International Trumpet Guild Journal

Transcription

1 Reprints from the International Trumpet Guild Journal Jean Moorehead Libs, Pedagogy Editor The Perfect Match: Trumpet Meets Mouthpiece An Interview with Phyllis Stork and Bob Malone (Dec94) The International Trumpet Guild (ITG) is the copyright owner of all data contained in this file. ITG gives the individual end-user the right to: Download and retain an electronic copy of this file on a single workstation that you own Transmit an unaltered copy of this file to any single individual end-user, so long as no fee, whether direct or indirect is charged Print a single copy of pages of this file Quote fair use passages of this file in not-for-profit research papers as long is the ITGJ, date, and page number are cited as the source. to promote communications among trumpet players around the world and to improve the artistic level of performance, teaching, and literature associated with the trumpet The International Trumpet Guild, prohibits the following without prior written permission: Duplication or distribution of this file, the data contained herein, or printed copies made from this file for profit or for a charge, whether direct or indirect Transmission of this file or the data contained herein to more than one individual end-user Distribution of this file or the data contained herein in any form to more than one end user (as in the form of a chain letter) Printing or distribution of more than a single copy of pages of this file Alteration of this file or the data contained herein Placement of this file on any web site, server, or any other database or device that allows for the accessing or copying of this file or the data contained herein by any third party, including such a device intended to be used wholely within an institution. For membership or other information, please contact: Bryan Goff, Treasurer International Trumpet Guild School of Music Florida State University Tallahassee, FL USA Please retain this cover sheet with printed document.

2 The Perfect Match: Trumpet Meets Mouthpiece An Interview with Phyllis Stork and Bob Malone JEAN MOOREHEAD LIBS, PEDAGOGY EDITOR Over the years, it seems every trumpeter s studio becomes a virtual museum for countless mouthpieces, bells, leadpipes, and tuning crooks all used while looking for just the right combination of equipment. Understanding the vast range of equipment choices means first understanding your own playing strengths and weakness and how equipment can create a better balance between them. The proper mouthpiece and instrument can then enhance and possibly extend a career in music. Most players have questions about equipment, but have a limited vocabulary when dealing with the people who can answer them. For this reason I have asked Phyllis Stork, author and mouthpiece craftsman, along with Bob Malone, brass technology specialist, to discuss their opinions on balancing and matching equipment. When an individual comes to you for advice in balancing their equipment, do you start with the mouthpiece or the trumpet? Malone: In most instances, the first part of a project involves background information. Much like going to a new doctor, where an individual is asked questions about his medical history, my staff and I ask questions in order to put together a musical history related to trumpet. Basic information is gathered regarding the type of music they are currently involved with, what musical experiences they have had in the past, who their past teachers were, who they are currently studying with, the type of mouthpieces they have played, and what they are currently playing. We use this information as a tool to help diagnose problems and create solutions. Typical questions would include finding out what they like and dislike about their current set-up. Stork: My approach to balancing equipment actually starts with the player. The player s physical attributes and approach to the instrument should determine what equipment they will play. The function of the mouthpiece is to take the physical attributes of a given player and translate them into an aesthetically pleasing result vis-à-vis the instrument. Nine basic elements in a mouthpiece are expressly designed to make the most efficient use of what the player brings to the table, in a physical sense. About half of these features (i.e., inner diameter, rim width, rim contour, and cup depth) refer to fitting the player. The others (cup shape, bore, backbore, overall length, and gap) work to achieve the balance between the player and the instrument. Once we are sure that the player s physical needs have been met by the mouthpiece, we are free to adjust those facets of the mouthpiece that relate to the instrument. Assuming that there must be a proper balance between the embouchure set-up, the mouthpiece, and the trumpet, do you have a set of criteria for addressing these areas with your clients? Malone: The next phase of this process involves definition and diagnosis. In order to render a diagnosis, the problem(s) must be identified. This involves more questioning and, if possible, a demonstration of those problems. In many cases, a player knows that a problem exists, but doesn t know how to analyze it. Perhaps he wants to do something to make his performance better, but does not know how to verbalize it. The question and answer process, along with the playing demonstration, helps us to mutually define our terminology. This is a very important consideration as musicians tend to use rather ambiguous words like bright, dark, color, resistance, open, closed, mushy, edgy, etc. Discussing