Giving up the cornet for the summer

[lyndon153]

Well, I've made a decision. My lip and breath capacity was weakening trying to play pocket trumpet and cornet in the same session, and not practicing in between. (Work, choir, yard, summer - all taking my time away from practicing.) So, in order to play consistently, and to blend in with the trumpet section of my community band - I've decided to set aside the cornet for a while.

I probably wouldn't have to do it, if others had a cornet to play cornet pieces.

Sad, sigh, weep. (Just kidding.)

On the plus side, my Bach Model 37 trumpet still sounds good.

I plan on using the cornet again in the fall.
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1995 Getzen Eterna 850S Bb cornet, .464" bore, MP:GR66#6, Wicks#4
1975 Bach Strad Model 37 ML Bb Trumpet, MP:GR66m
20?? Berkley Music C/Bb Pocket Trumpet, MP:Bach3c
1918 Henri Gautier "Virtuso" Bb cornet, MP:Bach 3c
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[Dale Proctor]

Yeah, I decided to work on expanding my upper register this Summer, and have been working on Schlossberg, using the cornet. Since brass band is taking its Summer break, I think I'll switch to trumpet for the range exercises. They are easier on the old Bach 43...

I won't be giving up the cornet for the Summer, though - I'll just be playing the trumpet a little more and the cornet a little less.
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Olde Towne Brass
www.otbrass.com

Brass Band of Huntsville
www.brassbandofhuntsville.com

"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[cheiden]

I find that it's best to do nearly all of my regular practice on the Bb. Extended practice on the other horns always causes me problems too. And if I just visit my other horns (mostly picc and C) briefly a few times a week it allows me to bring them up to speed fairly quickly.
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"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

[oldblow]

Dale, you mention the higher range being easier on trumpet...a phenomenon I feel to be true, as well. I wonder though, if practicing on the easier instrument is as beneficial as sweating on the other.

I have trouble giving up the cornet for a day; a trumpet just doesn't snuggle up next to you.
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Felton (Butch) Bohannon

[connicalman]

Enjoy your venture. You might find that 10-15 minutes per day using a mellow-sounding conical set-up helps to soften and keep pliable what high range work on a trumpet might tend to close and harden.

IMO keeping up with a cornet or flugelhorn, even as a practice 'break', is worth the drop or two of oil, the daily spitball and the weekly swab.
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kochaavim, csillaagkep, αστερρισμός, konnstelacji, connstellation... ...a.k.a. 28A

[Dale Proctor]

[royjohn]

Well, I understand what you guys are saying, but there are many factors here. One, perhaps we don't expect to play on a lot of horns and do as well on all of them. Some orchestral players do that and manage well; Crispian Steele-Perkins was able to play any number of modern and historical horns in one recital. I think it's a matter of practicing that . . . the transfer of training. Play a lot of different horns . . . it won't kill you, just work at it.

Another factor in the difficulty of cornet is that it's become a much bigger instrument than it was a hundred, or even fifty years ago. The bore is larger (as measured at the second valve) and I'm not sure that it isn't larger at the receiver, too. Then the mouthpieces are going towards very deep V cups and throats that you can drive a truck through. Although some historical cornet pieces did have some of these characteristics, I think we exaggerate them. Curry's BBC is a lot bigger than his VC. I'm not down on Mark, he's providing what the market wants and it is very well received. but it isn't the tonal palette of 1920 or even 1960 or 1980.

If you find it easier to play the high range on trumpet, what trumpet are you playing and what mpc are you using?

It would be interesting to know what actual mpc Clarke and Levy and Liberati et al. actually used in their playing. Despite the Circus bore Conns (which may have had other, easy-play features like slender leadpipes and step bore and lots of conical tubing) I'm guessing that many old cornets were easier to play than modern offerings. Anybody got any data??

I'm playing my high range stuff on a 0.419" bore Eb trumpet with a Roy Roman Marcinkiewicz mpc that is large, but very shallow, with a fairly narrow throat. I've lost a finger button for my Eb cornet, but I'll be getting a somewhat shallow cup for it, with a fairly narrow throat and then we'll deepen the cup and open the throat from there if it seems advisable, after listening to recordings and seeing how the high range goes. Ditto the Bb cornets. I tried out a few Bb trumpets with the Roman mpc today, too. Jury is still out. I suspect all the horns will work OK when the technique is OK, just for shorter periods on those killer deep pieces and bigger bores.
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royjohn
Trumpets: 1928 Holton Llewellyn Model, 1957 Holton 51LB, 2010 Custom C by Bill Jones, 2011 Custom D/Eb by Bill Jones
Flugels: 1975 Olds Superstar, 1970's Elkhardt, 1970's Getzen 4 valve
Cornet: 1970's Yamaha YCR-233S . . . and others . . .

[Dale Proctor]

I normally play cornet on a Curry 3BBC, mouthpiece. The cornet I play is usually my large bore 1993 Bach Strad 184 with a gold brass bell. If I want an easier time of it, an older Bach 3C plugged into the cornet will work for concert band and church orchestra type settings. I do have an older (1962) Conn 5A cornet with a huge .485" bore, and it's easier in the upper register than my Bach cornet. It doesn't have quite the color in the sound that the Bach does, though, and the slots are slightly more loose. In this case, larger bore doesn't equal harder upper register.

As for trumpet, I normally play a 1976 Bach Strad 43 ML with an old Bach 3C mouthpiece. It's easier to play up high than the Bach cornet (or any cornet I own or have owned). That's the mouthpiece I'm practicing Schlossberg on with my trumpet. Actually, the old Bach trumpet is the easiest-playing trumpet I've ever had. When I play a big band gig, I'll usually switch to a 9CW Connstellation mouthpiece for a little more sparkle and high range endurance, though (unless I'm playing 3rd or 4th part).

I have a couple small bore Conn trumpets, a '29 22B and a '60 6B, and they are really small, like .438". They aren't as easy to play up high as the Bach 43, either, so I don't think small bore size can really be linked to ease in the high range.

Those are my general observations on a number of horns, and it seems to hold true no matter what mouthpiece I use on them. Of course, the larger the mouthpiece, the more taxing the upper register is for most people.
_________________
Olde Towne Brass
www.otbrass.com

Brass Band of Huntsville
www.brassbandofhuntsville.com

"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham