God! I Hate Guys Like That!

[mrsemman]

Last night at our community band rehearsal, I found out that one of the first trumpets had quit the band. While he had been a good player i.e. great sense for tempos and fingering, he did lack in tonal quality. And yes, he was one of those guys, who talks about all the great things he did with the trumpet over the years, but simply did not practice regularly.

However, it is his replacement that I write about. This guy comes in, introduces himself, opens his case to a C trumpet. He says he hasn't played the thing in over a year, and it looks it. He oils the valves, which probably haven't seen oil in that time, and starts.

Right away, he plays the music. Only he has transposed the music in his head. Plays beautifully, and brought the whole section up a level. Then, on one number, he grabs a piece from the clainet section, and plays that beuatifully.

I told him to bring his horn over to my house, to get it ultrasonically cleaned and to take a few of the dings out.

I hate guys like that.

Gary
_________________
Flip Oakes Wild Thing
Kanstul G Bugle
Jin Boa Bass Trumpet

[etc-etc]

Dream come true or real story?

[Felix c]

I understand you
My teacher tells that trumpet playing is 90% mental and 10 % Physical
This man born with the trumpet in the hand and with embouchure formed
_________________
Jesus I Trust In You

[Craig Swartz]

Uh, kind of standard for a newbie to say he/she hasn't played in months/weeks/years. How long have you been playing trumpet????

And C horn? What's so hard about using it for almost everything? It isn't magic- it's called experience, coupled with some serious practice if your main gig requires, or uses it. NFBD. I gave up that line 20 years ago. Don't fall for it.

Now, if your problem is that this cat can play the trumpet better than you and everyone else regardless of the horn you have in your hands, that's a different matter... (Best bet would be to try to learn from him. Don't be shy.)

[etc-etc]

"He had not played that thing for a year". He had not played that C trumpet for one year. Maybe his main horn is piccolo.

[mrsemman]

etc-etc et al,

Yes it is for real. The gentleman is a retired high school band director (30 years). And yes, his horn appeared to have been in the case for a long time. The first valve was stuck.

What amzed me, other than the intonation being just about spot on, was the fact that he transposed every piece of music instantly! It was like watching someone who spoke another language, but had not used it for several years, begin to speak it as fluently and effortlessly, as if they had been using it all along.

Gary
_________________
Flip Oakes Wild Thing
Kanstul G Bugle
Jin Boa Bass Trumpet

[murph66]

Many years ago, I was in a symphony orchestra and only had a Bb horn to play. Much, if not most, of the trumpet music was written for C trumpet, so I got to be proficient in transposing.

Fast forward to a few months ago- the lead trumpet in our church orchestra decided to play along with the choir playing out of the hymn book. As a high school director and someone who plays professionally, he had no problem with it. I tried to play with him playing the second line, and found I had lost most of my ability to transpose on the fly. As my wife says, if you don't use it, you lose it. I have worked on this during practice sessions and now feel fairly comfortable with transposing.

The wife knew what she was talking about. When I first met her, she was an Army brat that had just returned from three years in France. She was fluent in French at that time, but as time went on, she forgot most of it. Same thing happened to me. I was a radio operator in the Air Force at the time and was "fluent" in Morse Code. Now, over 50 years later, I can remember little of it. But once you have learned a skill, you can usually regain some proficiency fairly quickly- I'm on my second comeback, so I have experience.

[richardwy]

Garry,

Button-hole the new guy, and ask him, "When can we play duets?"

Sounds like a fantastic addition to the section.
_________________
Richard Oliver
Bach AB190
Schilke B1
Bach C180L 239 25H
Bach 3's: 3, B, & C
Getzen Capri Cornet
Curry 3BBC
Wick 4

[mrsemman]

richardwy,

I agree. I offered to have him come over so that I could ultrasonically clean his horn. He seemed interested. The third chair, a high school senior, took me up on her horn, an old Conn Director. She had left a large gob of slide grease in the lead pipe. I also took out a couple of the dents and straightened the bell on her horn. She might be pleased with the results. I did like the valve block on the Conn and it still sounds great.

I was just blown away by this guy. I think that we could get a couple other guys and form a group. Play for beers.

Gary

P.S. I am on my second comeback also, but this time is for "real".
_________________
Flip Oakes Wild Thing
Kanstul G Bugle
Jin Boa Bass Trumpet

[Still Trying]

A lot of being able to play Bb parts in C is what you have grown used to. I've never practiced playing C trumpet a whole lot, but when I was a kid, my Dad made me practice transposing Bb parts to C all the time. He had his own dance band and made arrangements for the band from sheet music, he purchased at the music store. All the sheet music was in C. I learned how to sight read it and play it on Bb. I also practiced playing out of church hymnals. Now I rarely need to transpose into C, but I can do it easily whenever I have to or want to. It's kind of like riding a bike. I really don't forget how.

On the other hand, I'm quite rusty if I need to transpose into D, E, or F.
_________________
S. T.

What do we have that we did not receive, and if we received it, why do we glory, as if we received it not?

[mrsemman]

I just wish that there was a matrix or spreadsheet that took all the scales and broke each scale down to corresponding keyed instruments, i.e. reading from the side, scales for a keyed instrument in C or F or Bb, etc. and across the top would be the scales for a different keyed instrument.

Oh well,

Gary
_________________
Flip Oakes Wild Thing
Kanstul G Bugle
Jin Boa Bass Trumpet

[cheiden]

My teacher like to tell a story of a orchestra rehearsal where had to cover for a principal who was late returning from an extended vacation. Now my teacher's no slouch and was by all accounts playing the heck out of a significant solo. As the piece starts for the umpteenth time, the orignal lead play player comes crashing through the door and rushes to his chair, opens his case and all the valves are all stuck. So he hits the valves with his fist to free them just in time to play the featured solo and playes it so beautifully that a good portion of the orchestra stops playing just to listen. At the conclusion of the piece my teacher stands up, extends his hand towards the man and announces "Ladys and gentlemen,...mister Malcolm NcNabb".
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb
Yamaha 731 Flugel
Kanstul 920 Picc
Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim/Bach 1-1/2C underpart

[Crazy Finn]

[mrsemman]

Guys,

He did it again. This time, he came in late, and could only stay for half of the rehearsal. Pulls out his horn, and for the piece on "Palladio", he pulls out a copy of the first clarinet (the reed sections were taking the place of the strings in this piece), and with a Harmon Mute, plays it perfectly.

What I love about having this guy in the section is that he truly brings out the best in the rest of us. Even the third chair trumpet, who hasn't played loud enough to be heard, is playing much better.

Maybe next week, I will ask to video record the band and you can check him out.

Gary
_________________
Flip Oakes Wild Thing
Kanstul G Bugle
Jin Boa Bass Trumpet

[richardwy]

_________________
Richard Oliver
Bach AB190
Schilke B1
Bach C180L 239 25H
Bach 3's: 3, B, & C
Getzen Capri Cornet
Curry 3BBC
Wick 4

[peanuts56]

Years ago in my area there was a pharmacist who had played lead with Alvino Ray back in the late 40's. He was a vet who went to college on the gi bill and opened his own pharmacy. He just gigged locally after that. He could play lead all night after not touching the horn for a month. He never missed a note or got tired. I was playing next to him on a big band job one night and our last number was In The Mood. He hit the high d and then jumped up an octave at 1 am after four hours. He was also a great guy and always encouraged the younger guys like I was back then.Some guys are just naturals.

[Don Herman rev2]