Every message board/Facebook group/online community goes through similar life cycles, I think. The exception to that is when something big and new happens.

I post on an Alabama Crimson Tide board and the constant influx of new information keeps discussion fresh during the season, but the off-season generally sees the same topics resurrected each year.

On TH, there was a lot of excitement in the early days when you had Lawler, Eclipse, Zeus, GR, etc., coming to market. You also had some big name posters in those days too.

I also post on a Facebook group for band directors that is so overrun with questions about things you should have learned in undergrad that's hard to find anything of depth.

I think Pinstriper may be onto something about how things might change here as the site grows, but to me it's really cool to be in on the ground floor. I'm definitely enjoying the vibe here.

@Three-Sevens said in Welcome to TrumpetBoards!:

@mafields627

Welcome Matt! I've enjoyed your point of view often on TH!

Mike

Thank you, Mike! I've literally grown up on TH -- I was just in high school when I started posting, through college, and now getting close to wrapping up my 13th year as a middle & high school band director. I hope I can make a positive contribution here as well!

As a band director, I would hate to have to burst some kid's bubble thinking they had scored a great horn. There's always a lot of excitement that comes with those purchases. However, I also know what the results will be down the road. Some of them do sound pretty good until they start needing repairs. For some reason, though, parents often refuse to consult their student's band director before making these sorts of purchases.

I'm a middle & high school band director. I assign scales. I practice them in my own playing. In our state scales are a barrier for district and all-state band auditions. In college scales are a part of juries and various upper level qualifying requirements.

I teach scales because students that are proficient at scales learn new music more easily. I know what when we go for our state music performance assessment I have 7 minutes in the sight reading room before we are adjudicated and we can't play a single note; however, I know before hand that our music will be in concert F, Bb, Eb, or Ab -- having a knowledge of those keys helps.

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe.” Scales are part of sharpening the axe. Playing music can be done without working scales, but IMO, it's a lot harder.

Good luck with all of your services! Playing great music at Easter and Christmas is one of the things I really miss now that I go to a contemporary church.

I remember when eBay first came out Recordings were a fairly frequent listing and could be had for $400-$600 in some cases. I wish I would have snapped one up then.

As far as current horns are concerned, I feel that Yamaha and Getzen are the best on the market. King and Bach are a level below them. I've had good luck with Eastman recently. A new Jupiter and Antigua in my beginner band this year consistently had valve issues throughout the year.

If you're looking for something newer that has some great soul with some horns, check out St. Paul and the Broken Bones.

People that say "on today" instead of just saying "today."

I finally took the plunge and joined up. It's going to take some getting used to, but so far so good. Looking forward to what is to come!

@_mark_ Your description of your issue makes sense as to why you're having a double buzz.

When you are approaching the A, do you try to go straight from G or do you go chromatically from G#? A lot of times approaching from the half step instead of whole step makes it easier to play that note.

Also, I wonder if you would be a candidate for the Wedge mouthpiece?

Two things come to mind: an uncontrolled double buzz (which I see most often with my younger low brass students and try to eliminate) and multiphonics (humming a pitch with playing another).

It sounds like you are referring to the uncontrolled double buzz. I don't know anyone that does that purposefully.

I'm a middle & high school band director. I assign scales. I practice them in my own playing. In our state scales are a barrier for district and all-state band auditions. In college scales are a part of juries and various upper level qualifying requirements.

I teach scales because students that are proficient at scales learn new music more easily. I know what when we go for our state music performance assessment I have 7 minutes in the sight reading room before we are adjudicated and we can't play a single note; however, I know before hand that our music will be in concert F, Bb, Eb, or Ab -- having a knowledge of those keys helps.

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe.” Scales are part of sharpening the axe. Playing music can be done without working scales, but IMO, it's a lot harder.

There's only one song for Tuscaloosa, Alabama:

The initial sell prices for "name" brand brass instruments has risen dramatically over the past 10-15 years. There are some on here that bought their Strads for sub-$1000 prices way back when, but the price for a plain Jane model 37 is over $1000 more expensive now than when I got mine in 1999. So, if we're looking at $3019 for a new Strad from WW & BW, then $1000 really is approximately 30% of that and not that bad of a price.

In American school band programs treble clef baritone is often a safety valve for trumpet players that lack range. There's something about the size of the mouthpiece that allows for a lot more ease in tone/range production. If I have a beginner that struggles getting an initial sound on trumpet I will often have them work with a trombone/baritone mouthpiece and then step down to trumpet. It almost always works. I enjoy playing one myself and have considered switching over since I don't really have the time to keep up my trumpet chops.

The one that I want more than any other is an Olds Recording. I could beat myself for not snapping one up when they were $400 on ebay fifteen years ago.

My daily player, a 1999 Model 37 Strad, is finally a wonderful horn. All it took was a Melk MTV-525 leadpipe and receiver and significant work on the third slide (all the result of damage).

I was just talking to my beginners this morning about 10,000 hours. One of my favorite quotes (paraphrased) is most people don't lack the desire to be good, rather they lack the desire to do what it takes to be good.

@OldSchoolEuph said in Frustrated:

@mafields627 said in Frustrated:

TBH, I wish that TH was actually more heavily moderated. A lot of great posters (pros and knowledgeable amateurs) have left because stuff was allowed to go too far.

Are you sure none of them left because they got tired of putting time and effort into creating detailed and informative posts that would serve those who googled the topic years later, only to see that effort obliterated because someone didn't like something someone said later in the thread?

I can't speak to every situation, but I have seen pro-level posters comment on leaving because of the attacks directed at them by people who really have no credentials. That is not to say, however, that people haven't left because of the moderation. Maybe those people posted about it and I missed it or maybe they just simply stopped posting.

In my experience message boards that are not heavily moderated are much like a toddler with no structure -- lots of shouting, name calling, and an altogether unpleasant atmosphere.

The absolute BEST message board I am a part of is tidefans.com and it is such because of the insiders that know what is going on with the program and the moderation that keeps it civil. If the moderation wasn't what it was the insiders would go and we would all lose out.

TBH, I wish that TH was actually more heavily moderated. A lot of great posters (pros and knowledgeable amateurs) have left because stuff was allowed to go too far.