Posts made by Richard III

If you can find one, the Cleveland C vintage cornet mouthpiece is very nice. The shank contour seems to be unique for that era. I have two of the mouthpieces and the only difference is the rim. I also have a H. N. White C mouthpiece and it is slightly different with a smaller bore size.

FYI, I also have Cleveland mouthpieces for trumpet and euphonium/baritone that work very well too.

I also have a King 7M cornet mouthpiece that is simply fantastic. I have it loaned out to a friend. These are much harder to find that the Clevelands.

It is either a King Long Cornet or King Master cornet. Value depends on condition and which one it is. The Master is more due to demand. General range is $300-$800 approximately. Condition is of course also important. If there is significant compression loss, drop the price accordingly.

@georgeb said in The value of scales:

@barliman2001

I know, and I don't like to be a stick in the mud but I've seen threads fall apart because of too much humor.

If we want to keep members and attract new ones who come here looking for help and suggestions with their playing then we should take a long hard look at what we are doing.

Kehaulani, who I hope is okay because he hasn't been here in sometime, was one who shared my thoughts on this matter. He felt there was too much humor in threads dealing with the technical aspects of playing the trumpet.

In the old days of TrumpetMaster, many threads devolved into joke time. It seemed to be a popular pastime for contributors. In contrast, TrumpetHerald attracted fewer jokesters. Therefore if I wanted knowledge, I went to TH. If I wanted silly, I might visit TM. I rarely found anything of valuable (for me) content on TM. But I still visited it and now TB on a daily basis just in case. I frequently start to comment, but then think, oh why bother and skip it.

@tptguy Sorry no Holton experience with trumpet mouthpieces, only cornet.

But you do have an opportunity to try many vintage mouthpieces made by Holton for not too much money. I've done that with other makers and found some really fine mouthpieces that make the old horns sing.

@curlydoc said in Traits that make a great sight reader?:

@bigdub I use the For Score program on my large iPad . I have all the trumpet parts for all of our community band’s repertoire loaded. I can quickly create or change playlists. The first time I look at a piece, I use my finger to highlight in red the important data such as key changes, codas , etc. If our director makes changes, it is easy to add them or remove them. It is much lighter and less fuss than hauling big folders of paper to practices and gigs. No additional music light is needed. Page turning can be done with a finger tap or a foot pedal. Revolutionary!

LMAO. Yup, old guy used the stupid letters. Anyway, all that sounds great until the thing malfunctions right in the middle of a performance. I've seen it happen to others. "Sorry, folks, were going to take a break while I get my device working again."

I'd love to find a device that shows three pages at the same time so no page turns are necessary. Anybody have one?

@georgeb said in Traits that make a great sight reader?:

@dr-go said in Traits that make a great sight reader?:

I believe the hardest part of sight reading is being able to count. What really trips me up the most is reading where NOT to play (the rests) more so than were TO play (the notes). It all comes down to the rhythm, the feel of the song. That is what I find most challenging regarding sight reading.

I would have to agree with Doc on this part of sight reading, especially the rhythm. I don't realize how wrong I sometime get this in new pieces until I am playing with others. Then it all falls into place.

I've always found sight reading easy. But with difficult rhythms, I still use a pencil to mark downbeats in a measure. I've had band mates try this and they were amazed at how much it helped. I'm surprised at how little people mark their music to help themselves.

@flugelgirl said in Chemical Cleaning:

@richard-iii it could be a number of things, from methods used to skill of said tech. The flush used after chemical or ultrasonic cleaning can leave some grit if not properly cleaned out - that could easily have been the problem in this case. My general rule of thumb is if it is older than me, or if it has been really used and rarely cleaned, I don’t turn on the UC. My mentor doesn’t use a UC at all, and cleans with zero issues.

Interesting. I did see grit after the chem cleaning. Thanks.

I think it also relates to math ability. Rhythms seem to be a problem for people. It's not the notes, it's the rhythm. People get lost. Also having the beat in the back of your head that allows you to know where in the measure you are is huge. I've been in so many groups where a difficult passage means the player slows down and is immediately lost.

And then there is the reading text issue related thing. When you read text, do you look at all the letters? Of course not. You read the sentence. Same thing in music. You read the phrases. You see the whole line. No?

Or are you thinking of how to produce the sound and playing and can't spare attention to the music?

I think there's something like that going on?

