Brass Band Logo

NJH Music Logo

Some of the contents of the pages on this site are Copyright © 2016 NJH Music
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

It's not the trumpets fault

Too many people in our small circle are using the expression, "like
trumpets."   What does that mean to us as Brass Bandsmen?  Shrill?  In
reality, the richest and darkest timbre of Dizzy, Miles or Wynton would be an
asset to the bench playing of any brass band.   The problem occurs primarily
in the mind set and secondly in the mouthpiece of most inexperienced cornet
players.  I grew up with a principal cornet (Robert Herivel) who had perhaps
the sweetest sound in North America throughout the sixties.   Bob used (uses)
a Besson 10-10 with a Bach 10.5 CW.   The trade off with that sort of pluming
occurs when he has to rely heavily on his bench to produce the really "big
sounds" required in the scores of our day.    That small cup and tight back
bore produced a series of lovely overtones which could only be suitable for
the Principal of any band and could not be duplicated on the bench without
created some serious intonation problems, similar to that of having an
additional soprano cornet.  There is an encyclopedia out there which states
that Denis Wick is the only producer of true cornet mouthpieces in our day.
 I know that would go over like a lead balloon with most of my American
friends, but the use of a funnel cup mouthpiece in the American Brass Band
would do more bring our cornets into an ensemble mentality than any other
measure to be considered.  Once the mentality is achieved and our players
begin to rely on their breath support rather than their face to produce
sound, then Bach and Schilke can be reconsidered under the careful
supervision of a director who can quickly detect any possible breaches of
ensemble or intonation.    In the meantime, we have a lot to learn about the
restraints of ensemble playing.  That is to be addressed primarily in our
thinking and secondly in the pluming we are bringing to our lips.  

I've never played the trumpet, I have seldom been associated with one and I
yet the term dominates our discussion as we associate it with persons who are
ignorant to the concepts of ensemble playing.  I suggest in the future we the
Brass Bandpersons of North America drop the derogatory use of the term
"trumpet" and use a more appropriate term like "hot dog" (not "frankfurter"
in allegiance to our allies).   

Remember, they're "hot dogs!"  Not Frankfurters, not Freedom Sausages and not
Trumpet players...Hot Dogs!


--
unsubscribe or receive the list in digest form, mail a message of 'help' to
listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Services] [Contact Us] [Advertise with us] [About] [Tell a friend about us] [Copyright © 2016 NJH Music]