Kid's teacher says to play C# with third valve

[Riojazz]

Butch, I loved your story about the perceived improved tone quality!

Your story reminds me of one that another trumpet player told me.

He was chosen to sit first chair in a regional orchestra. He did not have a C trumpet, but the other trumpets all did. He transposed the C part and did fine. The conductor, however, looked at his horn and said, "That would sound better on a C trumpet, Yes?" so the player took his mouthpiece out, passed his horn slowly under his chair as if to switch it, and put the mouthpiece back in the same horn. The conductor said, "Yes, that sounds much better now."
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Matt Finley
www.mattfinley.com
www.cdbaby.com/cd/mattfinley

Kanstul 1525 flugel, Calicchio 1s/9, Shires C, Schilke XA1 cornet, Schilke P5-4 pic, Yamaha soprano, Powell flute, Emerson alto flute, Mark VI tenor. Warburton 4FL & GR66M.

[EBjazz]

Probably what happened is the teacher told him that 3 = 12 and he thought it was cool to use it all the time. I've had students do that.

Eb
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Eric Bolvin

www.bolvinmusic.com

[Nonsense Eliminator]

[Shiner]

I don't mean to offend, but if anyone read my previous post and thought I was bashing band directors in general, than they didn't read the entire post or did not understand it. It would be stupid of me to bash all band directors, since I am one, and after reading the OP's posts I am assuming the guy said wrong. I am around a lot of directors that are very collaborative, and ask questions, including me, all the time. I strive to never give students false or poor information. I am also around some pretty clueless directors that would go in front of a beginner class and try to conduct them and give them no instruction, or have not studied anything but their own instrument and do not care about anything else.

Not to sound too much like Kirk, but a very successful director and musician that I know in his first year taught the trombones to put their slides on the left side of the bell. His supervisor a few weeks in the year came in and asked him why he did this. The guy turns around and tells his class "anyone can play this left- handed, let's learn it right handed now." I am not going to say his name, but he is a very successful teacher and performer. Honest mistakes do happen, but they are still mistakes.

[perspective]

I'm no expert on the make up of trumpets, in fact I don't have one now so I can't check this out. However, I do have a cornet and have found that the air circuit with the 3rd valve down is exactly the same as the circuit produced by 1 & 2 down. I would expect this to be the case as the length of the loop off the 3rd valve measures the same as the sum of the lengths of the loops off the 1&2 valves. Given that in operating the valves is all we are doing is lengthening or shortening the tubing in which the air must flow, it follows that there will be combinations that add up to the same thing. So, 3 = 1+2. I have used the 3rd rather than 1&2 frequently as it helps considerably when doing trills or fast arpeggios - the 1&2 combination is unnessecarilly cumbersome to operate in some circumstances. So, it's not only C# 3rd space that can be played with the 3rd valve but also A 2nd space, E 4th space, A 1st leger. I've just tried it and the notes are all perfectly in tune whether I use 1&2 or just the 3rd.

[Nonsense Eliminator]