Posts made by Comeback

I have been half-looking for a particular vintage horn in a particular version for some time, thinking if one happened to surface I would jump on it. I have become aware of one. It is complete and in excellent shape. It is a little expensive, but I can afford it. The issue is that my will to do the deal is weak. I do not think that I will pursue it.

Those of you whose main horn is a Bb trumpet, do you have such a horn that is “the one” for you, a horn that causes you to desire no other? I may have reached that point with my Getzen Severinsen. It touches all of the Bb trumpet bases that are important to me at this time. My trumpet appetite appears to be sated. Anyone else have a horn that seems to be “the one”?

@Kehaulani said in Mute Musings:

Never filed a mute in my life. Aren't they made with malleable corks that wok themselves in?

Your experience with this stuff is greater than mine, Kehaulani. However, I have found that a little careful filling or sanding shortens that working in process considerably and improves intonation and fit immediately.

@Dr-Mark
Well, thanks for the help you have provided. Best wishes to you for your career.

Jim

Well, Dr. Mark, I have a routine too. It seems to be working for me at this point in my development. All my practice and performing is with Bb instruments.

• I begin with slow soft playing beginning with C below the staff and descending chromatically to F#.

• Next, beginning with G below the staff, I play long-tone major scales to the top of my present range. I focus on clean attacks and producing good sound as I play these scales.

• The last portion of my routine varies. If I am not preparing for a concert, I work on some Arban’s and Clarke exercises and end with songs I am learning or memorizing. If I am preparing for a concert, I work on concert numbers and rely on the more difficult parts of these pieces to provide the sort of benefit I obtain from work on Arban’s or Clarke.

I try to abide by the “rest as much as I play” approach to practice, and I stop when quality of attacks and sound deteriorates. If I am practicing after 9 pm, I practice with a stemless Harmon. I like the sound I get with the Harmon more than what I get with practice mutes and it knocks down decibels to a level where neighbors do not notice.

Jim

@flugelgirl said in Mute Musings:

Corks are meant to be sanded so they properly fit the bell. Since bell flares can be very different, sometimes when you get a new horn you need to replace your mute corks. Mutes that fit my last daily player well needed replacements to fit my current horn correctly.

If I remember correctly, we affect intonation of our muted trumpet by sanding/filing our mutes.

I bought a new Getzen 900 Eterna Classic a few years ago which I intended to make my primary horn. It was well-nigh perfect for my purposes. I carefully filed straight, cup, and Harmon mutes to fit the bell of the this horn securely, and to adjust intonation for each mute as well. The outfit worked just great. Regrettably, I sold this fine horn when I thought I would have to give up trumpet playing for health reasons - I kept the mutes, though.

Late this summer I lucked into an excellent mid-1970s Getzen Severinsen, which quickly became my primary horn. Fortunately, those mutes which were fitted so carefully to the departed Classic work pretty well. A few stokes with my four-in-hand file should have them fitting the Sev perfectly.

Jim

My community band’s holiday concert playlist is mute intensive. We had 15 trumpets show up for this week’s rehearsal, six were on 1st parts, six were on 2nd parts, and there were three of us on 3rd. Several of our numbers have prominent 3rd parts. I had selected my mutes based upon intonation and how they sound while practicing, which was a mistake in some respects.

My old Leblanc stemless Harmon worked great, it fits the bell on my old Severinsen just right, sounds good, and I could produce appropriate volume with it. My old Shastock straight mute (with maple resonator!) worked good too, but some of our mute changes are pretty quick and I worry about dinging the inside of my bell with the brass fitting on its insertion end, so I think I’ll go back to my standard red and white H&B.

The cup mute was my major disappointment. I had been using this old slightly misshapen black and white cup mute that came to me with some ratty black fabric glued to the inside of the cup portion. One of our numbers has the entire trumpet section playing cup muted harmonized parts. My sound simply disappeared with this old cup mute in my bell, along with the balance in our section. I’ll be using a standard red and white H&B cup mute going forward, I get much more volume when using it.

If this ramble has a point, it is this: There is much to consider when making mute selections!

Jim

I struggle with fast chromatic and semi-chromatic runs in some of the pieces we play in community band. For some time my practice routine has consisted of long tone major scales to the top of my range, Arban’s first studies, next concert numbers, and then a few favorite songs. But I wasn’t making much progress on those irksome runs.

Last night I was fiddling around on my iPad and found a free source for Clarke’s Technical Studies, which I downloaded. I had not used Clark’s in decades, believing it was just too boring. Well, now, after working through page 1 of First Study, I am thinking Clarke’s may be just the tool I need to master those runs - we’ll see, of course.

Nice, moving. Thanks!

Thanks for posting the vid Dr. Mark. Plenty in there for me. Plenty in there for my community band section mates too. Getting them to view it is the challenge!

Jim

I am generally with Kehaulani when it comes to the SSB, but I did enjoy Arturo’s performance. And that 7 y/o girl was just super. What an enjoyable thread!

Jim

No disagreement from me with the advice above concerning seeking qualified medical assistance. I would like to share the following, though. My right shoulder is messed up. From time to time I will do something to stir up my shoulder and/or arm. I find a little relief from trumpet playing discomfort during these times by simply switching to cornet for a while. The subtle differences in limb angles seem to make a difference. Of course, YMMV!

Jim

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

Jim

Congrats on the new-to-you horn, Mike!
Jim

Thank you, Dr. Mark, for your OP. It has been a while since I listened to any Mendez recordings. The dramatic compelling Mendez bio you posted inspired me to give a listen again to some of his work while I graded assignments for the online course I teach. I had to really focus in order to not be too much distracted by what I was hearing. His virtuosity was simple amazing! Grading is done now and I am inspired to practice.

Jim

Found this after listening to a fine traditional organ performance. I liked it, perhaps you will too.

Jim

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

Congratulations, stumac. It seems you acquired an interesting and unique instrument!

Jim

This is simply great stuff, Dr. Mark. I enjoyed classical music in the past simply because of how it made me feel. The videos you have been posting have helped me deepen my appreciation. Thanks, again.

Jim

@GeorgeB said in How to Listen to Classical Music: Tonality:

That is so damn interesting. The information here tells me just how poor my knowledge of music theory really is. I also now appreciate some of the more complicated pieces we do at the band that have different key changes within the composition. Thanks, Dr.Mark.

Yeah! What he wrote!