the background information and the acoustic demonstration in a framework of mutually understood terminology is the basis for creating solutions. What happens next depends on the results of the above process, what we discover, and what we come to understand. My decision to make mouthpiece recommendations or suggestions is dependent on the individual s level of experience. For someone with less experience, I will examine his mouthpiece and in some cases work with it. If the mouthpiece is not extreme for that individual, and does not pose a hindrance to him, I can and will build or change his instrument to optimize performance capabilities around that mouthpiece. Spending time to find the correct mouthpiece is always time well spent. Since we all have different physical characteristics, our needs are unique. These unique requirements begin at the mouthpiece, spe- 42 ITG Journal / December, International Trumpet Guild

3 cifically the mouthpiece rim, and then extend from that point throughout the trumpet. Balancing equipment can be accomplished with some success by changing the mouthpiece, but if there are inherent problems with the trumpet, the end result will not be satisfactory and vice versa. Stork: I have mentioned those elements of a mouthpiece that are designed to be fit to the player. The most critical of these is the inner diameter (sometimes referred to as cup size.) This aspect of the mouthpiece is meant to correspond to the size of a player s lips. It should be large enough to allow the lips to fit inside the rim. The larger the lips, the larger the inner diameter needed. If the inner diameter is too small, the rim will sit on the inner red portion of the lips. This can be quite debilitating. Problems such as poor endurance, poor tone quality, faulty pitch, and poor upper range can all be traced to this type of embouchure set-up. An inner diameter large enough to allow for free vibration of the lip goes a long way toward insuring that the player will be reaping the optimum benefits from the mouthpiece. Cup depth must also be selected with a mind to gaining freedom of vibration in order to achieve maximum tone quality. However, this is not to say that everyone will do well to play on the largest mouthpieces manufactured. The number of players who have been ruined by playing equipment that is too small is equaled only by those who have been destroyed by playing a mouthpiece that is too large. Other aspects of the mouthpiece that need to be matched to the player involve the configuration of the rim. Variables such as rim width (wide, narrow, in-between), contour (flat or with a high point, semiflat), and bite (curve of the inner edge, sharp to round) all have a great impact on performance. These aspects must guarantee the player s lips comfort and support while allowing for the greatest number of vibrations to be caught. The player who has trusted these elements to luck rather than careful analysis is without a true understanding of the basic mechanics of his own playing technique. This can be very dangerous when confronted with either changes to equipment or personal physical changes. Once the proper balance has been achieved, how do you improve an individual s current set-up? Malone: Once a balance has been achieved based on the goals defined by the analysis and diagnosis process, the fine-tuning segment begins. At this point we critically evaluate the sound and response characteristics of the set-up (i.e., the different components of the system: mouthpiece, leadpipe, tuning slide, bell, etc.). Is the articulation clean? Is the resistance balanced and comfortable? Is the instrument quickly responsive and reactive in all registers and 1994 International Trumpet Guild at all dynamic levels? Does the sound have the correct structure and density? Is the instrument flexible in note-to-note connections, dynamics, and sound? Is the resident intonation satisfactory? Depending on the answers to those questions, changes are made sometimes very small to elicit the desired characteristic. In analyzing the components of an individual s current set-up, one should analyze it using the above criteria in addition to other criteria deemed relevant. The areas that need improvement can then be addressed by the appropriate technique. A needed change in resistance might be accomplished as simply as changing the waterkey cork. Each problem usually has several possible solutions. Which elements of the mouthpiece relate to the instrument? How is this done? Stork: Just as the player must be fit to the mouthpiece, so must this combination now be adjusted to produce a good balance of resistance with the instrument. The input of air from the player must be such as to allow the instrument to perform to its peak performance level. The criteria for this involves proper pitch and full sound. In addition, the player must be able to move the air at the velocity needed (with sufficient vibrations) to produce the upper register. In simple terms, larger-bored instruments require more air to function at their peak level of performance. Other factors density and composition of brass, and angles of arcs in the slides, to name a few will also cause instruments to respond differently. The way in which this balancing is accomplished is by adjusting the overall volume of a mouthpiece. This volume can be measured in terms of the inner diameter size, cup depth, and size of the bore and backbore. Literally, by deepening the cup, opening the bore and enlarging the backbore of a mouthpiece one can increase its overall volume. Generally speaking, the greater the volume