Dynamics. Make the soft sections really soft and the loud parts really LOUD! Contrast is your ally for keeping the music interesting. Of course, playing well is a given, and yes, if you look like you're glad to be there and are having fun, the audience will respond.
I've owned 4 Ambassadors, 3 trumpets and one cornet. They are great student horns, but just so-so for higher level playing. I did play one (a 1950s trumpet) in a big band for a few years and it worked pretty well, so they probably do have a place in jazz, swing, and similar types of settings. Legit music, nope.
Here's another "yuck" horn I bought cheap. Same treatment as the previous one. Removed a terrible multi-layer lacquer job and polished it. First pic is from the eBay ad - Conn 22B Victor, a diamond in the rough. I think I paid about $70 for it.
Drummers warming up before rehearsal...loudly!
Players woodshedding their parts on stage right before a concert.
People playing out of tune and oblivious to it.
People not marking their music when the conductor makes a change to dynamics, repeats, etc.
People missing the same accidental in a piece every rehearsal. I've reached over with a pencil and marked people's parts when that happens.
Someone talking loudly when the conductor is explaining something to another section.
Clumsy people coming in late and navigating tight aisles, knocking stands, kicking mutes, etc.
...and I'm just getting started...lol
$25 bucks!?!?
You got a sweet deal on that horn...even after the restoration costs you might have had!
I cleaned it, removed the remaining lacquer, and polished it myself, so the "restoration" cost as pictured was $0...lol.
I later had it professionally restored (valves were in great shape), played it a few years, and sold it at a nice profit after buying a like-new Conn 9A Victor. I still have the 9A, and will probably never sell it.
BTW, here it is all cleaned up, remaining lacquer removed, and polished. Conn 5A Victor, a great cornet.
If the mouthpiece is properly silver plated (or gold over silver), I doubt there's any lead exposure danger. Playing on a raw brass mouthpiece, or one with a lot of plating loss may be another thing, though.
On most styles of music, you're better off adjusting the length of the instrument using slides for notes that are sharp and playing it down the middle, than trying to lip notes into tune. Your tone and agility will be better. Of course, the flat notes will still require lipping up unless there's an alternate fingering that works.
The A above the staff is pretty close on some trumpets I own, and sharp on others. Mouthpiece choice can also make some of those general intonation tendencies better or worse. Playing the A with the only the 3rd valve brings it in tune on the ones that tend to play it sharp, and the 3rd valve A is more solid on many of them, too.
The old Callet "Solo" flugel mouthpiece is pretty shallow, but actually finding one is the trick.
This is useful for certain trumpets and cornets...
@BigDub said in Artist on BOARD:
@Bob-Pixley
The trick to photography is to pick good subject matter and click, am I right?
Lol...yeah, that's about it. Cheapest camera you can find will do the trick - just point and shoot.
Seriously, though, it's all about subject matter, framing, and lighting. Nothing as intensive as painting, though. Photography is art for those of us with a good eye and few traditional artistic skills.
Nice work! I'm a pretty good photographer, but not much of an artist.
