Posts made by barliman2001

@Kehaulani said in Acoustics... and a bit more:

@ barliman - I've read several of your posts where you write, "orchestra". In the U.S. that means a large ensemble with strings (ELO withstanding). When I worked in Germany, the term orchestra was used for any large instrumental group, with or without strings. Which do you mean? Thanks.

In this case, it was the Vienna Lakeside Symphony Orchestra. Eight first violins, six second violins, three violas, three cellos. Two flutes, two clarinets, one bassoon, one saxophone. Two trumpets, one trombone, one baritone horn, one tuba. Electric bass, drumset, piano.
I think you can call that an orchestra...
In earlier posts, I was referring to the Vienna Klezmer Orchestra which had a large string section as well, in addition to an unholy number of clarinets (nine!! including a bass clarinet), seven flutes including a bass flute, three recorders, a full brass section and four accordions...

Ok, as promised, here's the report from the first concert with the ACB picc.
Read about "Acoustics" - description of the very unconventional hall we played in. Lots of open spaces, lots of glass, two staircases... during rehearsal, sound just vanished. At the performance, the ACB without amp easily filled the hall without effort, blended well with all the brass section of the orchestra (one Lechner Bb, one Cerveny tenor horn, one K&H trombone and a really ancient Lidl tuba). No problem with intonation even after a long wait for it being played - only used in the final piece.
Audience were thrilled, gave us 14 minutes of applause. I'm content.

Ok, this is a post I've long considered where to put... there is so much in it (yet not in depth). Let it rest here, and see what comes of it.

Yesterday, we played a concert, "Musc from Animated Movies". Choir, kids, choir, small smphonic orchestra, combo. Titles ranged from "When you wish upon a star" to "Happy", with excursions into Shrek, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jungle Book and the like. Venue, a large, somewhat unorthodox school hall: One central hall three storeys high, with two large open staircases doubling as seating leading down, and an additional wing with seating. Seating all over, up to the top (with the audience being on two balconies, as it were).

One staircase had to be kept free as eergency exit, so we placed the stage there. Front to back: Kids, Choir, Combo, Orchestra (with the orchestra well hidden from the audience's view by the choir). Conductor directly in front of the orchestra, conducting the choir via a camera and screen arrangement.
At rehearsal, everyone complaining that they could not hear a thing. Sound going off into Nirvana, so bad you could barely hear yourself.
Performance: Hall filled with 800+ audience (oversold, and some people standing around in the aisles contrary to fire prevention regulations...
And the hall suddenly came alive! One really could hear the whole structure... wonderful. I had a one-brand gig bag with me - Courtois flugel, Courtois C, Courtois Balanced Bb. And that old Balanced Courtois made the day - filling the entire hall without amplification.
Correction: I had the ACB picc with me as well, for "Fairytale" from Shrek, but that was in it's own case... read more there.

@administrator said in Which picc?:

This conversation has really given me the itch to start collecting trumpets again!

Follow your itch!

Just googled his name... the first thing to come up were his 2020 tour dates...

@Kujo20 Oh, NO!

Really had to unlock the thread again after yesterday...
Ok, first rehearsal with the ACB picc. Descant part for "Fairytale" (out of Shrek).
Orchestra horribly sharp. No problem with the ACB - you can tune it up to C.
In the part, it really sang. My trumpet partner in crime (trumpet student at Vienna's Music University) was impressed and said so, wanted to try it... did try it, with a few excerpts from Torelli and Michael Haydn... gave it back, cursing all the while.
I asked him why?
Well, turns out he only last week bought a brand spanking new gold-plated Scherzer, for an outrageous $ 5.600,-, and now likes the ACB better!

@Kehaulani said in WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME AN EXPERT?:

@Rapier232 said in WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME AN EXPERT?:

@Bertie

Well, for what it’s worth, I was a National Police Firearms Instructor for 20 years. I taught people with absolutely no experience whatsoever from basic level all the way to very advanced close protection and hostage rescue teams. I found some people, including me, were absolute naturals at all shooting disciplines. Others found the skills difficult and some found them impossible and failed to reach the necessary standards required. So I’d disagree, natural talent/ability does exist, and those with it will out perform those without.

That's funny. I recalled that, as an enlisted man who had never held a firearm in my life, I scored an A.F. Rifle Marksmanship Medal the first time out and, years later, after never having ever shot a handgun, I also earned a Side-Arm Marksmanship Medal. Likewise in your experience, while I was shooting there were others that just sucked at firearms no matter how hard and how often they tried.

