@dr-go The floor as a stand creates the greatest distance and strain for the back. Only recommended in combination with Yoga.
Best posts made by ROWUK
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RE: The Cheapest and Best Mute Holder
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RE: Pneumonia - how long to pause?
@barliman2001 My take is that the body talks to us - and we make decisions based on what we heard and understood. Soft, slow, easy repetitions, long tones without articulation in the beginning - just exhale into the horn and let come what comes. Do this for a couple of days. If your body does not complain, add articulation. Avoid anything with compression.
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RE: Clean with 'alcohol'?
I have been watching this thread for a while and was not sure that I even wanted to get involved...
There is a strong tendency to "want to be right" which is OK, but I would ask if the original question was even the correct one. More on this later.
If we talk about cleaning instruments, surely alcohol - in whatever form is just a small piece of the picture. So, I think that this thread has identified the organic contaminants, but is that all that we are after? If Alcohol does not "remove" the contaminants, could it possibly decrease our chances of getting sick with a quick disinfect?
And here is my bitch with this thread - we have all the expert opinions but have ignored the fact that alcohol is NOT a cleaning agent of choice for the home. Water, a surfactant and some brushes are the primary choice to CLEAN the instruments - get the organic material that gunks up the valves, spit valves, promotes corrosion and would need disinfecting in the first place. Once the instruments are clean, they play best. Alcohol can be used as a disinfecting agent AFTER cleaning. Just like corona, or any surgical activity, we ALWAYS scrub first, THEN disinfect.
Now, we could argue that excessive disinfecting actually is a bigger problem than cure in many ways. Our immune system is capable of developing when exposed to small amounts of "contaminants". Kids that play in the mud seem to be healthier than the ones "protected" by overzealous parents. Could we not have a similar situation with the trumpet?
So, now we have enough information to replace "theory" with practical recommendations:
Many of us use excessive oil to "flush" aerosols and contaminants out of the valve block - instead of cleaning. I generally oil once a week. Mouthpiece and leadpipe/tuning slide get CLEANING with water, dishwashing liquid and a brush at least once a week - perhaps more often if we gig A LOT. The whole horn gets a bath/scrub once a month/quarter/year depending on how much it gets played. That is probably enough maintenance for any healthy trumpeter.
I only use alcohol when someone is trying my mouthpieces or I am in a store trying new mouthpieces out. I have NEVER disinfected my trumpet. If I wipe down the outside on my gold plated instruments, glass cleaner seems to be a really good thing.
So, I think that we have to pick our words carefully, otherwise we are just arguing about NOTHING.
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RE: V, V barrel and barrel trumpet mouthpieces
@stumac I think that a "barrel" backbore would be something like the Schmidt Backbore that Schilke uses as well as certain hyperbolic shapes used by Monette.
Those that get excited about backbores need to keep in mind that the rim, cup, throat, leadpipe and bell are also in the system and that any advantage is very much dependent on the synergy.A good playing mouthpiece with a standard backbore gets a flat upper register when we change the backbore in this way. Some like that because they play tense and that compensates...
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RE: Moderating vs. Policing
Don't worry about me or my behavior. There are those members that I just will no longer engage. They were difficult at TrumpetMaster and certainly have not improved here. Sometimes I wish that there was a member or theme block feature like on Facebook.
I am not sure that moderating or policing produces different results. The truly technical blogs define moderating as submitting text and after approval of the moderation team, the text is published for others to see. This requires a team to make judgements about everything. Not really suitable for us here.
Moderation can also be moderators interacting with members - publicly or behind the scenes through PM.
Policing is after the fact. The damage is done, but what damage is that (other than members leaving)? Locking threads leaves the content for everyone in the future to read and draw opinions upon. I only wish that there was a solution to make stuff more easily searchable.
I firmly believe that the problem is the sense of "protection" behind a keyboard. Much of what is posted would NEVER be said face to face.
I am in full support of Elmar.
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RE: Perfect Pitch
Perfect pitch is a curse not a blessing. If you have perfect pitch A=440, what happens when the orchestra tunes to 441, 442, 445? What happens when playing outdoors and the pitch drops to A=438, 435? What about if you are playing in any historical pitch (A=415, 420/430).
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RE: Should I go to graduate school?
Even so, without a degree, you won’t even get an Army Band job.
The problem is not the degree, it is the attitude that someone can get. Once you think that you are something special, the bar for acceptance goes way up. If you have the degree and are humble, you simply have prepared well!I say YES, if you can, you should. Everything that we learn can’t be taken away - even learning to be an ass.
Prepare, stay humble, work hard and thoughtfully, be generous. It pays off in ways no bean counter can quantify!
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RE: Bach Symphonic Mouthpieces
Opening the throat does not make the mouthpiece less stuffy. It makes the "targets" or slotting looser - a big advantage for Bach C trumpets with the high third space C, flat 4th space E and sometimes sharp top of staff G.
I have found that "stuffy" generally means that I can't hear myself well. Even with my current setup that is wonderful in churches and concert halls, when I play outdoors with little reflective surfaces, it feels stuffy. Experiments with the 1 1/2C back in the day, had me push the tuning slide in further (making me slightly sharp) and then relaxing more when playing. After a short while, the more relaxed chops resulted in much more open sound and far less embouchure tension - great for more endurance and a better upper register. In addition, articulation got easier where my face muscles were doing less.
I would suggest experimenting with pushing the tuning slide in so that you are maybe 10 cents sharp, and then "lipping" everything slightly down. For me it was like pulling the cork out after a week or two. 10 cents is not much work to compensate and I found it much easier to hear myself with the "new" tone.
