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Brass Trumpet Incentive

Sweet Dreamer,
a bongo playing lad
bought a set of bongos
from a cyber music ad

He played them twix his knees
then began to sneeze
it wasn't long before the bong
had spread to him disease

He suffered through the mamba
sweating to the beat
the virus filled his body
from his fingers to his feet

The saxophonist roared
and the trumpet player howled
but the bongo playing dreamer
was disillusioned as he scowled

He felt the diarrhea
flow onto the stage
and knew his fellow players
would soon be in a rage

He played up to the turn around
and tapped a few more bars
he huffed and puffed and then he snuffed
now his spirit's in the stars
 
I'm fighting the urge to buy a second brass instrument - I'm looking at a pricey Schilke trumpet and also a Yamaha flugel on ebay. Please talk me out of it! The sensible thing to do is put my cornet in its case and try to forget it that it's there - I love playing it but there is more than enough to do what with playing sax and drums.

Pete
 
I'm fighting the urge to buy a second brass instrument - I'm looking at a pricey Schilke trumpet and also a Yamaha flugel on ebay. Please talk me out of it! The sensible thing to do is put my cornet in its case and try to forget it that it's there - I love playing it but there is more than enough to do what with playing sax and drums.

Pete

What?

You come into a thread entitled "Trumpet Incentive" and asked to be talked out of buying a pricey Schilke Trumpet?

No way!

You better get out there and buy it right now! >:)

~~~~

Canter had a bank account
as he was dreaming of a horn
and when he made his dream come true
his bank account was torn

His drums and sax fell through the cracks
but his trumpet sounded great!
Until he couldn't pay his tax
and lost his whole estate!

:)))

~~~~

Serious advice?

Hey, you want it and can afford it, go for it!
But if it's going to put you on Poor Man's Alley, then maybe think twice? ;}
 
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Not a Schilke please! They are not cool in the jazz world. Vintage Martin are, but only the production between October 1957 and January 1958, the brushed silver model, with a little "D" engraved inside the leadpipe.
 
Even better than the overpriced Martin Committee is the Conn Connstellation 38B, as played by Chet Baker and many others. (I have a Conn Connstellation 28A cornet -which looks identical apart from the conical nature of the bore). There is one on Ebay for £720. One of those, an Olds Recording or an F.Besson Meha would be excellent. My first teacher played a Schilke and did love the sound produced by my Geneva Balanced slightly more. Schilke are not cool! These are: http://www.inderbinen.com/Page_e/Studie_e.html

Similarly there are better flugels out there than Yamaha, but you need to know what you are looking for.

You just have to have one of each to get on!

Andy Taylor in Norwich produces an ideal compromise for you - third photo on this link!
http://www.taylortrumpets.com/customshop-nextgeneration.html
 
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You just have to have one of each to get on!

I totally agree. And trumpets are cheaper than saxophones: I really need a Conn 10m, a Selmer BA, a Selmer SBA, a new Yama 82, a Cazzani and a Inderbinen (strange name, isn't?) to feel really satisfied.

AND THE JAZZOPHONE on Taylor's website! That is unmissable.
 
And coming soon a new thread about my recent serious GAS attacks: one involved an Otto Link 11 and the other a Gold Medal tenor.
 
I totally agree. And trumpets are cheaper than saxophones: I really need a Conn 10m, a Selmer BA, a Selmer SBA, a new Yama 82, a Cazzani and a Inderbinen (strange name, isn't?) to feel really satisfied.

AND THE JAZZOPHONE on Taylor's website! That is unmissable.

The Jazzophone was on ebay about 4 years ago - should have bought it! Trumpets certainly can save a bit on saxes. At the same time they can easily out-price them, and many cross the £2000 mark and beyond. I notice that even P.Mauriat now produce a trumpet!
 
Breath Question:

Whist this thread is up and running again I have a question about breath and the trumpet.

I've been practicing the trumpet quit a bit lately. Mainly working on trying to expand my range into the higher regs. In the meantime I've noticed that I run short of breath quite often when playing the trumpet. This never happens to me when playing the sax.

I think it has something to do with the lesser air flow. Playing the trumpet is more like "holding your breath" in a sense. After playing a few phrases I'm all played out and need to take a break to "catch my breath".

I do have respiratory problems, but like I say, I don't experience this with the sax. It's this typical of playing a trumpet, or am I doing something wrong?
 
