Best posts made by Comeback

fels had asked “How to cope?” In his OP. Kehaulani reminded me of this in his reply.

I had written about my personal skill-related frustrations. I cope with these simply by plugging away with practice tailored to address my shortcomings, which we all know is a process affording little instant gratification.

I had also written about tribal-knowledge related organizational frustration. I cope with this by engaging veteran fellow bandsmen in conversation and listening closely.

Our rehearsal last night was a reading session for our holiday concert. I came to rehearsal prepared with a common complement of mutes (straight, cup, Harmon, plunger), all of which, except for the plunger, were called for in our music. I was the only third trumpet so equipped. I suppose this could have been a point of frustration, but it didn’t end up being so. I have lots of mutes. I plan to take my extras to next week’s rehearsal and loan them to my fellow third trumpets who might need them. Now, if I could only figure out how to tell the pleasant chap whose trumpet is missing its third slide finger ring why restoring that ring is so important, especially for a third trumpet player!

Thanks for posting this, BP. A couple grandchildren and I enjoyed it very much!

Jim

Thank you for posting that video, GeorgeB.

I appreciate your posts and observations folks. Thank you. It has been a little tough for me to put down this Sev since it was delivered to my home. I didn’t have to do much acclimation to the horn. Quite frankly, it just felt natural in my hands - probably a muscle memory thing.

Just for fun, I thoroughly cleaned the old Getzen 5C mouthpiece that came with the horn. It is in good shape except for the insertion end being just slightly out of round. It worked and felt great and I have been using it ever since. I had been using a Bach 3C previously.

I finished my second practice session this evening with some favorite tunes: Summertime, Tijuana Taxi, Embraceable You. It was pleasing and gratifying to experience the expressiveness that was mine with this horn/mouthpiece combination. This outfit really sings!

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.

No services for me either. Community band will have our holiday concert on 12/10. Fourteen numbers are on the program. Hope our audience is up for it!

@Tobylou8 said in Mute Musings:

I remember a post on the old TM about a father(?) that had corks repaired for his kid. The bill was around $25 +/-. Most of the cost was for "mute tuning". Insert, play, tune, etc., until it was in tune. I've never done this but can see the validity. I've just always lipped the notes or pulled the slide for longer passages. I have a copper Harmon that is incredibly sharp so I've learned where to place the slide when it's used. I just have to remember to push it back in!!!

Insert, play, tune is exactly what I did with the mutes for my Getzen Classic, which I now use in the Severinsen. Sand paper works for this process, but my four-in-hand tool, which was always present in my tool pouch while doing trim carpentry, really makes this process easy.

Jim

I wrote about my first horn, a Holton Galaxy cornet, above. This post is about my first trumpet, a LeBlanc 707 Sonic. Prior to my sophomore year of high school, in 1967, I traded my Galaxy for the 707 Sonic. I felt I needed a trumpet for high school, and the thought of having two horns never crossed my mind. My private teacher may have influenced my selection, but I don’t remember for sure. My choice may have had something to do with Al Hirt, or it may simply have been the fit, beautiful finish, sound and response. Regardless, I purchased the Sonic and played it throughout high school and beyond. It served flawlessly in concert band, orchestra, jazz band, all city bands and orchestras, and in pit orchestras for summer stock theater productions. I sold it to a family acquaintance, who still has it as far as I know, in order to help finance Mrs. and my honeymoon. I was without a horn for several decades thereafter, until the trumpet playing itch began to develop again sometime in the 1990s (as an aside, I satisfied that itch with a $20 garage sale Blessing Standard). Anyway, several years ago I found an old 707 Sonic in restorable condition on ebay. I sent it to Mark Metzler, he worked his magic upon it and the result is below.

+1 for what GeorgeB wrote. Thanks Dr. Mark!

Jim

My community band’s holiday concert was yesterday evening. I was concerned about attendance since there are many holiday concerts this week. No worries! People were lined up outside the hall’s doors anxious to get inside. All fourteen numbers were received with enthusiastic applause and cheers - very cool!

I have not yet been wholly satisfied with my efforts during our concerts but am getting closer. My confidence is improving. The fourteen trumpeters in our section did not uniformly accurately count rests so timely entrances could be made. There were a couple times when it seemed I was the only one playing, which caused a little self doubt. But by the end of the concert, I simply counted and played and paid little attention to whether anyone else came along.

I used my Getzen Severinsen with a Bach 3C, along with several mutes. The Sev and 3C worked just fine, but interestingly for me, the light weight of my outfit seemed to not necessarily work to my advantage during the performance. I got a little jittery on some exposed parts which I could detect in subtle unintended horn movements. I am practicing now with my heavier LeBlanc 707 Sonic in order to see if the weight makes any difference.

