There are wind town bands all over Germany, most with no chance to earn money. There is also a fair amount of freelance work, but a lot of that is being covered by professional musicians with music jobs. Getting a break means having the right teacher and playing well enough for them to want to take you instead of another pro that could also offer them gigs in return.
Still useful to learn about what trumpet sound Brahms, Wagner, (Richard) Strauss, Bruckner and Mahler had in their heads when composing their monumental works.
We must always keep in view that trumpet playing is a fine motor activity - not weight lifting. Endurance comes through training efficiency and body use. The goal is NOT a six pack!
The problem with Caruso is if we in fact treat the exercises as "calisthenics". This is a 100% wrong image.
Remember: the harder you press your lips together, the more blow force that you need to get them vibrating. The #1 problem that I observe is that way too much force is used - with the lips being forcefully pressed together as well as being mashed against the teeth.
Our embouchure must speak with a whisper of airflow. Starting from this side of playing, we develop that efficiency and NEVER need a hurricane to blow the lips apart.
@malintrumpet As I noted, in my case there is a specific trigger that needs to be fulfilled to start the tremor. (some connection with my left index finger which can happen through the trumpet, when drinking a glass of water held in my left hand or even directly touching my lips with that index finger. If I hold the trumpet or glass of water only with my right hand, I am symptom free.
Navigating through such diseases is not easy and even if chemicals (including alcohol) can hide the symptoms, I believe that the "solution" is to get the brain and body reorganized. I currently have Feldenkrais sessions 1-2 times a week and this has been very helpful in getting a fresh view on how everything about us is connected and letting the brain do the work. I have a much higher level of mobility now in just about all activity.
Dave Monette is also finishing a book that covers the esoteric part of performance. A good portion of his teaching is based on Moshe Feldenkrais' teaching.
@thornybob I too (67 years old) suffer but have discovered that the trigger is contact with my index finger on the left hand and my lips. That makes me hold my trumpets in funny ways but lets me keep playing at my previous level.
I also have the effect when I drink from a glass held with my left hand. The tremor starts when the glass makes lip contact. If I lift the index finger, the tremor stops. If I touch my lips with another finger, I short circuit the effect for a very short time.
I have not noticed an improvement through alcohol, beta blockers or quitting coffee. I have never smoked.
I always have issues with so called R&D without a substantial sample base and R&D prior to the selection of questions. Ask the wrong questions and you can prove just about any results!
That being said, just like with any profession, there are those born with the talent (musicality, preserverance and business sense) and those that "learned how to play their instrument". The former probably would not take part in any "studies" and the latters response would depend if they had a reasonable paying job outside of music or not.
Horn u Copia has essentially identical info:
https://www.horn-u-copia.net/serial/Kinglist.html
as does Conn/Selmer:
https://www.conn-selmer.eu/resources/serial-numbers/king
Around 1976.
@barliman2001 said in Mute Clarification?:
@j-jericho As I do have a derby mute, but no derby hat, I think I'll settle for the mute...
Playing into a "soft" mute of any kind means that there is enough damping to kill overtones. A normal "hat" or derby mute is OK but putting some additional damping material performs the conversion. Kill the overtones on a trumpet, and it sounds more flute like.
My tip is to use "drones". Single bass notes that can be generated with a keyboard or PC. For instance, you create a low concert Bb (bass clef) drone and just let that note play. Then you slowly play a C scale on your trumpet - recognizing the effects of each note compared to the drone. After a short while, your ear/brain guides you to the most favorable relationships. Then you create a low F drone and play the same C scale - learning to savor each relationship. Then you follow up with Eb, C, D and others! After a while (a month or so) a B natural drone with a C scale on the trumpet becomes enjoyable (to you).
Ear training is developing habits. It is best to slowly develop habits. That way there is no artificial "pressure" mentally or mechanically!
Here is one source for $2.99:
https://albedomusic.musicaneo.com/sheetmusic/sm-248859_symphony_no_4_movement_i_-_trumpet_in_c_1_transposed_part_op_98.html
here from the New York Symphony digital archive for free (but not complete): https://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/a5a845a1-b565-47e6-b7c7-78c7a2223e1d-0.1/fullview#page/1/mode/2up
@trumpetb sounds like wishful thinking to me - and every tech that I know. Even with advanced maintenance, the tech ALWAYS finds more.
For many, good enough is good enough. For many, well they post more than they practice. Keep on flushing!
@kehaulani-0 Yes, the placebo effect - the difference between a killer and average chorus. Only something in our head was different between the two performances. When we are at the top of our game, there are a lot of influences. Practice is not the only parameter.
Trumpetb
When we are practicing and performing at a high level, changing the firmness in which we insert the mouthpiece causes "big" differences. I let my students change mine and tell me what sounds different, then I do it to them. We do not know when we are experimenting what the other person did. So, repeatedly in the same lesson we try this out, have similar experiences - and that over time. Sounds like a pretty sure thing to me.
I certainly have no interest in beating this issue up, but those in denial about valve casings are missing the point. When we send a trumpet in for a valve job, what is done? The casing is honed to make each one round again THEN the valve is plated oversized and lapped in. This means that the significant wear was on the casing - not the valve.