Re: Breath Question:

And by the way, are JP basic trumpets/cornets/flugehorns as good as their sax counterparts?
 
Re: Breath Question:

The amount of air used in a Trumpet is similar to that used in playing a Tenor Sax according to research!

If you breathe from the diaphragm you will always play for longer - breathing down in order to fill your abdomen with air. When you are playing certain pieces, however, it is better to only take the amount of air in that you need to get to the end of a phrase, as you may otherwise accumulate stale air underneath any air that is taken in on top of that, and will need to evacuate your lungs quite quickly which can feel like shortness of breath.

Have a go at seeing how long you can hold a note for, just to see whether there is an identifiable problem. I can hold a note on trumpet for 45 seconds before I need to breathe. My usual first warm-up is to alternate going upwards from G2 to G3 with going from F#2 down to F#1 in semitone steps - playing each note as long as I can. When I have done that and had a short break I think my breathing and note production is good to go.

Let me know whether that helps the situation.
 
Re: Breath Question:

And by the way, are JP basic trumpets/cornets/flugehorns as good as their sax counterparts?

I have played the JP171SW cornet and the JP251SW trumpet and they are both excellent instruments for the price. The SW (Smith-Watkins) are collaborative instruments and superb quality. I've no problem recommending them. Also Bauhaus Walstein do some very good high brass instruments - look at
http://www.woodwindandbrass.co.uk/acatalog/Bb_stomvi_trumpet_weril_trumpet_jupiter_trumpet.html

I've not tried the cheaper instruments but I am sure you could ring Steve at JP for impartial advice.
 
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Re: Breath Question:

Thanks Guys - that's put me off alright - couldn't bear to have an uncool trumpet - back to the drums! Pete
 
Re: Breath Question:

SD, you may need to breath out before breathing in again. Happens to me when I forget to breath out.
 
Re: Breath Question:

Thanks Guys - that's put me off alright - couldn't bear to have an uncool trumpet - back to the drums! Pete

Drums are cool...................................................................?:shocked::w00t:;}
 
Re: Breath Question:

Thank you for your quick replies to my trumpet questions as always Tom. :welldone

Just the same I have more,...


The amount of air used in a Trumpet is similar to that used in playing a Tenor Sax according to research!

Ok, this is quite interesting. Exactly what the heck are they talking about? Surely they can't be talking about the volume of air FLOW?

I have respiratory problems, and I get winded easily. I was afraid that this might be a problem for the Alto Sax, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I don't have any breath problems playing the Alto Sax. However, now that I have a Tenor Sax I have noticed that it takes quite a bit more air flow. This is liking trying to blow up an air mattress. I can play it alright, but it definitely take a lot more air flow to sustain a note than does the Alto, especially when hitting really low notes.

Now the trumpet doesn't seem to take much volume of air FLOW at all. In fact, I've been consciously trying to figure out ways to get more air to flow. But you can only push so much air through a raspberry. So when I'm playing the trumped for long phrases, it does feel like I'm kind of "Holding my breath" to a point. Simply because I can't get a large volume of air to flow through the instrument whilst buzzing a raspberry.

And that brings me to the next point that you make:

If you breathe from the diaphragm you will always play for longer - breathing down in order to fill your abdomen with air. When you are playing certain pieces, however, it is better to only take the amount of air in that you need to get to the end of a phrase, as you may otherwise accumulate stale air underneath any air that is taken in on top of that, and will need to evacuate your lungs quite quickly which can feel like shortness of breath.
Well, I do try to breath from the diaphragm. Although I confess that I'm not in the greatest physical shape. I have a bit of a pot belly and so that could be a problem right there. ;} Playing a trumpet apparently requires a pretty good physique. Maybe I need to just get into better physical shape all round to play this instrument.

You say to only take in enough air for a phrase. Well, that certainly makes sense. I've been taking in way too much air for sure. When I'm done with a phrase I really need to exhale before I inhale again. And there's never really enough time for that. Plus as you say, that very act feels like "shortness of breath".

So I'm going to work on trying to take in less air to begin with with. This is going to take some training on my part. But I do see where that can potentially help.

