Best posts made by Bob Pixley

@Richard-III said in Are you a fan of early 1900's music?:

@Bob-Pixley said in Are you a fan of early 1900's music?:

I played in a parlor/society orchestra for a while and it was fun. Some of the parts were written for clarinet and trumpet/cornet in A. I made good use of a beat-up 1925 Conn 22B New York Symphony Orchestra trumpet I owned at the time that had a rotary valve in the tuning slide that switched the trumpet from Bb to A. It worked pretty well.

Cool horn. I am searching for an A tuning bit for my 1886 Conn Wonder:

A 19th century Besson Cornet I bought a few years ago came with an A bit (pictured in the horn). It also came with a Bb bit and most of a C attachment.

I'm playing Christmas carols with a small group at a local arts center this Saturday night, and then playing eight performances of a Living Christmas Tree at a large local church the weekend before Christmas, not to mention all the rehearsals for it.

Have any of you ever seen one of these? I bought it from a friend 25 or 30 years ago and have gigged with it maybe 6 times. It has a D slide with it, and plays ok in D, less well in Eb. Anyone else ever played one? I’m interested in other playing impressions.

@J-Jericho said in I was a member of the old Trumpetmaster board once.:

@Bob-Pixley We'll look forward to your intelligent, asstoot comments!

Don't forget my Trumpet Tits, too.

@Comeback said in Fast Tempo and old farts:

Best wishes for your rehearsal tonight, George. Please let us know how it goes. I have been following your thread with interest since we two old farts struggle with the same challenge when it comes to fast passages with lots of little notes. My rehearsal last night was a mixed bag. Enough bright spots to keep me encouraged but disappointments as well.

There was some humor in last nights rehearsal too. During one piece the MD stopped and quizzed the trumpet section - he was concerned about balance across the section. He asked “How many of you are playing third?” I responded that three of us were. “How many on second?” There were four. Finally, “How many on first? Fifteen? Figures...” There were actually six, but the MD’s questions and comment drew lots of laughs in the moment. Anyway, the upshot was that we thirds were encouraged to play out, which was fun.

Jim

So there were 13 trumpets. With a more or less stable group where the majority show up regularly, you need 3 or 4 on first, 4 on second, and the rest on third, with at least one or two strong players on each part. What usually happens is all the better players gravitate toward the front of the line, but each part is important and needs strong support.

They were probably playing a couple cheap Chinese trumpets that wouldn't play in tune...lol

Good to hear! That's the right approach, nice and easy, no trumpet hero stuff.

Finished a near 3 hour rehearsal last night. Another one on coming up on Wednesday (dress rehearsal), and then a show on Thursday night, one on Friday night, three on Saturday, and 3 on Sunday. I've played this event for many years, always on 2nd part. I was "promoted" to 1st part this year, and about 80% of it is above the staff. I had to revert to using the old Bach 10-1/2C that I used to play to survive this. After that, I won't touch a trumpet until 2020...lol

I think the bore size slightly affects the loudness possible with an instrument, since it allows more overall amplitude in the sound wave.

In my experience, the earlier 22B years with top-sprung valves are better players than the later bottom-sprung ones. I believe the switchover happened around 1931. I used to own a 1925 22B that looked terrible but played like a very good modern trumpet.

After playing a 3C for years, I've recently discovered I can play pretty well on a Bach 1-1/2C, and I like my tone much better with it, too. My overall intonation is a little better with it, and soft attacks are easier and more secure. It's slightly more tiring to play than the 3C, but I can deal with that. Been using it for a couple months now and still like it for most playing, so I think I'm past the honeymoon phase.

Loved it! I’m a history nut, so it was right up my alley. I’ve performed for around 25 years in a small brass group using original mid-19th century instruments. They are more demanding to play than modern instruments, but the sound is very unique. We strive to present a fairly accurate representation of what a band of this type would have sounded like, and also dress the part. That’s me, front row, far right.

I have more respect for neighborhood peace and quiet than to practice outside. I'm inside the house with the bedroom door closed. If people want to hear me play, they can come to a gig and hear it...lol

I have a really nice 1960 6B with that same "tweed" case. The trumpet is the next generation, though.

I don't carry a mute bag, since my instrument cases have room for mutes. That said, I normally carry a Wick straight, H&B cup, Harmon harmon, a hardware store plunger, and a Crown Royal bag.

This is the worst-looking cornet I've ever bought. Those pics are after I washed all the green and oily stuff off of it. Got it for $25, and knew what it was.

Personal photo. Random, but I wish I was there right now...

Yes! A number of years ago I measured the tubing on my Bach 43 ML trumpet and my Bach 184 L cornet. The ratio of tubing before/after the valve block was approximately 50/50 on the trumpet and 67/33 on the cornet. Plus, the cornet receiver and leadpipe start out smaller than the trumpet ones, so the taper to the valve block is more pronounced. The cornet tuning slide also tapers from ML bore to L bore from one end to the other while the trumpet tuning slide maintains a constant bore throughout.

@Trumpetsplus said in Having to play in too many sharps?:

When we play in ensembles which include strings, either orchestral or guitar, we often end up playing in a zillion sharps. This may be why:
http://www.jaegerbrass.com/Blo/Entries/2019/11/difference-between-string-and-wind-instruments.html

When I was learning to play the keyed bugle, all the keys but one (the last one before the bell flare) were normally closed. When you pressed any key but that one, it raised the pitch of the instrument. How much it (or a combination of keys) raised the pitch depended on how far it was from the bell flare - the farther away, the higher the note. That one lone open key lowered any note 1/2 step when you closed it. It took a bit of getting used to, that pressing a key raised the pitch instead of lowering it.

The whole cornet looked like it had been submerged in a vat of machine oil, The corks and felts were ruined. The inside of the horn wasn't too bad, though, and I managed to get all the slides out.