of the mouthpiece, the greater the input of air that is required to gain a specific velocity. Tightening down the mouthpiece (decreasing the dimensions of the same elements) will require less air to reach the same velocity. This concept is easily demonstrated by the manner in which a garden hose functions. When the faucet is opened, a certain amount of water pressure enters the hose. The amount of water entering the hose changes as the faucet is turned just like the amount of air being fed into the mouthpiece changes depending on an individual s ability to focus the air. The player is represented by the hose and the mouthpiece represented by the nozzle. No matter how much water is being fed into the hose, there will be a point at which the nozzle can be adjusted to achieve maximum speed and force at the other end. This is the balance I try to achieve. December, 1994 / ITG Journal 43

4 Do you feel the trumpet is always the final factor to be considered? Stork: Not always! Even though I consider the player/mouthpiece combination to be the real jumping-off point in the quest for a balanced set up, there are clearly times when the instrument can obviously be the renegade element. An instrument that falls out of the realm of what a player can realistically expect to handle, given his physical make-up, can wreak havoc, even with the most perfect foundation in place. A typical scenario has the player falling in love with a particular horn. The attraction can lie in the sound, the response, or even that it may have belonged to a teacher or player they have greatly admired. The horn can sound great at the start or, in extreme cases of infatuation, the player will convince themselves that they just need to work up to it. As this poor unfortunate s playing begins to slowly unravel at the seams, the time eventually will come when he will have to admit that something is not quite right. Usually the first culprit on the blame list is the player himself. Bad night, rough week, rotten conductor, crazy composer, allergy season, cold weather, hot weather, *&#@! second trumpet player these all figure prominently in the denial stage. And then the answer appears. A new mouthpiece! So now, without any consideration of the physical needs, he rushes to the local music store and purchases the first mouthpiece that has even a marginal effect on the instrument s performance. Talk about domino effect! Depending on the player s degree of luck or dogged sense of determination the player will now repeat the initial denial stage. Finally, as the player s career is passing rapidly before his eyes, he seeks help. Upon piecing this whole sordid tale together and determining that it was the instrument that brought on the entire destructive sequence, the player may still balk at the prospect of giving it up. After all, not only is there often a runaway ego at play, but there may have been a major financial investment involved. Sometimes the instrument can be saved if it is not too far from what the player really requires. Sometimes the stretch between what a player needs and what he thinks he wants is just too great. Stopping down a mouthpiece to get a large bored instrument to respond may sound feasible, but sound, pitch, and range must all come in line, otherwise the player is still deceiving himself. How does the placement of the mouthpiece in the receiver affect response and resonance? Malone: The placement of the mouthpiece in the receiver does have an effect on response and resonance. First, let me say that all the areas we have been discussing such as response and resonance are not isolated and independent, but are interactive and relative. The gap that usually exists between the end of the mouthpiece and the venturi of the leadpipe is very important. This is one of the most critical areas on the trumpet. The gap, in concert with the size and shape of the venturi of the pipe, has an effect on virtually every aspect of the trumpet. This is a very complex and sensitive area of the trumpet, and I hesitate to use generalizations, but one is this: the larger the gap, the greater resulting resistance. Bear in mind that this is an over-simplification and narrow view of something much broader and complex. At this point, the issue of resistance should be discussed. Resistance can be either positive or negative. By positive, I mean that a component of the system is physically small, creating resistance, i.e. tight backbore or small leadpipe venturi. However, a point that many people do not understand is that negative resistance can be created by a component being too large or open. Each of us has a certain optimum point of resistance to play against. Too much positive resistance or too much negative resistance often results in the same reaction by a given player, namely that the instrument is stuffy. In fact, in many cases where a player complained of the trumpet being too stuffy, after more positive resistance was applied, the reaction was that the trumpet played more open. An easy experiment in resistance is to change the gap and feel and listen to what happens. This can be accomplished by cutting a strip of paper 1/4-inch wide and 1-1/2-inch long. Lay the strip of paper lengthwise onto the shank of the mouthpiece so that the paper does not wrap all the way around the shank, and insert it and the mouthpiece into the receiver. This will increase the gap, adding positive resistance. Play something of your choice and make a mental note of how it feels and sounds. Take the paper off the shank and play the same piece. This is an easy demonstration of positive and negative