Posts made by Mike Ansberry

@SSmith1226 said in Practicing with drones:

@tjcombo said in Practicing with drones:

Wonder if any TBers use drones as part of your practice routine? Apart from the great ear training benefits, I find it to be like meditation for trumpet. Relaxing and a lot of fun.

There are plenty of apps and resources available. I'm happy with the Drone Tone app - the web page has an online drone tool that works in a browser http://www.dronetonetool.com/

There is a good overview of drone usage and benefits here https://billplakemusic.org/2015/08/30/a-highly-effective-and-really-fun-way-to-improve-your-ears/

I used “Drone Tone Tool” for about six months when I was spending at least 30 minutes daily on the “Rusty Russell 19/30 Long Tone Routine”. I saw this in January 2018, revived on either TH or TM. I added the drone to this to improve my intonation. It seemed to help me and it was relaxing. When I have more time I will start this or a similar routine again with the drone.

Rusty's 19/30s is awesome. He really helped me build my endurance.

Shivelbine's Music in Cape Girardeau, Mo. has been around since about 1925. It started out as a Conn store. Peg Meyer owned it. It is my understanding that he promoted starting school band programs across southeast Missouri. He sold it to the Shivelbines in the 1950s. The store is still thriving. They deal rental instruments for a bunch of schools in southeast Missouri as well as providing many other music services.

Their repair shop has been taking good care of musicians for a very long time. Peg told me he learned instrument repair from the Conn company. He was a very good musician and instrument technician. I learned to repair instruments working in their shop. I was hired to help clean up rental returns. I watched what was going on around me and Ron Duff, the shop foreman during my time there, taught me to repair. By the end of the summer they hired full time.

Bill and Freck Shivelbine and their kids were fantastic people to work for. They were easy going but expected you to take care of business. When I go home to Cape I sometimes go down and wander around the store a bit.

@Bob-Pixley said in The One:

@Tobylou8 said in The One:
...You can't have too many horns and it is nice to pull them out for others to play and watch them drool!

I like to watch people drool as much as anyone else, but I've come to the realization that I DO have too many horns. I only play a few of them regularly, and when I do play one of the others (that has no sentimental or rarity value), I always think "why am I keeping this one?". To that end, I sold 3 last year and haven't missed them in the least. I believe a few more may be ripe for the picking, too.

This is my feeling about my collection of horns as well. I have a few that get played regularly and a few that I have sentimental connections with. I have had a few of my horns up for sale: a Committee, a Super Recording (I don't need 2 of them) and a Recording. I have had them for sale at the price I paid to get them. Since I'm not financially strapped I just gonna play them occasionally until someone decides they want them more than I do.

@Tobylou8

@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 just bought a 900H large bore from Ivan. It is one sweet horn. But it can't beat my Super Recording out of first chair.

Thanks for the link!

I am curious about why I got a notice saying there are 2 new replies to this post, but when I click on it I am told I have stumbled across a page to which I do not have access.

You remind me a lot of a friend from back in the day...an Army French horn player named Ed Leferink. Wait. You play French horn too! Now it makes sense.

Aw, man. I'm just getting over a respiratory infection. You made me laugh so hard I coughed my (unicorn) @ss off.

Hey, Kehaulani. It is an Eterna Large Bore. Have you played one? They are one of the unicorn trumpets. I had one in my shop for repair a few years ago. It was dogged out but was an incredible player.

Do I need it? No. The only horn I really need is my 1949 Super Recording. Will it get playing time? Yes. And the upturned bell will help me deal with playing over the stand into a mic during performances.

I do have a couple of horns that are great horns but don't get playing time. I would like to sell them, but no takers so far.


I suffered from n+1 disease for quite a while. I have owned many different trumpets. Now I don't really like having trumpets around that don't get played. The exception to that would by my deceased son's Bach Strad and Holton Collegiate and my Dad's Buescher mdl 15 cornet. I keep them for sentimental reasons.

I have to admit that I am in the midst of purchasing a Getzen Eterna large bore Bobby Herriot model. If it plays like I think it, it will see playing time.

I have a couple of very nice instruments that don't see playing time. I have had them posted for sale at various times in the past but I don't plan to let them go for less than I paid for them. So they may be sticking around for a while.

Thanks for the link. Some awesome playing! I think Arturo's embouchure looks like what I imagine mine will look like if I ever attain the Balanced Embouchure. The part I am talking about happens when he goes into the extreme range at 3:43

Yep. I have a tendency to push too much with my abs. I think it comes from several years of study with a Claude Gordon student.

I've been wondering about compression for a while. This morning I asked Jim Manley about it. I asked when he is talking about compression, is he talking about aperture or air.

This is what he said, "The aperture can cause compression by simply getting smaller (resisting the air). Try letting air come out of your mouth naturally. (not forcing) Then form your aperture around that air. You aren't blowing harder or faster, but the lips act like compressors. You can also increase compression with your body (I think here he is talking about using your abs and intercostals to compress the air) but most folks overdo this. It doesn't take that much compression to play trumpet."

This makes sense to me.