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RE: #49 Two Minute Trumpet Trick- How the Get Super-Fast Valves
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 -
RE: #49 Two Minute Trumpet Trick- How the Get Super-Fast Valves
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”. -
RE: Ever wonder why your ears and your tuner disagree?
A tuner is often the worst thing that we can do to our playing. Drones, Stamp and simple duets (not recording one voice and then the next however - then only one voice "gives" - the second one!) are about the best.
The tuner is almost always wrong except for establishing a one note reference.There are a couple of internal mechanisms for tuning, none are accessible from the intellectual level.
Drones teach us to relate with sum and difference beats
Stamp teaches to find the resonant center
Duets teach us give and take in the context of ensemble playing.The consummate trumpeter needs it all. We need thousands of repetitions to claim "habit".
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RE: Could there be another Bix today
There is no time restriction for talent. Any quality can crop up from any country at any time. No one really can plan birth, experience and opportunity. Irrelevant question.
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RE: Free Brass Arrangement- National Anthem of the Ukraine
@barliman2001 I certainly agree with keeping politics out. The line quickly becomes fuzzy and the opinions are affected by global warming. There is a lot that the "average westerner" or "easterner" does not know and the online"pick your subject matter" experts now have swung over to "eastern Europe" politics - where they have equal brainlessness.
I can only recommend NOT using asocial media as a primary source to build an opinion. Try some real research in history first.Offering an arrangement for free that applies to a current world "event"/"situation" is admirable in my eyes. Musicians have always supported peace and understanding - unless you were the lead trumpet in the Buddy Rich Big Band...
That all being said, we will be welcoming a refugee family in our home shortly. Civilians deserve the right of pursuit of happiness and bullets make that tough. I hope that they like trumpet instead...
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RE: Is It Jazz or Is It Classical?
I think that everyone that makes "improvisation" a requirement to be a great trumpeter does not understand what "greatness" truly is!
There are many "strengths" that qualify for greatness. I do not think that Bud Herseth was a lesser trumpeter just because he did not perform combo gigs. I do not think that Miles is greater just because he improvises.
Greatness in my world comes from exceptional performance, preferably over a long time. Exceptional performance very much can be "only" being the solo trumpet in a symphony orchestra - a leader musically and dynamically (Bud Herseth, Bill Vacchiano as two examples). Exceptional performance can also be what Maynard did - keeping a live band afloat in the most difficult of times and inspiring generations of musicians that played in his band. Exceptional performance can be Pops - creating the base for many musical things taken for granted today. Exceptional performance can be Bachs own Gottfried Reiche - who inspired Bach to create some of the most awesome trumpet parts ever written.
I very much do agree that there are many fine but mediocre performances due to the lack of understanding the genre. The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra recently released a Gabrieli recording that is an example of such playing. Great players missing the point - and proving that there are modern groups of musicians that offer the same or less than the Philadelphia/Cleveland/Chicago recording from the 1960s.
I can very much appreciate what "non improvisors" have to make them great. I can also appreciate those dedicated to period style and performance practices (in Jazz, Commercial or classical genres). I do not understand the need to limit the term "great" to artificial requirements submitted by those not anywhere near greatness.
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RE: The Serpent
@Trumpetb My point is that we do not NEED TO PERFORM WITH the original instruments to get the original intentions of the composer. For some people, myself included, learning and performing with them does however, offer additional palettes of color to use.
As the trumpet through its history has changed about every 50 years, I would place most of the "blame" for lost technique and tone clearly with the trumpeters. Even in the Jazz genre, how many players just noodle around without really embracing the various periods in jazz? How many can play a convincing Bix or Dizzy chorus? What about a whole evening of 1920s jazz (or 1950s for that matter). Sure, we may hear some licks that apply, but a whole evening? The same is true with cornetto choruses called diminuation. It is not a hard concept, the patterns developed over time and also applied to a certain extent to the baroque period.
The ignorance that is displayed - even by some (if not many) professionals, is simply laziness not lack of sources, information or role models. It certainly is not hardware based. There are even courses to build your own cornetto or natural trumpet.
I would not consider anything lost rather ignored. -
RE: Håkan Hardenberger: How To Anticipate Pitch And Breathe
Håkan is trying to unlock her ears and brain. She is a well accomplished technical player BUT she is not listening to the result of her playing in the room. She is playing "safe" inside her head. It will take time to develop these additional talents. She shows great promise!
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RE: How limited are you on a 3 valve piccolo?
3 valve piccs can work IF we have an half tone extension for the third valve (1+2+3 should give us the low concert D with the A tuning). Then all of the D major baroque stuff works. I have a 3 valve rotary pic and it is my go to instrument for baroque literature in D or Eb when I play modern horns.
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RE: Staying in top playing shape post band shutdown
Staying in shape is a process. Currently we are replacing certain opportunities with others and this can affect our playing in a serious way.
When we play in large rooms (bandroom or concert venues), what reaches our ears is considerably different than playing with a mute or in a small practiceroom/bedroom.We need to find larger spaces to practice in. That promotes tone and the servo loop Player/horn->room->ears/brain. We are creatures of habit. Improve our habits and our playing becomes more stable. Even playing outdoors is a BIG help s tone has an opportunity to develop.
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RE: Arban’s Cornet
Arban only speaks about the Cornet á piston or simply "piston". I have never seen any reference tying Arban to a rotary valved anything. It also looks like someone else besides the bell engraver engraved the name into the bell.
I would be interested to see what proof Josh got of the provenance of this instrument.