resistance without fatally changing your equipment. Resonance is affected by resistance. If you are not playing at your optimum point of resistance, then the system you are a part of (i.e., mouthpiece-trumpet combination) is not going to resonate to its fullest potential. Since the gap is part of the resistance equation, it obviously plays a part in determining whether or not the system is resonating at the maximum rate. Stork: The placement of the mouthpiece or gap is another variable that can have its affect on the performance of the instrument. One way in which this can occur is by altering resistance. The further out the mouthpiece, the longer the overall length of the instrument. The longer the instrument, the greater the resistance. The other manner in which the gap affects the instrument is in the way that the nodal points of the instrument will be struck. From 44 ITG Journal / December, International Trumpet Guild

5 the point of view of the mouthpiece, I have seen adjusting the gap go from having no observable effect at all to having a significant impact on overall performance. I believe this depends on the degree to which a player s equipment is actually in balance. For the player who is very close to that point, adjusting the gap can make for some interesting results, good and bad! For those who are not even in the ballpark, I don t believe that adjusting the gap will provide any revelations. Can turning the mouthpiece create further variables in the response and resonance? Malone: Rotating the mouthpiece in the receiver gives you more options in regulating response, resonance, etc. This is possible because as hard as manufacturers try to make a perfect product, the reality is that mouthpieces are often not perfectly concentric, and neither are the receivers they fit into. Backbores may not be on centerline with the cups, and receivers may not be soldered on a perfect centerline with the leadpipe taper. This means that every time you turn a mouthpiece in the receiver, you change the angle at which the sound wave exits the mouthpiece and enters the trumpet. You are also changing the thickness of the metal relative to the system, so it is also going to vibrate differently. It is always a good idea to experiment by turning the mouthpiece and finding the optimum spot for you. It is quite common to find a spot that works extremely well and another spot that does not work at all. An easy way to find the optimum spot is to pick a reference point on the mouthpiece and insert it into the receiver so the reference point is at the 12 o clock position. Play your chosen test piece or scale. Rotate the mouthpiece 90 to the 3 o clock position and play the same thing. Note if it works better or worse than before. If you need to, put it back to the original position and play it again. Then rotate the mouthpiece another 90 to the 6 o clock position. Play the same test piece. Does it play better or worse than before? Make a note of it. Rotate the mouthpiece 90 more to the 9 o clock position and once again play the test piece. When you have discovered the spot that works the best, return the mouthpiece to that position and play the test piece again. Then rotate the mouthpiece 45 to the right of that position and play the test piece. Note if it is better or worse. Then rotate the mouthpiece 90 to the left (45 to the left of the originally determined best place) and play the test piece. When you have determined what the optimum spot is, always put the mouthpiece in that position. This will insure that at least one variable is controlled and will help to make you a more consistent player International Trumpet Guild Often different brands of mouthpieces vary slightly in length and therefore vary in how they fit the receiver. How does this affect the balance? Malone: Different lengths of mouthpieces mean different weight, different response characteristics, and possibly different intonation patterns, and therefore have an effect on the system. Shorter mouthpieces generally respond faster than longer mouthpieces. This is not necessarily better, but is a factor in fine-tuning the system. A heavier mouthpiece tends to provide a more narrow and focused range of sound, as it tends to cut out the upper harmonics or make them less prominent. Different outside shapes also affect the system. Again, it would be wrong to point to any one aspect of the mouthpiece or trumpet and claim that it only affected one area or component of the system. Stork: The overall length of the mouthpiece and the size of the mouthpiece shank (which actually decides how the mouthpiece gaps) are two separate variables. So, even though a mouthpiece may vary in length, it doesn t necessarily follow that it will gap any differently. Each is a separate variable with its own set of considerations. Among leading manufacturers standard trumpet mouthpiece lengths vary by as much as a sixteenth of an inch. Other mouthpieces are being manufactured that vary quite a bit from this standard. Several reasons cause this. As a rule, the length of the mouthpiece is supposed to be set proportionally to the length of the instrument. Varying the length of a mouthpiece to match differently pitched horns is certainly not a new idea. When used in this way the mouthpiece can alter the profile of the overtones and work to enhance the particular pitch center of an instrument. Another aspect involved in varying the length of a mouthpiece involves resistance. All things being equal, the shorter mouthpiece will offer less resistance. What are some of the most common problems you see and hear that would indicate a change or modification in the mouthpiece is necessary? Malone: It should be noted that common problems may exist whose source might be found in the trumpet rather than the mouthpiece. In that case, those problems related to the trumpet should be considered in conjunction with mouthpiece considerations. Assuming that there is not a problem with the trumpet, and that the individual is on a reasonable and regular practice/performance regimen, factors relating to poor endurance, poor flexibility, mushy articulation, register trouble (both high and low), intonation problems (i.e. flat upper register) could point to a need to modify or change one or more components of the mouthpiece. December, 1994 / ITG Journal 45