Now that we have FG here to comment, I have a question. I've had chem cleans and ultrasonic cleans. I had an old cornet that had a valve problem. The tech chem cleaned and did everything he could, still had the problem. Actually this has happened to me with a number of horns. Then a different tech ultrasonically cleaned and the problems were solved.
Since then, I only go to shops with ultrasonic cleaning.

What is going on?

Though I have no expertise, nor do I really have any interest in the style of music, I think that the OP is discussing the tune the only real way of talking about it. It is very technical music. I just listened to Dizzy playing it. I listened intently to the backing of the rhythm section as well as the soloists. I heard occasional melodic movement with the soloists but generally just a variation of the harmonies. The backing musicians sounded like just a mass of notes without coherence.

I play jazz all the time, but it is trad jazz. I just don't have an ear for more modern stuff.

@_mark_ said in More physiological than medical:

@richard-iii I like this idea, however, a glance shows no affordable instruments in the market. Heresy is not a worry! I have some guitars to trade, but liquidity is in the nether region.

Just a quick glance at Ebay found this one for $350. A good starting point.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HOLTON-B480R-COLLEGIATE-STUDENT-MODEL-3-VALVE-Bb-EUPHONIUM-T45/124397525441?hash=item1cf6ab99c1:g:OwUAAOSwPOhfjx4a

And then there is another approach. Switch to baritone/euphonium. When I play mine, all of the trumpet problems go away. Range is easy. Endurance is not a problem. The larger mouthpiece makes life no longer a chore. Here's the current goal for this project.

I know most people think switching instruments is heresy. But making beautiful music is making beautiful music.

Ton of free stuff here. Really good information. I would work thought all the material.

[link text](http://www.bbtrumpet.com/home-page/[link text](link url))

Push your lips away from your teeth. Make a cushion. The outer part of the lips should remain relaxed. Contract towards the center when needed behind that point. All this and the teeth rarely matter.

Once you get a chance to really explore the combination of mouthpiece and horn, please consider posting a video. I'd love to hear the sound.

Your measurements tell me that the mouthpiece is about the same dimensions as my old unmarked mouthpiece that I'm currently using. It is small but not so small that it can't be used. I have a Conn 18 that looks great but is so small I just can't be consistent with it.

I missed it if you said, what do you think the diameter is?

I have an unmarked cornet mouthpiece. Construction looks like late 1800's. Perfectly fits my 1903 Conn Wonder. Sounds great. Small diameter makes it more of a challenge. Working to get acclimated. Have you had any issues with yours and playability?

Why wouldn't you put the horn back in the case when you are done playing?

@trumpetlearner said in King Silver Flair - Buying Advice:

The next step would be to follow up with an acrylic box, to stop dust getting on the instrument.

Quote: The next step would be to follow up with an acrylic box, to stop dust getting on the instrument.

And to keep the critters in the house from licking the mouthpiece right after they clean their butts.

@trumpetlearner said in King Silver Flair - Buying Advice:

Rather than start a new thread, I have another question for anyone with a Silver Flair. My new Yamaha has a little screw to stop the 3rd valve slide falling out, but I don't see this on the silver flair. Is this a new thing for trumpets? What stops the slide falling out on a trumpet that doesn't have one of these?

When I leave my trumpet on its vertical stand for a few days, I do sometimes come back to find the 3rd valve has slid down to to the screw, and if the screw wasn't there, I suppose it would have fallen out completely!

Don't ever leave it on the stand when you are not there. Bad things happen. The least of which is the slide moving. Other bad things like it falling over and the second valve slide gets jammed into the valve casing and Mr. Trumpet is not all wonky and unplayable.

Well, since this thread popped up, I'll relate a recent occurance.

Last Saturday was the first band practice in over a year. Trad jazz. New band. Never met these people before in person.

For a year I've practiced playing from lead sheets and doing improv. Occasionally use backing tracks. But mostly just improvising on the songs. I start in a different key and practice that too.

I wondered how it would all sound when playing with others. The answer? Wow, pretty darn well. The pandemic has given me the time to work on improv in the safety of my own home.

Now I say, "Give me the solo, man!"

Any theory involved in what I did? No. But also I've spent a year listening to a lot of music in this style. So that gets internalized and comes out.

Would it happen if I listened to another style. Yes. Works that way too. Listen, internalize, play and away we go.