Have a go at seeing how long you can hold a note for, just to see whether there is an identifiable problem. I can hold a note on trumpet for 45 seconds before I need to breathe. My usual first warm-up is to alternate going upwards from G2 to G3 with going from F#2 down to F#1 in semitone steps - playing each note as long as I can. When I have done that and had a short break I think my breathing and note production is good to go.
Well, I'm really out of shape then. I can only hold a note for 20 seconds comfortably, maybe 30 seconds really pushing my limit. Again, probably due to being in such poor physical shape. Now I have an excuse to exercise. :)))

Let me know whether that helps the situation.
I think your suggestions will definitely help. You've got me thinking about these things and working up some practice exercises to address them. And even thinking about joining the gym. I'll probably need to get in better physical shape to play the Tenor Sax too anyway. ;}

I should have taken up keyboard. Then I could just sit here and let my fingers to do gymnastics.
 
Re: Breath Question:

Hi There!

Glad that it has been of some help. Regarding the trumpet/tenor sax air thing I do notice that I can hold a note for about 70 seconds on an alto sax, but no more than 45 seconds on the others - hence the issue about breath required. A trombone is similar to a bari sax in that respect.

I do think that holding a note for 30 seconds is a pretty good thing, and regular playing of 20 seconds+ will help. I do think exercise is really helpful for the trumpet and tenor sax. I used to go to the gym for an hour three times a week. Since having a dog I tend to do two/three hours walking per day and this has helped my breathing a lot.

The good thing about taking in less air is that it is easier to take in more as you are exhaling hardly any to begin with. At the same time it is a good idea to cut the length of the note just before you take a breath (by a quaver or so), and practice this quite often, say, on the same piece, so it becomes automatic.

Happy honking!
Tom
 
Re: Breath Question:

Have a go at seeing how long you can hold a note for, just to see whether there is an identifiable problem. I can hold a note on trumpet for 45 seconds before I need to breathe. My usual first warm-up is to alternate going upwards from G2 to G3 with going from F#2 down to F#1 in semitone steps - playing each note as long as I can. When I have done that and had a short break I think my breathing and note production is good to go.

Maybe being an ex swimmer helps but can play a G on the old trumpet for about 1min 20sec the only problem as my trumpet friend said you need more than a G!!
I have played with loads of people who had limited breath and played well its like anything keep blowing and you all get better, mix up what you do and enjoy it. Good luck, loving the sax its more relaxed that the trumpet.
 
Re: Breath Question:

Drums are cool...................................................................?:shocked::w00t:;}

Percussionists are cool, drummers are only partial percussionists. >:)
 
Re: Breath Question:

Percussionists are cool, drummers are only partial percussionists. >:)

This sound really strange to me after some of the "drumming" instruction videos I've been watching lately. They keep emphasizing that a Drum Kit is actually a collection of many different percussionist's parts, and "drummers" are actually trying to emulate a lot of different parts at the same time. This is especially true in the Afro-Cuban music, although it may not be quite apparent in things like rock and jazz.

A originally brought a fairly inexpensive, yet quite nice 5-piece drum set. It came with really cheap cymbals that were ok to start with, but as I progressed I wanted some better cymbals. So I ended up spending as much on a new set of cymbals as I had spent on the original whole drum set. I even got new hi-hat cymbals to match the rest. I now have a total of 5 new cymbals plus the hi-hat. Now I view the "Drum Kit" as two entirely separate instruments. A set of drums and a set of cymbals. And I play them like as if I'm playing two different instrument simultaneously too. I really get into the nuances of the symbol set.

I also added hi and low wood blocks, a cowbell, and a pair of bongos on a stand that sit nicely just behind the snare drum. I play them with sticks and they produce a really cool sound. Off to right I set up a pair of mini congas just behind the floor tom, tilted toward me at an angle. Then off to my left I added a small firecracker snare. So now my drum set has grown to become a 10 piece drum set, plus cowbell, cymbals and hi-hat.

Boy talk about being a percussionist! This is almost getting out of hand.

I even added double bass drum pedals, and recently I've been thinking about adding a foot-operated clave next to the hi-hat. I got a video on Afro-Cuban drumming and the fellow in that video plays the foot-operated clave and it sounds pretty cool. So since I have the old bass drum kick pedal left over from having upgraded to double bass pedals, I'm thinking about making it into a homemade clave.

So my drum set has indeed "grown" to become an entire percussion section. Now the challenge is to learn how to play it as such.
 

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