6 Stork: These problems fall generally into two categories. The first is physically observable problems, like pulls, tucks, and excessive movement or tension in the lips, neck, or facial muscles. The other problem appears as flaws in the playing technique poor range, bad intonation, faulty attack, and lack of endurance. On the strictly physical side, pulls are generally classic symptoms of a player who is using an inner diameter that is too small. If the player were to attempt to play with his lips in a normal embouchure setting, nothing would come out. Too much lip in the mouthpiece will not vibrate with any freedom. Consequently, this person develops a playing technique where he literally pulls the lip (usually the top one) somewhat out of the mouthpiece so he is now exposing just enough lip to produce a sound. The problem with this set-up is that this player is now playing in the inner membrane of the lip where there is no musculature to protect the tissue from bruising or from cutting off the blood. To make matters even worse, by playing so far down on the lip, this person has greatly decreased the amount of exposed vibrating surface. This defect will have a drastic impact on his ability to play in the upper range. Tucks are usually caused by just the opposite problem an inner diameter that is too big. This player is unable to maintain the surface tension of his lips over the area of the lip that is being exposed. In order to keep the lips from simply being blown apart, the player adopts the technique of allowing his lips to collapse onto one another. Logically, the harder the person blows, the greater the degree of tuck. These players usually wind up with their bottom lip touching their teeth by the time they attempt a C above the staff. Once that happens, the air flow is stopped and there is a complete meltdown. Finally, you have the problem of excessive tension. Solving this type of problem can really requires an adept diagnostician. Perhaps the most typical scenario pictures the player with enormous tension in the neck muscles. This is often the result of an aperture that is far too open. Without a good seal to resist the air, the player must create resistance somewhere else in order to keep the air from being sucked away as quickly as he can summon it. (Did you ever get the feeling that you were playing into a vacuum cleaner!?) This player creates resistance by placing the tongue very high in the mouth, closing the throat or in the case of a really fine technician, varying degrees of both. Tone quality and poor intonation are major tipoffs here. Ironically, this player is most often accused of not using his air properly or not knowing how to breathe correctly. In reality, until this person closes his lips, no amount of air will be sufficient to do the job. This problem can be caused by using the wrong inner diameter size. The bore size of the instrument should also be viewed with suspicion in these cases. As for flaws in playing technique, intonation problems set off the loudest alarms for me. For example, take the player whose pitch hangs increasingly sharper as he ascends in range. One probable cause for this defect is a mouthpiece cup that is too shallow. Some players simply overcompensate by going into an overkill mode regarding cup depth. The raised pitch indicates that he is really overpowering the capacity of the mouthpiece. Going with slightly more cup will bring the pitch back in line and, as an extra added bonus, will improve the sound as well! On the other side of the coin, poor intonation throughout the range of the instrument often indicates that the cup of the mouthpiece is too deep. In this case the player is unable to sufficiently power the volume of the cup. Remember, the greater the volume, the more air required to maintain a constant velocity. How does the use of a standard versus heavyweight mouthpiece effect the response and balance of the instrument? Malone: As I indicated earlier, a heavy mouthpiece tends to take some of the high harmonics out of the sound or at least diminish them. To a degree it can add stability and focus. However, it tends to make the system less flexible and requires more effort to be expended than a normal-weight mouthpiece. Contrary to popular belief, heavier is not necessarily better. It is definitely not for everyone. Stork: In general terms, a heavier mouthpiece can work to darken the sound, add intensity to the core of the sound, and stabilize tone quality. It can also slow down the response and cut down on projection. Understanding these properties allows for intelligent choices regarding its use. For instance, while a darker sound with more core and stability would appear to many as upside characteristics, the accompanying downside must also be reviewed. Core and stability can easily spiral down to a kind of boring rigidity in timbre. For example, the player who regularly enjoys shading his tone (i.e., light to dark) may find that a heavier mouthpiece will not respond to this kind of manipulation quite as easily as will a normal weighted one. Heavy mouthpieces have been around in one form or another for a long time. What we are seeing today in the more mass to the brass version is really just a poor man s version of a popular craze of the forties. Back then, sterling silver mouthpieces were all the rage. Tommy Dorsey owned one and certainly seems to have done okay with his! On the other side, the popular trend among jazz players not more than thirty years ago, was to go 46 ITG Journal / December, International Trumpet Guild