Jim

Just went through some of this with a 10 year old grandson. He ended up with a nearly new Bach TR300H2 and Bach 7C mouthpiece through his school’s rental program. I played his horn and it works just fine. More importantly, he is really excited about learning to play it!

The recent thread about Reasons to Collect Trumpets inspired this one. I may be a reformed collector - at least for now. Understand that when I had G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), I was not an accomplished player, a condition that has changed only a little perhaps. But I was really excited about gear! As instrument cases accumulated and the mouthpiece pile grew, my Mrs. kept saying “You only have one pair of lips, just how many of these can you play?” At one point I had a very nice Strad 180S37, a near perfect Strad 229C, a fine 1952 Blessing Super Artist, a new Getzen 900 Eterna Classic, several other horns, and oh! - no place to perform with any of them!

Hopefully G.A.S. Is behind me now. I have two vintage horns with strong personal associations and the one that I play, a vintage Getzen Severinsen. More importantly, I think, is that I now have a place to perform.

So, my reasons for not collecting trumpets:

• Collecting consumes energy and time better spent practicing;

• Collecting consumes cash better invested elsewhere;

• Collecting requires space - at one point my man room closet was stuffed with instruments I was not playing;

• Collecting means you have lots of instruments to care for;

• Collecting nice instruments and storing them may mean that someone else who could be playing them is not.

Thanks! The video provided me insight into what the conductors of my community band try to extract from us as we play certain works.

Mrs. and I are both 67 y/o. We are ordering groceries for delivery, which has been working out OK. We are also keeping my 88 y/o mom supplied with groceries. I dropped off her portion of the latest order this morning. She is doing well. She has her very old standard poodle for company and Mrs. and I visit her once a week and share a meal. She (mom) is still an active accordionist, and while the band she leads is on hiatus she is working on some solo pieces. Her comment about her music making this morning was that “Brahms must have been crazy!” She asked me what I was working on now that my community band was no longer meeting. I told her that I was working on arrangements of Stardust and Moon River that require transposition, along with my normal stuff. Mrs. has been playing her piano more frequently, which I always enjoy. The last couple days, though, she has been captivated by a new jigsaw puzzle. All told, we three seniors are adjusting well enough to “The New Reality”.

Yes I do! What a beauty! I’d post a pic of the LeBlanc if I were more clever.

Now that is an interesting account, Mike! My Mrs. frequently makes promises to me, laced with humor I think, about what she will do with all of my stuff if I go first.

Jim

It might be interesting for some forum members to post accounts of community band performances in a single thread. If such a thing has been started previously, please forgive me.

My community band’s most recent concert was last Tuesday night. It was held in the large performance hall of our local university, which is normal. Several hundred people were in attendance. Selections played in the first half of the concert were: Sea Songs by R.V. Williams; Solas Anne by S.R. Hazo; Festivo by V. Nelhybel; Rifton Wed by J. Giroux; and Armenian Dances by A. Reed. Selections played in the second half were: Circus Thrills March by D. Blackwell; Zampa by L.J.F. Herald, The Phantom of the Opera arr. by W. Barker; Star Wars the Phantom Menace arr. by D. Blackwell; and Seventy Six Trombones arr. by L. Anderson.

The concert was well received and the band enjoyed a standing ovation at its conclusion. My personal favorite number was Armenian Dances. I played 2nd trumpet and enjoyed being challenged by its rhythms and other distinctive features. My 88 y/o mother found her favorite in Seventy Six Trombones. Our next concert is scheduled for May 3. In light of increasing COVID19 concerns, I sure hope we get to perform it.

Jim

Enjoy your lunch!

@Tobylou8 said in The One:

I bought a bunch of horns trying to find "the one" since I had been playing my Getzen 900H since Jr. high school. There were many that were close, including a first run Severinsen that is a very fine player and a Holton ST-302 that has a big sound but just isn't quite there for me. I've even played a high dollar horn, it was nice, but that's all. The "one" that supplanted my 900H was another 900H only in large bore. If you can make an offer with a price that is more to your liking, I'd go for it. You can't have too many horns and it is nice to pull them out for others to play and watch them drool!

I don’t know, Tobylou8, I think I had too many horns several years ago. I did consider making an offer on the horn I referenced in my prior post, but I did not and will not. I have two fine trumpets, which seems to be plenty for an old 3rd chair comeback trumpet player. Besides, I do not want to be distracted from “the one” and my efforts in becoming more adept in its applications. But thank you for your encouragement!

Jim

Sure hope we do not have this sort of thread. I did a site search first, but may have missed it...

Anyway, I subscribe to Pandora internet radio. I also enjoy good concert band music. One of my favorite stations is The U.S. Army Concert Band Radio. Am listening to it right now - good stuff, if you like this sort of thing!

Jim