Posts made by Comeback

Thank you!

Enjoy your lunch!

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

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

Jim

I suppose Arturo Sandoval has a bunch of trumpets and various other instruments, but something he said in a video posted by Jens Lindemann several years ago has stuck with me. My attempt at loosely paraphrasing his remarks: You do not need a bunch of gear to produce a wide variety of effects as you play the trumpet. Sandoval proceeded to demonstrate what he meant.

When I was struggling with G.A.S. I experimented with instruments and mouthpieces continually. I don’t think this was helpful. Looking back, for me at least, I think that a thoughtfully chosen trumpet/mouthpiece combination that I committed to would have led to more rapid trumpeting progress.

Gary, to your points, I in no way am being critical of trumpet collecting generally, it simply may just not be for me. I started this thread merely hoping to encourage an exchange of ideas about the topic that might be helpful to some. And I agree with you concerning cars. I am not counting on my Mustang ever doing much to pad our retirement finances!

Niner, your thought about letting next of kin figure out what to do with one’s stuff after death is something I frequently consider. Mrs. and I had to deal with her parents’ stuff after their passing and we have been dealing with reducing my mom’s pile of unused possessions for over a year now, sometimes in the face of her reluctance. Hopefully, Mrs. and I will be able to reduce our possessions to a manageable magnitude while we still possess all of our faculties!

Jim

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.

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!

Glad to see you posting here, OldSchoolEuph. I have learned from what you have written on TH and TM. Hopefully this young site will mature into a reliably useful helpful resource.

I started community band involvement in the summer of 2018 and then had to lay off for a year due to health issues. I am back at it now. We had our fall concert last week and our first rehearsal for our holiday concert last night. As a retiree, I value my community band a great deal. I contentedly play third and a few second parts. I enjoy being part of the band and helping my fellow trumpeters as I can. Frustrations? Most of mine stem from the rustiness and lack of dexterity that comes along with being an old comeback player. If I have an organizational frustration, it probably has to do with absorbing the tribal knowledge that veteran band members take for granted.

@Kehaulani said in Structure of the Trumpet by Yamaha:

I have another question, too. Where are all the other forum members and potential members? Too theoretical and pedantic for them?
Good question, Kehaulani. Some of these recent threads seem to quickly become aggressively confrontational. I find them to be a hostile virtual environment.

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

I tried to find current contract info for Sherry a short time ago and was unsuccessful. All I leaned was that her company seems to be no more. She sure did a nice job of restoring the engraving on my LeBlanc...

@J-Jericho said in 557 Jazz Standards:

@Dr-Mark Thank you!

^^^^
What he wrote!

Bob Pixley reminded me of another peeve. I somehow managed to end up seated right in front of the glockenspiel. Now I completely understand when the percussionist bangs away at that thing when the music requires it, even though I cannot hear myself think. However, I get peeved when the percussionist is whacking away with considerable force when we are supposed to be listening to our conductor or merely warming up!

I saw an old peeve-related thread but started this new one hoping it might remain trumpet centric - we’ll see!

My community band rehearsed last night. I play either second or third parts. Our fall concert is in a couple weeks and the works include several with fast tempos, frequent key signature changes, challenging rhythms, and, of course, lots of rests in the parts I play. I enjoy rehearsals. I like to concentrate and focus on our conductors, the sound quality, intonation, and balance of our section, and so forth. The gentleman who sits on my right is a nice man. His approach to rehearsals is much more “laid back” than mine. We were working through one of our most challenging pieces. My horn was poised in front of my lips as I counted the last few bars before a significant entrance and he starts tapping my right arm with a greeting card! Apparently he was convinced I had to sign it right now!

Congratulations, barliman2001! I am confident you will be a fine moderator. Very interesting bio too!

I believe I remember seeing similar contraptions in Amsterdam when I was briefly there in the late 1990s. As I recall, the devices drained urine directly into the canals.

Seems you have raised a talented and spirited young lady, Dr. Mark. Congratulations, and best wishes for your daughter's musical journey.

@Dr-GO said in How about a "Random Meaningless Image...let's see them string"?:

@Comeback said in How about a "Random Meaningless Image...let's see them string"?:

Are congratulations in order? If so, congratulations Gary!

Jim

Thanks, Jim. Yes after 27 years of working in the "Academic" world, I decided to practice in the "real world". Should have made this decision years ago. I LOVE my patients and really get a chance to see my treatments turn around individuals life on a more rapid time scale and at a higher volume. You know, I really did go into medicine to help people, and this new gig reinforces that behavior.

In addition, I am still receiving a salary from my academic institution until I turn 65, AND the salary from this practice position, so making two salaries as a physician is another congratulatory benefit! Just think of all the Haarrelson Trumpets I can now buy for myself and for gifting!

Well, then, congratulations are in order indeed! It is great that you are enjoying helping your patients. And apparently you are continuing to enjoy your Harrelson too - I remember when your Harrelson saga began!

I have a little over a year of retirement under my belt now, though I still teach one online class each primary semester. Retirement seems to suit me. More time for family, fitness pursuits, hobbies, and trumpet playing is great!