I can only second that, as a qualified Shooting Instructor in sports. I've trained many a beginner, starting them off on small-bore pistol. Most of them became decent, if not remarkable, shooters. Safe to bring them on the range after a couple of months or so. A few became top shooters within weeks. I took a team of four of these rookies to our regional championships. First competition for every one of the four. And we took the cup by a wide margin. Second came a team of grizzled veterans who had been doing this sort of thing for decades.
And then there was one exceptional guy who took to shooting within half an hour. Never had any connection to firearms before. He had learned all the safety rules before (as every one has to have before they are first let loose on the range with a "hot" gun) and scored bull's eyes on the first go, with both eyes open. Later, we discovered that he was a natural two-handed shooter as well - able to hit two targets yards apart, with a gun in each hand, at the same time. In civilian life, he was a karate instructor and organist at the local church.

When we discovered about his ability with firearms, he founded a security business and now owns twenty-nine armoured vans for bank cash transfers, has 90+ employees and has been tasked with add-on Personal Protection duties for state visits. Proudest moment of his life was when the Secret Service approached him for assistance during President Obama's visit to Germany...

Now that everything has dissolved into broad smiles, I am closing the thread. Thanks for watching and commenting.

@ACB said in Which picc?:

@barliman2001 I agree completely! Thank you for your patience and flexibility.

I return the compliment.

@Kehaulani said in How many of you taught yourself to play?:

If I understand correctly, for those American readers, Lutheran Brass Ensemble doesn't mean the same in Germanic countries as it does in America. Most areas in Germany only have either Protestant or Catholic churches. (Evangalisch/Katholisch). There are exceptions but not for the purpose of this discussion.

Protestant (Evangelisch) churches follow the Lutheran lineage but are not sect-specific, like Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed, etc. Rather it's an all-inclusive term.

Yeeees... but even within the term "Evangelisch" there are two different sects: The "Evangelisch-Lutherische" church which means "Evangelical within the confines of the Augsburg Confession" (i.e. Lutheran), and "Evangelisch-Reformiert" which means Evangelical, but not Lutheran, i.e. mildly Calvinist. The Lutheran Brass Ensemble or Posaunenchor is a purely Lutheran thing, developed by Lutheran pastor Friedrich Kuhlo who wanted brass instruments to accompany the organ and be an extension of it. Therefore, all organ music was to be played on brass instruments as well (hence the concet pitch reading), and therefore he had the Kuhlohorn developed, a circular-shaped narrow flugelhorn (in his day, most trumpets were rather shrill pea-shooters).

And you are correct in saying that many regions only have Catholic or Evangelical churches. Yes; but Catholic can - in some regions - mean Old Catholic as opposed to Roman Catholic, and Evangelical can be either Lutheran or Reformed.

All's well that ends well.

To put an end to all you people getting blue in the face holding your breath for news of the ACB Doubler picc...
It Has Arrived.
Sturdy box big enough for a euphonium. Lots of bubblewrap, then a nice lightweight case with a big outside pocket and rings for either a shoulder strap or backpack straps. Two straps provided.
Sturdy zipper.
And then...
more bubblewrap
A nice fabric leadpipe pouch with a spare A leadpipe
A nondescript 7C mouthpiece (not a bad one, as they go)...
and one gorgeous ACB Doubler piston picc in yellow brass with satin lacquer.
Nice finish, nice to touch. Comfortable to hold. And then...
Surprisingly easy to play (a Selmer is much harder, and even the Stomvi Elite is not as free-blowing). Intonation is superb - not much facial acrobatics needed to keep in tune in all ranges. And the tone is quite pleasant as well. Needs a bit of getting used to, but that's with every picc.
At that price (Trent was so kind as to ask the show demo price, and included the second leadpipe) I am very, very happy!
Oh yes, what did I pay?
$ 685, and had to pay another 100 bucks import duties (collected by the postman).
Still very happy. First official outing is a concert with the Vienna Lakeside Music Academy for their concert "Over and Under" featuring music from animated movies, 25 January. So now I'll have to do a bit of practising!
Trent, thanks!!

