@GeorgeB

I haven't been active on this forum as much as I used to... I just read through this posting and hope and pray that you'll be okay and can get back into playing. There is no such thing as "age catching up". I always joke around with age numbers to take away any worry. If you are 83, then always think that you are 38 and you can still do everything you did at 38! On the other hand, I am 59, so in that case you just add the two numbers... 5+9=14. Okay, so I could be a 14 year old kid, playing trumpet in middle school!

I hope everyone is doing well during this crazy COVID-19 stuff. I haven't been driving my school bus since this all happened, back in March! Everything is shutdown. The Shriners Band is shutdown, the annual Oktoberfest is already canceled, etc...

George, I just wish you the best and hope you can regain your health!

Stay safe, everyone!

@GeorgeB

I know so many of those songs that you posted! Maybe (if you feel up to it) you could take a whack at "Vehicle" by the Ides of March. Remember this hit song from 1970? Everybody in HS Jazz Band has played this ever since!

I am off my school bus for 2 weeks, as they closed schools due to COVID-19. Nobody is going anywhere. The Shriners Band canceled everything until further notice. The "Grand Poo-bah" of the main Masonic Lodge (Grand Lodge of Virginia) has issued a directive or whatever, that everybody from all the Lodges, the Shriners, the Scottish Rite, etc... are to stay home. All fraternal activities are hereby canceled until further notice...
Wow!

Wow, what a beautiful trumpet!!

Update (Part II)...

Wow, what a mouthpiece! I just got home a few minutes ago from the Shriners Band rehearsal this evening (Monday night, Jan 13th)...

For whatever reason or another, Lord only knows... The other trumpet players were "no shows", leaving me as the sole trumpeter for tonight's rehearsal. Great, just great, thanks a lot guys!

You have to understand The Shriners Band from an organizational type of aspect. We are TINY compared to other "community bands"! We have to rely on "help" from guest musicians who are not Shriners to come and sit-in with us to help augment our sound! Honest and right from the heart? If you took away our guest musicians, we would be a concert band with only about 10 members at best!

Anyway, what I was getting at is, tonight for some reason, I was the only trumpet player at rehearsal. My buddy Ray also was in the same boat as the only clarinet player! Tonight, we only had 2 trombones, 1 euphonium, 1 tuba, 2 saxophones, 2 percussionists, me on trumpet, and Ray on clarinet. And of course, the director... 11 people all total.

I (obviously) had to play 1st trumpet all by myself, carrying the main melody along with Ray on 1st clarinet, and we held it together. I was up in the top of the staff for most of the evening, playing high G's, E's, F#'s, and holding a pair of high A's tied together at the end of one of the pieces.

THAT NEW BACH 10¾CW MOUTHPIECE ALLOWED ME TO PLAY FROM 7:00pm - 8:30pm WITH NO TROUBLE AT ALL! NO PRESSURE, NO PAIN, NO PROBLEMS WITH MY EMBOUCHURE! WOW....

Who would have thought... A simple change of a mouthpiece would totally save my a$$!! Thank you again, Newell Post, for the mouthpiece! I owe you big time!

I've been busy with a thousand other things as well. On top of that, I signed up for the annual Monument Ave 10k race this year, and have to seriously get my butt in gear and get out there jogging!

LOL... C cup with a W (wide) rim. Very, very, comfortable. It does take a little to get used to though, but once you get it figured out, it's great!

Wow... I owe a world of thanks to the user "Newell Post" for offering to sell me his Bach 10¾CW mouthpiece!

Tonight at the Shriners Band rehearsal (first time we got back together since December 9th at our Christmas concert), I showed off the Bach 10¾CW mouthpiece to my buddy Steve (1st chair trumpet - plays a Schilke 13A4a) and he took my Bach 10¾CW, wiped it all down, put it in his trumpet, and proceeded to go to town on it, from the very low G, up to the high C above the staff, and continued to D and E above the staff! Then he tried to descend back down, and "bottomed out" or something within the mouthpiece. He took it out, wiped it back off, and handed it back to me.

Anyway, what I learned is that one mouthpiece might work for you, but not someone else. Everyone has their own particular playing style and embouchure.

In closing, I had a very enjoyable evening tonight, and the best part was, I had no problems, no issues, no pressure on my upper denture plate, and best of all - no pain!

@J-Jericho said in SEASON'S GREETINGS:

@ButchA Methinks you're not a stranger to electric guitar. World class licks there, my friend!

Thank you... Yes, I picked up a guitar the same time I picked up trumpet. Probably for the past 50 years, both have competed for my attention.

Funny thing with the guitar (true story!) --- My sister Ginny had an old nylon string acoustic guitar in her room. I used to sneak into her room and doodle around on her guitar, trying to figure it out (no lessons, no knowledge). But one day my older sister Sue was blaring an old Cream album on her record player in her room. I heard the opening notes to "Sunshine Of Your Love", and somehow, someway, I figured out what Eric Clapton was playing on Ginny's nylon string guitar. Just then, she caught me red-handed, in her room, playing her guitar, and playing along with Eric Clapton's guitar lick -- without ever taking a lesson! I just remember her yelling at me, yanking her guitar out of my hands, smacking the {expletive} out of me, as she chased me out of her room!
...my parents soon bought me my own acoustic guitar, and the rest is history!

@GeorgeB said in SEASON'S GREETINGS:

He's pretty damn good on the violin, too.

Thank you! I will never be as good as my grandmother - she was a concert violinist in New York City back in 1914, 1915, and her violin is not only over 100 years old - it is priceless to me!

Here's a hilarious You Tube video I made once I plugged into the amp and started reading the owners manual. It's a BOSS KATANA ARTIST 1x12 massive 100 watt amp!

Warning: The last few amp settings are not for the faint of heart. You'll hear some vicious heavy metal guitar tones!