TromboneChat

Update on my travel in case anybody's interested in a lesson or mouthpieces on my route: Hudson Valley area, Wednesday 9/26 Beverly MA, Thursday 9/27 Masterclass at Berklee, Friday 9/28, 1:00-3:00 Mouthpiece trials at Virtuosity Music in Boston, Saturday 9/29, 2:00-4:00 Artie Shaw Orchestra concert ...

With no mic, if you use a plunger at all no one in the audience will hear it. You'll hear yourself and think it's perfect.

Many tuba players don't like the thin rims that are typical on larger bass trombone mouthpieces. I offer wide rims as an option on all of my bass mouthpiece sizes.

I believe Christian Lindberg draws from literature only, not etudes. So if you need to work on lyrical passages, forget the Rochuts, go for lyrical literature, vocal arias etc. "Bordogni was the author of a published singing method, and composed many sets of vocalises which remained in use for sing...

If you're working on solos and excepts don't wait until the end of the day after everything else. Unless you're planning on auditioning after a full day of practice. Not a good idea.

I like BurckhardtS's routine.

Most 51's are considerably bigger in the rim than their spec size.

Monday October 1, from noon to 2:30 I will offer mouthpiece trials and fittings at the NY Musicians Union, in Rehearsal Hall B.

No sales there but you can try anything I have.

No idea yet. Maybe I'll try to set up something at the Union.
I can be in town all day. I usually schedule some lessons while I'm there.

Concerning whether this thread will be locked...
As a moderator, I decided to post it to allow and encourage discussion. This should not get swept under the rug.
We'll see if the others agree.

People often ask me where they can try my mouthpieces but I don't sell through stores. Now's your chance if you're in or around Hartford, Boston, or New York. My travel at the end of this month: Wednesday 9/26 Hartford CT Thursday through Saturday I'll be in the greater Boston area and available for...

...is in the news.

I have discovered that even a thin layer of ink from a marker, or some lacquer, or paint, or machinist's blue, will sometimes build it up enough to tighten. World's cheapest repair.

I am planning a trip north the end of this month. I'm looking to do some teaching, maybe a masterclass, and mouthpiece trials and fittings. Right now it's looking like this: Wednesday 9/26 Hartford CT Thursday through Saturday in the greater Boston area Sunday 9/30 I have an afternoon gig in RI. Mon...

Everybody has an opinion .... about what's best in euphonium mouthpieces. They're all right, and they're all wrong. It depends on who's playing it. Small mouthpieces like a Yamaha 48 can work well for some people, and very large bass trombone size mouthpieces can work well for some people. Of the mo...

An actual concert pitch F would written as a G for Bb instruments and a D for Eb instruments.

Use tenor clef to read Bb treble parts, and bass clef to read Eb treble parts. That takes care of the transposition, and you only need to change the key signature and be careful with any accidentals.

Tonguing while circular breathing is always impressive...

For most players, the typical variation between samples (and/or variation from published specs) of mouthpieces by some of the relatively major manufacturers is enough to make the difference between playable and unplayable. What use is somebody's opinion of their particular mouthpiece when is has alm...

When there's as much as .020 of an inch measurable difference in rim size between samples of the same mouthpiece, or that far away from the published specs, there's not a lot of point in assuming any kind of reliability of any chart. Some of the published specs are laughable.

"As little pressure as possible"
and
"Contraction of the embouchure"
are two ideas that will usually lead to big trouble.

So to summarize in case anybody missed it: The effect of more weight: the response was good, projection was improved, and the low register speaks easier. The effect of less weight: the response was good, projection was improved, and the low register speaks easier. A better physical approach to playi...

Good to know we gave a plastic surgeon member. Where are you?

Right

A brand name mouthpiece with a messed-up rim is a good candidate for threading. I will accept donations of such mouthpieces and when I have time I can thread and replate them, to use with my rims. And I can straighten the end of the shank if it's not round. It costs me time and money to do that and ...

I think it's only on the outside that it looks like low placement. I've seen that before but maybe not as much - Inside the mouthpiece I'd bet his top lip reaches down to a position closer to a standard IIIA placement. On this one with a better front view his placement is distinctly higher. And his ...

