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@Dr-GO said in Could you have a metal allergy?:

@Richard-III said in Could you have a metal allergy?:

Thanks for all the info.

Richard-III you are so welcome. Hope all does work out for your current mouthpiece. If you do notice any of the symptoms starting, one option is gold plating. Gold chops does this for $35. I think it would be worth the try as gold has a great feel and less of a chance of developing a contact dermatitis. Plastic mouthpieces would be an alternative.

Thanks. I was just asking for others and out of curiosity. I've never had an issue or allergic reaction with any mouthpiece. I don't know why as I've had reactions to metal everywhere else on my body. I've also played really old mouthpieces that were quite worn and the plating very thin with no problems. And I'm talking about many hours a day, every day for years and no reaction. I also play on horns with the lacquer removed with no problems. True that wearing a ring or watch for 16 hours a day is not the same as playing 2-5 hours a day. Exposure level is obviously different. The people who are reactive must be extremely reactive. I would ask them if they have the same issues with rings, watches and piercings.

I'd say pre-owned carol brass is hard to beat on performance to price ratio. Early Elkhart Bachs (prior to 1975) are usually tremendous horns that can be had at a good price too. Connstellations are great if you can get an Elkhart-made horn for under $900.

@Vulgano-Brother said in How do you feel about vibrato?:

@administrator I'm conscious of vibrato during rehearsals and practice, but in performance, I concentrate on the whole package, without focusing on the little parts.

Certainly. I would advocate a holistic awareness to our playing. Very few things can improve our playing more quickly.

@Niner - Well, they look nice and you must've put a lot of work into them. You've got more horn-patience than, LOL I.

My experience as a comeback player is consistent with what Dr. Mark described in his OP. After picking up trumpet again in August after not playing for a year, I regained what was lost in my general trumpet playing skill set surprisingly quickly.

I can generally affirm Dr, GO’s remarks about fitness too. My fitness regimen focuses on aerobic training and exercises for chest and abs maintenance and development. Treadmill time, pushups, pull-ups, and crunches seems to be an effective formula for me.