Posts made by GeorgeB

@ssmith1226

Thanks for that clip, Steve. Nobody does it better than Clark Terry. We lost him way too soon.

George

@dr-go
I got one of those rings, too, Doc.

As far as using pressure, well it would be nice if we could all play with zero pressure, but that is a fallacy. The thing is to use as little of it as possible and still get a good sound.

I just finished reading Wynton's book: Sweet Swing Blues On The Road. He is a super intelligent man and a very good writer ( take my word for it. I was a Publisher ). A truly interesting look at a group of craftsman plying their trade in today's music scene. This is a coffee table book, loaded with plenty of professionally taken photographs. You will really get to know and understand Wynton through his writings. He is one fine, very talented, human being.

@kehaulani

I actually like playing Strangers In The Night, but I skip the Dooby dooby dooo at the end.

@dr-go said in Louis Armstrong’s Trumpet:

With what I paid in taxes this year, I could have bought 5 of them.... Would have give 4 of them to the closest of my friends here on TB.

MAKE ME ONE OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS, DOC pretty please

@oldschooleuph

Very interesting post. The old Varsity I purchased at a pawn shop in 1953 is still in remarkably good shape even today, 68 years later. I don't know who made it or how old it really is, but I am sure it is a student horn when I compare playing it to the professional horns I own and play today. And the Varsity is definitely built like a tank.

My first horn was something from a pawnshop and just had Varsity etched on the bell. I bought in 1953 for $40, a fortune to me who was working part time after school delivering prescriptions on my bike for a local drug store making $12 a week.

I was taking lessons at The Maritime Conservatory Of Music. My teacher, Professor Ifan Williams, who also happened to be the music director at the conservatory, was not pleased with the Varsity and urged me to buy something better as soon as possible.
Well I used the Varsity but dropped the Conservatory for lessons with a top notch professional trumpet player because I didn't seem to be getting anywhere. The pro player's name was Eddie Richards and he was one of those guys who did it all, from dixieland to Haydn and played for all the top local orchestras, as well as the Halifax Symphony Orchestra, I started to advance quickly under his tutelage after he arranged for me to buy a nearly new gold plated Conn Constellation 28B on time for $5 a week. The Conn made all the difference in the world. To me, at the time, it was like magic.

I stupidly sold the Conn when I quit playing in 1965, but I kept the Varsity for sentimental reasons. I still have it and play it once in awhile as a reminder of how hard it was to play as a student. I have no idea of the age of the Varsity.

@smoothoperator

I understand. That's what jazz players do.

I love ballads and I do embellish them now and then, but only in a minor way. I certainly don't consider myself a jazz player, and am out of touch with today's players, with exception of two or three. I really like Wynton Marsalis.

I am an old timer raised during the big band era and played during the 50s and 60s before laying down the horn. After 1965 I didn't play again until 2016 and these days ( though we can't play concerts ) I am playing with a respectable community band.

@smoothoperator
I respect you and your knowledge of music theory, but honestly, I play a song because I like it for a variety of reasons, but I never feel the need to dissect it. For me it would ruin the fun of playing.

@dr-go

Holy heck, that sure is convincing.

@eatontkd

Welcome back, sir, from an old goat who started up again after a 50 year hiatus.
I have 1962 Conn Victor 5A in my collection of horns. Large bore .485 and beautiful sound.

My neighbors are very kind and look ward to the summer months when I play on my back deck in the afternoons. So I guess I'm not doing too badly.

@trumpetlearner

If the valves are worn it can affect the compression, making the horn harder to play. Open the 1st and 3rd valve slides a bit, then close them and depress the first and third keys, If you hear a solid popping sound, the compression is good and you can use either a light or medium grade ( Hetman or Berp ) #1 or #2 oil. But if the pop is weak a thick #3 grade oil should fill the gap between the valve and the piston wall and the playing should be easier and you should hear more of a pop.
The thicker oil lasts longer between oiling.

George

@dr-go said in New old member or old new member, can't remember:

@georgeb georgeb, are you still a union player after all these years?