7 lighter on the mouthpiece in order to quicken response and projection. Indeed, there are certain manufacturers whose basic mouthpiece blank (outer shape design) is purposely lighter than the standard weighted trumpet mouthpiece. It was common practice to have other manufacturers blanks skeletonized (have some brass removed) in order to achieve a completely different timbre profile. One need not conclude here that cutting down on projection or response is always a negative. For players who would like to darken their sound, or perhaps more importantly, for those who have been requested to darken their sound, it can be a great cosmetic. Likewise, for the player with sledgehammer attacks, the extra weight can go a long way toward compensating for such natural propensities. Again, using weight as a variable gives one more control over the mouthpiece. The amount of weight used should reflect the kind of effect the player hopes to achieve. Not every use will require the same proportions. The old maxim an ounce will cure, a pound will kill is certainly very much to the point here. While seeking the maximum response and resonance from your instrument, do you go through a step-by-step process of elimination and adjustment to deal with various problems? Malone: Yes, we go through a rather extensive process to obtain the maximum performance potential on any given instrument. What techniques we use depend on the individual and his instrument. It takes knowledge of how variables affect each other and the art and skill to adjust the instrument to achieve the desired result International Trumpet Guild Does the balance equation change between the mouthpiece and the horn when an individual changes from the B-flat to C to piccolo, etc.? Malone: For most people, the equation does change when going from large horns to higher-pitched trumpets. Bore sizes of instruments are different, the length of the tube is obviously different, the relationship of taper to cylindrical tubing is different. All these factors indicate that a change of mouthpiece is necessary in order to balance the system. For most people a large mouthpiece that worked well for them on a B-flat or C trumpet would be too large to play on the piccolo trumpet, and would create an overbalanced situation that would not work at all. The piccolo trumpet usually demands a more efficient mouthpiece than that used on a larger trumpet. Stork: Anytime the equipment changes, the balance changes. The amount of change depends upon how well the instruments are matched. Assume that the player is using the proper mouthpiece. In this case most of the major orchestral repertoire (including Haydn and Hummel) should be playable using one s regular mouthpiece on the appropriately-pitched instrument. This would clearly indicate that a perfect match existed. When, in practice, things don t quite work out that way, probable causes must be assessed. On a fundamental level, players often purchase their first higher-pitched instrument without having any experience in playing anything other than a B- flat horn. Consequently, this player will, quite often, simply accept problems such as stuffiness or poor intonation in the instrument as the result of his lack of experience. This blind acceptance approach is usually further aggravated by a deplorable lack of selection available in higher-pitched instruments. Even in New York the days of going to the local pro shop to try out ten to twenty horns have passed. Demanding range, sound qualities, and intonation that are at least somewhere on a par with those that the player enjoys on his larger horn is the first step in acquiring instruments that are well balanced to each other. Unfortunately, most of us struggle along with our first instruments until we figure out that they really were very poor choices all along. As a guideline in this area, I d recommend the following. If you have any degree of serious accomplishment with the mouthpiece you are currently using on your B-flat, searching for a higher-pitched horn that will best accommodate you is the way to go. Don t be intimidated by what you don t know. Stick with what you do know. Pitch, sound, and the feel of the resistance are always fairly reliable indicators. If it turns out that you need to make a change down the road, then so be it. But, in the meantime, at least you will own a horn you can enjoy playing right now. On a higher level, switching instruments often implies either a need, or the desire, to make some alterations to the existing balance. For example, Bolero just isn t making it on the D trumpet. The piccolo is better, but the sound is on the small side. What can be done? The first step is to develop an assessment of how well-balanced this person s equipment is. What conceptual approach was used in the purchase of the instruments? Were they bought with the sole purpose of getting the biggest, darkest sound possible? Or, were they selected in a graded fashion so as to allow the player to be able to extend his range and endurance to the maximum potential? The most sophisticated players generally own instruments that fall into both categories. The horn with the biggest sound won t always cover the bases where range and endurance are genuine concerns. The drop-off point (this is where expectations or demands will exceed actual results) exists for everyone! We all tend to create this mystical aura around the players we admire. They always sound so fantas- December, 1994 / ITG Journal 47

