Best posts made by SSmith1226

@Dr-Mark said in How about a "Random Meaningless Image...let's see them string"?:

@SSmith1226
Are those American Crocodiles?

Australian Crocodiles in a Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat.
Below are Crocodiles and Kangaroos in Cairns.

Youtube Video

Tupractice- The new miracle drug for struggling musicians:

You think that plastic musical instruments are a relatively recent innovation? Think again.
Seventy years ago, jazz great Charlie Parker played a plastic saxophone at what many call the greatest jazz concert ever. A new deluxe reissue of that recording is out now featuring Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach. To hear more about this classic performance click on the below NPR link.

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/03/1222600948/charlie-parker-on-plastic-sax-is-one-reason-to-hear-concerts-reissued-recordings

Below is a demonstration of this instrument.

Youtube Video

I’m a neophyte at this, probably not much more advanced than you, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. What I have personally found to be extremely helpful in the “self taught” aspect of my journey, besides listening to accomplished musicians, studying theory, ect.,is playing along with iReal Pro as my rhythm section. There are over a thousand “standards” programmed into it, and you’d can create your own accompaniment (chord changes) in any key, tempo, and rhythm that you want. I have found that very helpful, especially in working out solos on Big Band Charts. I suspect that there are other “Band In A Box” apps that are similar.
I have also found a music transcription program to be very helpful in writing down, developing, annd editing my ideas.
Good luck with your journey!

@Tobylou8

“45 year old antique”!!! What the heck am I at 70?
On a more serious note, I’m going down to my local Ace Hardware and get me some Rustoleum and duct tape so I can restore my Mt. Vernon Bach to its original condition. As you know, “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man.”

Groups of Americans were traveling by tour bus through Switzerland. As they stopped at a cheese farm, a young guide led them through the process of cheese making, explaining that goat's milk was used. She showed the group a lovely hillside where many goats were grazing.

“These,” she explained, “are the older goats put out to pasture when they no longer produce.” She then asked, “What do you do in America with your old goats?

One elderly man said "they send us on bus tours.

@Dr-GO
All tongue in cheek. No patients or families were harmed in creating my post!!!
Just a figment of my dry sense of humor.

@Tobylou8 said in Dr. GO? My back's been bothering me...:

While I applaud your effort, I do think there are better choices. I would definitely recommend these although it may be rough going cold turkey, but there would really be no other option! It wood be hard, but not really!

Tobylou8,
Absolutely brilliant!!! All the Tobylous who preceded you, Tobylou1, Tobylou2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &7.should be proud of you ( kvelling ) for suggesting this. I wish that I had known about these gloves when I wrote my post. I have not been involved with woodworking since I was a child, but to Play Devil’s Advocate, the largest grit available for these gloves is 100. In a serious problem of this type of carpal tunnel syndrome, caused by the Viagra imduced ergonomic issues, would a grit of 100 be adaquate, or would a grit in the range of 34 - 80 be better? I know that there is more than one way to “skin a cat” but I feel that we are walking on a tight rope, and would like our highly respected colleague to have the best treatment option possible to prevent permanent Median Nerve damage as well as avoid further iatrogenic issues. You should also note that I didn’t mention Vulgano Brother’s name in order to avoid violating the Federal HIPPA Law.
As a side note, it might be interesting to hear from our repair and restoration colleagues to see whether these gloves can also useful in their field.
Thank you for your consideration. Much to everyone’s relief, including my wife’s, I will do my best to avoid the temptation to comment further on this particular subject. It may be tough, so I can’t make any guarantees.

I would follow your Surgeon’s advice as far as when you can start playing, as well as Dr Go’s advice as far as how to start a playing routine. Remember, according to Claude Gordon, trumpet playing is no harder than breathing. If it were me, as a Surgeon and amateur trumpet player, when it is time to start playing, I would start, perhaps with Clarke’s 1 & 2, Chichowicz, and perhaps with long tone’s, all pianissimo as far as you could go without pain, light headedness, and stress. I would then expand my practice, as Dr. Go describes. Remember, if it hurts, don’t do it. While you are waiting to start playing the trumpet, perhaps now is a good time to start pencil exercises, without blowing. If you do this, or other non playing exeecises, please give us a report whether this helps.
Good luck with your recovery and stay healthy! Your trumpet playing is of secondary importance until you heal and regain your health.

One of the entertainers on a cruise ship was a magician. Since the passengers were different each week, the magician always had a new audience so he always did the same tricks.
The captain’s parrot, however, was stationed in the performance hall and observed the magicians tricks week after week. Being a wise old bird, he eventually figured out all the magician’s secrets.
Then, irritatingly, he started heckling during the show. “Hey, why is every card the same? It’s in his cape pocket! It’s a different rabbit!”
The magician was fuming, but it was the captain’s parrot so he couldn’t really do anything.
One terrible day, however, the ship had a boiler explosion and sank. The magician wound up on a small raft in the middle of the Atlantic with, as luck would have it, the captain’s parrot.
They glared at each other with visible hatred but didn’t say a word. This went on for several days.
Finally on the tenth day, the parrot couldn’t take it any longer. Exasperated, he said: “Okay, I give up. Where’s the ship?”

@tjcombo
Congratulations on your excellent medical, physical, as well as musical recovery. It sounds like you hit the Trifecta!!!

@rowuk said in Olds Ambassador Eb Trumpet:

@ssmith1226 Yes, I did play one for a while. It was HORRIBLY out of tune. Had I known then what I know today, I would have been able to get that fixed. Still, It was a marching band instrument, not really something for blend in the orchestra.

I have purchased the Olds Custom Eb/D, but not received it yet. The price was right, compared too a Bach, Schilke, Yamaha, etc., and it unlikely will ever be used in an orchestra setting. What is your solution to correcting intonation issues? By the way, I plan on using in on multitrack recordings similar to ones I have posted on this site which in the past consisted of me playing, Bb, C, Bass & Piccolo Trumpets, Flugelhorn, Corno de Caccia, Mellophone etc, purely at an amateur level. I promise that I won’t abuse an orchestra with it.