I go there every year at this time for an event that's not trombone related, and a couple of times I have given lessons in the area. In this case I drove home last night. Sometimes I post my travels like this, just in case. At the end of this month I will be driving to Rhode Island for a gig on the ...

The glottis is not necessarily the starting and ending of notes with no tongue, and I think it shouldn't be used that way at all. It is entirely possible, and I think preferred, the keep the air passage entirely open and control the air from below at it's source rather than turning it on and off lik...

The .020 discrepancy that 's so prevalent in those charts pretty much puts some mouthpieces in a different ballpark. Many players are sensitive to a .005 difference.

Comparisons can't be valid when many of the rim size listings are as much as .020" wrong. I have no idea where some of the manufacturers came up with their numbers. And then they get repeated endlessly on charts like these.

I know. Costs a lot.

... Anybody want a lesson Sunday morning?

If I go, I'll be in Middletown tomorrow (Saturday 9/1) and I have to drive home on Sunday.

You're making me want an alto with a Bb attachment, Harrison... those are all excellent reasons to have it. Those low E's and A's in 7th are dangerously close to coming off the slide - actually my horn doesn't really even have a useable 7th at all. But I have too many instruments already and lately ...

I think you will need to custom-fit a length of cork to the mute's taper. A different mute is unlikely to be the same taper or size.

-4, or whatever beat, does not mean a tongue stop. It only means to hold the note and stop it beat 4. Not a tongue stop, just a stop.

I think you're right about the shiny ones losing their plating. Maybe they just had less plating to start with. Noxon told me Earl used multiple layers of chrome to build up the matte finish, and Jay used nickel. But there are several different types on nickel plating.

"Ha" vs "Hot"

A short "ha" is much more pleasant to hear than chopping the end with a T.

If you want the effect of an abrupt stop, try adding a breath accent at the end, but don't stop it with the tongue.

Knowing how to end a note cleanly is ,just as important as starting it cleanly.

I think I answered those things, and Gabe elaborated superbly - things that I have said before - practice lots of different ways so you are prepared for anything, and make everything a musical choice instead of a default way you always play.

I was taught to never use a tongue stop, by multiple teachers. I like the sound and feel of what I do, and I think I can approximate the same effect in a much more musical way.

I have one that I bought from a forum member. I could not get it to work. I need to find somebody who knows more about it than I do.

This is exactly why I make mouthpieces. It's not an inexpensive solution, but it's the best way to deal with the issue.
dougelliottmouthpieces.com Look at the LT series of tenor mouthpieces.

I tried Teflon tape but decided it was a waste of time. And yes, lubrication pretty much just allows it to go together tighter. Anyway, the threads are not really the source of friction that causes it to stick. It's the contact between the top of the cup and bottom of the rim. There's far more conce...

I don't think I ever use the tongue or glottis to stop a note unless it's part of starting the next note as a series of staccato notes, or I specifically need a special effect. I just stop the air, which feels like using a tiny inhale as an immediate reversal to have the same effect. It has always w...

Thanks Heinz!

Inner slides are almost always nickel silver for two reasons: nickel silver tends to stay straighter than brass, and it's less affected by corrosion on the inside.

I know Jay, who made them... I can just ask him if I think of it.

The current one is a solid case, not soft. I think they used to make a soft one which I had considered myself but never got one. I don't consider it safe to put any case through baggage. I have only done that with a gig bag inside a golf case. And with TSA opening stuff, gate checking is as safe as ...

Also, you're all talking about comparing two different mouthpieces and attributing any perceived differences to the fact that it's a screw rim. A threaded 51 with one of my rims on it is not the same as a 51. Which rim? What series? The shape is not the same and that affects everything about the way...

Cutting threads on a rim and cup loses some metal, so if you or your horn are sensitive to mass differences, yes, there's a difference.

The 4C didn't exist in the 70's when Giardinelli was a pretty major mouthpiece maker in NY, I think into the mid-1980's or so. I don't know when it happened, but Giardinelli closed their retail location which is also where they made mouthpieces, and the name continued as an online store with mouthpi...

I suggest finding a good plastic surgeon, since they know how to do it without scars.

Several separate considerations: Where you articulate Where the tip is when you're holding a note Whether either one changes depending on range The shape if the rest of your tongue, and how it changes depending on range Some of these you can feel and control voluntarily, others are better thought of...

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