8 tic, do things so easily. We never dream that they face the same concerns we do. What separates the exceptional player from the rest is, granted, varying degrees of talent and ability. But beyond that is a tremendous amount of hard-sought, hard-earned knowledge about what they do and what makes things work for them. The smartest and most successful players are those who know where their personal ceilings occur and what they can do to get around them. By contrast is the player who looks at his own point of diminishing return and allows it to become the stumbling block to his career. This player s energy becomes so completely focused on what is wrong that what s right gets lost in the shuffle. They view suggestions to changes in equipment as cheating somehow. What do you do when you re falling between the cracks? You change the balance equation to your benefit. Are you the type of player who needs to put more air through the horn, or do you need more resistance from the horn to gain air velocity? One way to know is if the upper range goes flat. Usually, this happens right about from D above the staff on. In this case, chances are that what s needed is to open things up to allow more air to flow through the horn. When this type of pitch problem is evidenced, the first place to start is right at the bore of the mouthpiece. Opening it, even by one drill size, can be enough to let you know if you ve gone in the right direction. The standard drill size for most trumpet mouthpieces is a #27. It is not uncommon for players in this category to go down to a #23 bore. This player will probably see instant improvement on the D trumpet, with more sound than he ever had before. Not only that, but it would be quite normal if he picked up about a third in range at the same time! Of course, on the other hand there is the player who, upon opening the bore, will feel that the bottom has just dropped out on him, and so it has. This player needs to stop things down to gain extra resistance in order to speed the air along. This is the player who wonders why he sees no improvement in range response on the piccolo. This player usually owns a very fine piccolo trumpet with a large-bore leadpipe. This is the very last thing he needs in a piccolo trumpet! This player has two choices. If his instruments are indeed too free-blowing for him, he can either purchase instruments that will offer him the resistance he requires, or try to compensate by putting as much resistance as is practicable into the mouthpiece. This is not always possible. Even if his physical makeup were to allow a virtual free hand in mouthpiece design, one might still come up short on the resistance factor if the horn is simply too much to handle. Another aspect to consider in this case would be the quality of sound that would result. Yes, it s possible to fudge your way around some balances, but after a point, performance will certainly suffer. The flip side to this approach is to go back to a D trumpet that is appropriately sized to the individual, or even slightly on the small side. In this case one can go to the other side of things and max-out the mouthpiece to achieve the greatest degree of sound. When the issue of intonation is brought into the equation, what are the main problems you find you address most often? Malone: Examples of typical intonation problems include sharp high G and A, flat high C, sharp low C, flat fifth-partial E, E-flat and D. Most of the time there are no simple solutions to intonation problems. Intonation patterns are the result of a combination of tapered and cylindrical components, coupled with factors such as valve alignment, gaps, edges, and other bore-perturbing phenomena such as dents and excess solder balls. It is not possible to make one note more or less flat or sharp without affecting everything else to some degree. The art and skill involved is in making corrections that result in positive changes over the whole instrument. Some strategies for solving problems relate to correcting valve alignment (making sure that the piston ports are lined up with the ports in the casings), adjusting the mouthpiece venturi gap, and modifying the mouthpiece backbore. Other more extensive strategies involve changing leadpipe tapers, bell tapers, tuning slide shapes, and bore sizes. Are there any additional points that you would like to discuss? Malone: I would like to emphasize two points. First, there is no free ride. Equipment alone will not make you into the incredible trumpeter you wish you could be. It takes hard work, smart work, and dedication to become the best you can be. Second, since you paid good money for your equipment and possibly spent a significant amount of valuable time finding and refining it, maintain it! Keep it clean inside and out. This will insure that you be playing the same equipment day in and day out. It does not take much foreign material on the inside of the leadpipe or mouthpiece backbore to change its performance characteristics. 48 ITG Journal / December, International Trumpet Guild