For those of us fortunate to play a lot for many years, we realise that even with proper care, valves (even stainless steel)were not necessarily built “for a lifetime of use”. Even although we have no mechanical trouble, the playing qualities deteriorate as the valves become more “leaky”.
I maintain (and do not need 1000 words to defend my stance): the casing, leadpipe and tubes need as much attention as the valve - every clean. The inside of a trumpet is a living organism, regardless if we brush our teeth regularly or not. The aerosols in our breath collect and wander down the instrument. This is what turns the valve oil into sludge that collects eventually on the valve and casing surface. That compromised lubrication allows metal to metal contact (wear) at the high spots and gunk at the low spots. We DO need a professional service at regular intervals IF we are truly interested in the long term playability of our instrument.
The idea of a low power personal ultrasonic device to clean the valves is good and certainly more thorough than just “wiping the valves down”. That does not remove the need for getting the rest of the problem solved however. Not “noticing” something - even over years is not evidence that a strategy is good. It is more a sign of “tolerance” of ever worsening “tolerances”.
I am suspicious, because this cleaning only covers half of the valve “system”. The casings need at least an equal amount of TLC. The Dirt/Damage/Distortion that Ivan mentions applies to the whole instrument. Without a deep clean on the valve casings (and the rest of the horn), we have NOT improved the overall situation. Yes, the valves themselves are cleaner with ultrasound.
These small, cheap ultrasound devices are safe for metals - even for extended periods. I have had issues with plastics and eyeglasses.
There is also a necessity to make sure that the valve and casing are bone dry before oiling after cleaning. Oil floats on water and this prevents a proper bond between oil and the metal surfaces
I think that there are multiple benefits.
Inserting a mouthpiece in a specific way increases the chances that similar insertion pressure will be used. I experimented with this quite a bit. The trumpet plays much differently if inserted lightly or firmly (and everywhere in between).
Our perception of things change when we develop a ritual. We “feel good” about having developed that process. It becomes part of our reality - and safety net. I do not consider this to be a myth. We know how much of our playing is inspiration and how much is perspiration. We all enjoy reaching a point where the musical portion becomes greater than the mechanical.
Modern mouthpieces do not have centricity issues, the mass is also uniform, the finish consistent. Even with many years of use, this does not necessarily change. That being said, minor damage to the shank or dirt in the receiver can cause large changes in playability! I have often wondered why more players do not have better protection with a “better designed” mouthpiece case and tools to keep the shank and receiver clean, round and true.
With posts like this, I wonder about the REAL REASON behind asking the question. No doubt, headaches can be caused by MANY things, but considering that essentially ALL MUSIC, depending on perspective is out of tune (mean tuning, well tempered, just tuning, various historic tuning schemes etc.), I wonder if the problem is not self generated, if ones tolerance (having to teach a big group) simply is the problem.
I don't think that the instrument being played nor the quantity is critical. I think that stress is a function of attitude and has deeper roots.
As far as instruments not holding tune, that is certainly something that can be fixed - one instrument at a time.
If we do not have what it takes to teach big classes, then don't. I believe that teachers are born, not "taught".
Chemicals are certainly a workaround and not a solution.
I bet that there is much more to the story. My hunch is that to stay employed, taking the large group was delegated regardless of the teachers opinion or excuses why not.
I am waiting for enough AI that we can take this TERRIBLE recording quality and turn it into hifi. The first two examples are so compressed and distorted that I am not sure if it really was AI or just somebody with a similar voice masked by the recording quality. My ears hurt in any case.
Deep fakes are something very real for the arts and I am sure that in 100 years, no one will know what was real or generated.
All trumpets have "multiple" bores. The leadpipe "average" is a start. Then the valve cluster, and then the bore up until the bell flare starts.
A good example of Dual Bore would be every trumpet with a reverse tuning slide.
I believe that the dual bore was simply a further marketing term for technology that makes a trumpet ever more cornet-like. Real trumpets in the traditional sense were cylindrical except for the bell and mouthpiece. Over 60% of the bore is cylindrical in this case.
The first valved trumpets were the longer natural instruments with valves. As the instruments got shorter (solely for the purpose of more accuracy - never because of tone), the proportion of tapered to cylindrical bore shifted with less than 50% and "modern C trumpets" are lucky if they are ⅓ cylindrical - now they are more members of the horn family.
So, the King dual-bore does not make large bore easier playing or medium bore bigger sounding. It is a marketing term that has not survived the test of time. If you find a good one, it is simply another old trumpet worth playing.
This post is not intended to be political in any way, but if we recognize that internet AI bots use all available material found on the internet, how qualified could any response be to a question concerning President Biden, Donald Trump or both in the same Query? What about a response to asking a question if we should buy a Monette, GR, Warburton or Schilke mouthpiece? With all of the good and bad, quite a bit of intelligence is required to understand what it true or probably true and sometimes the best answer is I don't know. Bots are not programmed for "I don't know"!
In many queries I get very "delusional" answers from ChatGPT. Where it really shines is helping to formulate text. I think that we have a HUGE challenge before us!