@scottfsmith said in How many of you taught yourself to play?:

I taught myself trumpet, I started maybe four years ago after teaching myself trombone a few years before that so I could play along with my son. After a couple years I stopped getting better, I couldn’t play much above the staff, so I started taking lessons. I would still be a pretty mediocre player if I didn’t make that step.

I was also doing odd things like naming the notes in concert pitch, so for example what all Bb trumpeters call G I would call F. It took me a long time to un-learn that bad habit..

It's not a bad habit, it's just a different way of looking at things. I started off in a Lutheran Brass Ensemble, fingering concert pitch (C = 1+3)... had myself made slides in Ab ...

Drunk husband is coming home late at night, to find his wife waiting behind the door with a broom. "A-are you cleaning, or flying away?"

In Bavaria, unwary tourists can fall prey to the Wolperdinger, a vicious flesh-eating hare with a roebuck's horns. These horns carry a strong venom which, however, is only dangerous to non-Bavarians. If touched by these horns, these individuals generally develop "Prussian disease" manifesting itself in trying to copy Bavarians in dress and language, making themselves abominably ridiculous.
One of the finest drawings of an actual Wolperdinger was done in 1503 by Albrecht Dürer. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolpertinger#/media/Datei:Wolpertinger.jpg
Once the venomous horns have rendered the victim without the will to resist, the Wolperdinger can do serious damage with his protruding fangs. The creature is the more dangerous as it has wings and is able to fly short distances, often perching on branches and dropping on unsuspecting travellers.

Well, this is the perfect place to tell my particular relationship with the trumpet. I always loved the instrument - from three years onwards. I once, at age five, even got a toy trumpet, even made of brass!, with ten "valves", each of which was confined to one note. They don't make them any more... at any rate, I loved that thing, but it did not feel right. It had too many of these round things sticking up above the leadpipe. Proper trumpets had only three, I knew for certain. So one day I sneaked away into the basement with my grandpa's small metal saw, and started working... neatly sawed off seven of the ten "valves". So now it not only looked like a proper trumpet, you could actually grip it like a proper trumpet. I was intensely proud of this achievement and showed it to my parents who were unaccountably angry. They were talking about, "you're always ruining things" and when I said that I wanted to learn trumpet, they told me I would only break it like the toy trumpet... so I was thrown onto piano and violin (both were already in the house).
And I hated it. They soon realized I was hopeless with the violin, but kept my nose to the grindstone on piano. The local music school would not do, so every second day, they carted me to a neighbouring town for lessons with a very special, very old-school teacher: A spinster of about 69, complete with moustache, and a wooden ruler lying on the piano to whack a student's fingers with. For seven years they forced me into this kind of thing, and I became quite good at piano - out of sheer self-defence! - won a few local competitions... until I boldly told them that they could throw me out or beat me to death, but I would not go to that teacher again... They tried a different teacher for another year or two, but by this time I was refusing to practice so piano lessons ended, after nine years or so. And quite a few years later, at age 22, I won a trumpet in a raffle. Well, a bugle. No valves or anything, just a tube with a bell flare and something that could imaginatively be called a mouthpiece.
OK, I thought, this looks like fate. How do I get this thing to work? So I got out a Maurice André record cover - 1970 vinyl, in fact this album https://www.cdandlp.com/maurice-andre/l-extraordinaire-maurice-andre/33t/r118969818/ - retreated in front of the big bathroom mirror and looked closely at how Maurice's lips were shaped on the mouthpiece. Tried to emulate the shape, put some tension on and - - - toot! Since then, I styled myself "student of Maurice André". It became true about ten years later...
Next day, I went into the local music shop and bought myself a trumpet kit - Chinese "Comet", complete with 7C mouthpiece, cleaning set, wooden case and set of white gloves, for 99 Deutschmarks. Continued to work with "Maurice". After two days, asked my choir director to find me a trumpet teacher. Which he did. And only a week later, accompanied me to a specialist shop where I bought my first "proper" trumpet, a Bach Strad 229 C/Bb... new, for a whopping 2,999 Deutschmarks (we're talking 1988!). No stopping now...

@tjcombo said in A little humour:

thanks for editing!

A football team won Chanel no. 5 perfume as sponsor. Unfortunately, their mascot was an old camel prone to farting.
At the press conference where the new sponsor was to be unveiled, the mascot had to be there as well and let out huge winds. The team manager grasped the situation by saying, "We contacted Chanel no.5 because we can't stand Camel #2s any more!"