No, Doc, when I quit playing in 1965 I dedicated myself to climbing the ladder of success in the printing and publishing business to give a good life to my wife a 3 sons, and it was the right move at the time. I started out in that business in a daily newspaper as a proof runner, then an advertising salesman and finally into management. I retired at the close of 2000 as general manager, publisher and vice president at one of eastern Canada's largest printing and publishing operations. I never touched a horn again until 2016 and I no longer play for money, so I had no need for the musicians union. But they were sure a great help to me when me and my band were members.

@ectmpt2

I am a real old timer ( 85 in a few weeks ) coming back after a 50 year hiatus. Back in the 50s / 60s I never considered myself anything more than an adequate player. I formed a 5 piece band, joined the union , and we played everything from teen dances ( did one every Saturday night for 4 years straight ), weddings, private functions. I worked full time in the publishing and printing business but there was rarely a weekend that we didn't have some kind of gig...until guitars and rock and travelling disc jockeys ruined the market, so I quit in '65.

I've been back 5 years now, playing with a pretty respectable band that includes a few professionals. There are some pretty damn good players here and they have given me some solid advice, so don't be shy.

Best of luck and welcome,
George

@_mark_

If you don't plan on joining any community band and will be playing mostly for your own enjoyment, I would stick with the trumpet. Every day, things will improve, and one day down the road you will look back and marvel at how far you have come.

George

@_mark_

Yeah, if they are Bach mouthpieces the inside rim diameter sizes are as follows:
The 2 series 16.50mm
The 3 series 16.30 mm
The 7C is the smallest at 16.20 mm

The C cups are medium and the B cups are medium deep

I always found the 7 to be a cookie cutter ( sharp rim ). The 3 not too bad for comfort, but the 5 size ( 16.25 ) always worked best for me.
NOTE: the deeper cups are more tiring on the lips, bad news if you want to build range.

Spend some time on long tone exercises, especially whole notes. They help you develop good breathing and a smooth tone...and even endurance. The next important thing is working on scales. Start with a one octave C scale ( C below the staff to mid C on the staff ) and slowly over time work your way up a second octave until that great day when you discover you can play a HIGH C ABOVE THE STAFF.

Hope this helps,
George

@_mark_

I couldn't agree more, Mark.

Music is magic in how it affects the soul.

Honestly, making music, and especially performing for an audience with my 5 piece combo back in the 50s and 60s was something I thrived on. Playing now, 50 years later, it has become my salvation.

Now, getting back to you and your eagerness to play the trumpet, just be sure you are not playing with a mouthpiece that is too large. It could be one of the things making above the staff difficult for you.

@mjgk

You might want to think about selling it on a consignment basis. I have enjoyed a 5 year relationship of doing business with Austin Custom Brass and Trent Austin is one of the most honest businessmen I know. You can contact Trent at:

info@austincustombrass.com

By the way, your horn looks exactly like my 1959 Selmer Paris K-Modified trumpet. A great sounding beauty that is always a pleasure to play.
George
PS: the old ladies may surprise you and really get all over your case if you actually play for them...

@_mark_

My heart goes out to you, Mark. Living on a fixed income is difficult in the best of times, and really tough in these times of Covid.
I've been on a fixed income for 20 years now and what had been a really comfortable emergency savings situation has eroded over the years. But like me, you have learned to adjust and get by.
In my life, music is probably one of the most important things that keep me sane. I lost my wife to cancer in 2012 after a long marriage (56 years ) and I was devastated. But by 2015 I was climbing out of a dark hole back up into the light and my friends, several of them musicians, convinced me to take a crack at picking up the horn again. In the spring of 2016 I did. I hadn't played in 50 years so playing again wasn't easy. But, surprisingly, things started to come back quickly and by the fall I was playing first chair with the local Horizons band and from then on I really started to improve. Today I am playing with one of the most respected community bands in my province,
So stick with it, Mark. Things will improve with time, and there will always be good days and bad days, because the horn is a bitch, but if you love the bitch and stick with her, you will be well rewarded, my friend,
Cheers,
George

@trickg
Hi, Patrick, nice to hear you are getting to play during these difficult times.

George