument is incredibly easy to play in tune compared to a loose slotting instrument as long as you accept that the in tune notes will not really be in tune for the reasons you have explained.
2 a tight slotting instrument is far easier to play in tune and hit the notes centred when tired and in pieces requiring endurance
3 a loose slotting instrument feels slippery as heck and at first almost impossible to centre notes and centre them well
4 it takes a lot of effort to play loose slotting instruments well and centre the notes consistently.
5 mouthpiece choice is critical and a loose slotting instrument demands a good match of mouthpiece, in other words the mouthpiece can add to the loose slotting or make the slotting tighter.
In all a loose slotting instrument is much more of a crapshoot but at the same time is far more rewarding when playing jazz or blues and trying to create emotion in a piece.
For these reasons it is no surprise to me that classical players and legit players prefer tight slotting instruments and jazz players prefer loose slotting instruments.
There are many other considerations at play that complicate the issue, for example many instruments are not in tune with themselves others do not resonate well or resonate erratically through the registers. Others play with high or low resistance.
Personally having played both types I have no preference they each have their advantages.
I would add this if you are a weaker player then a tight slotting instrument is a help, if you are a monster player then a loose slotting instrument can sing in your hands.
As a personal note poorer players or sloppy players who rely on the instrument to centre the notes for them are the ones who have difficulties with loose slotting instruments. strong players who create the pitches correctly in their embouchure have less trouble with loose slotting instruments.
This is entirely my own personal opinion and I expect that many good players will disagree with me on this.
Heres a question for you if you have to play a huge glissando in rhapsody in blue would you prefer a tight slotting instrument or a loose slotting instrument.
Real playing demands compromises we simply need to decide which compromises suit us the best.
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And then there is the issue that tighter slotting horns are usually also horns with more braces and/or weight added yielding fewer high overtones. Yes, the core remains, but the spectrum of the sound is lessened. Does that bother you? It does me.
Also, not everyone is as perceptive about tuning, so a tighter slotting horn can be a very good thing for those with less ability to tune themselves on the fly. Teaching those folks to use the appropriate slides and alternative fingerings can be invaluable.
For those of us who are primarily jazz players, and players of vintage horns, most of this is not as important. Tone being the number one desire and tuning next. Having a horn a little looser in slots allows for easy tuning on the fly and the freedom of expression. Plus vintage horns with their slightly different architecture results in none of the notes being completely right or completely wrong in tuning, with the understanding that the player will make the appropriate adjustments when needed. I'm so used to this that I never really think about using any slides if rings/hooks are even there.
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@Richard-III I am totally on board with your post sir
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The notion that tightly slotting horns are easier to play in tune is a myth in my world. We do not play "well tempered" we play relative to the other notes. This is called "just tuning". We need the horn to respond evenly because we need to bend the pitch to stay in tune in relation to others.
The notion of how a horn "slots" has more to do with how well we hear ourselves. In an overly reverberant bathroom or staircase, an instrument will appear to slot better than that same instrument when played outdoors on a cold day. If we insert earplugs (in our ears), the horn will slot noticably worse than if we just got our ears cleaned.
Sure, we want instruments that can securely be played in tune. I believe that the physics of resonance place limits on what works. I also would not agree that heavy instruments necessarily have less overtones. My heaviest trumpet is the one that is most easy to play and projects the best. It is the most brilliant too.
In many cases, we can improve instruments that are difficult to play. This can be accomplished by moving braces, cleaning the grunge out, aligning the valves and to a certain extent improving the mouthpiece shank/receiver connection. Sometimes a smaller mouthpiece can make our sound get to our ears more easily. I have had several students wanting to get a "darker sound" that ended up just being mushy. Recording their sound with various instruments can prove to them that they were following a "less worthy" goal.
Heavier valve caps on instruments not designed for them can make resonance more stable but as a rule have a cost in sound and intonation.
There is also a notion that some instruments project in a way making them easier to hear. This can help match the expectations in our heads to what the trumpet actually sounds like. When we match instruments to our sound concept, they are easier to play.
