Monette Mouthpieces

[xxaleckzandurrex]

Over the weekend me and my buddy decided to trade mouthpieces to see if it could be a permanent trade eventually. I traded my bach megatone 3c for his monette b6ld s1. At first i loved the monette and could picture myself playing it for all my classical/jazz combo stuff while i switch to my bobby shew 1.25 for lead playing. I played my shew all saturday morning and then used the monette for a night service and felt great. I had another gig that same night with a ska band (in which i play the shew) and my chops felt a little off like if my lips didn't fit in the cup anymore. I didn't think much about it..

This morning i played another Easter service and used the monette and played fine even though my lips still felt a little scarred and dry like leather. I got home and practiced my jury pieces for tomorrow and that's when i really started feeling off as far as response, flexibility, and articulation. As soon as i switched to my bobby shew lead which i also have to play tomorrow for juries, i was barely able to get a sound out of it. ..

I'm trying not to freak out but my chops definitely feel confused. Something i never felt when switching from a Bach 3c to my Bobby Shew.

Can anyone make any sense out of this? Kinda sucks because as i mentioned my juries are tomorrow and i have alot of playing to do but my lips just feel puffy and shot.

[Dark Knight]

OK. Sometimes "us" trumpet players can get neurotic about whether or not something related to our embouchure, lips, etc., are working. Things are going great then all of the sudden then they are not for one reason or another. Stress and its effects can just destroy our physiology and psychology. A week prior to my final concert of the year, I bit both the upper and lower lips, midway between the corners and center. They bites turned into huge swollen, bloody cankers. I was blow nothing but air as I approached the top of the stave. I was really scared because I have some exposed parts above the stave. The more scared I got, the worse it got. So, I expressed these concerns to my teacher. We chatted and just played some simple duets together to relax and he showed me that if I focused only on the music and not how I felt I could actually play. It worked, and the concert went well. For the parts that I could not practice because I was blowing air, I played them on the piano and sang them so the rhythm and pitch would stay in my head until concert time. Something about being in the concert took my mind of "me" and how I felt. I just focused on the music and playing. My teacher who attended said that my parts came off very clear. One of the pieces was Pine of Rome which is not easy.

So, my advice is to go through your music. Sing your parts while to pressing the valves and let mother nature take its course. You are going to be OK.

DK
_________________
I learn from my mistakes. I can repeat them perfectly every time.

[razeontherock]

Ok, what size Monette, and how does it compare to your usual?

[xxaleckzandurrex]

It's a Monette B6LD S1 as compared to the Bach 3c megatone that i traded. Both are supposed to be similar because the B6 is compared to the 3C.

[razeontherock]

Do you find that both ID's are similar? (Same rim size)

Are the rim contours nearly the same?

Is the Monette noticeably more open blowing?

[xxaleckzandurrex]

I think the Monette piece is a smaller rim size but only by a tiny bit. The monette seems to slot better but it's also a brighter sound than the 3C. My only concern is that after playing the Monette piece i can barely play any other mouthpiece.

[brassjunky]

something about the monette piece is different enough from your usual Bach3C/shew 1.25 combination to be causing problems for your chops. Different throat, backbore or gap would be the most likely culprits. For me this would be evidence enough to ditch the monette and go back to the old combination. Could be worth doing this for your juries as you probably have much more muscle memory on the 3c than the monette. Either way you have to get through them without worrying what your chops feel like - time for some mind over matter/focus on the music work.
_________________
Cannonball 789RSL
YFH635ST Flugel
Blessing Artist Cornet (1947)

[chrisf3000]

It usually takes me three weeks to a month to get acclimated to a new mouthpiece. If there's a significant difference between the mouthpieces, even imperceptible at first, your chops go into what I call "freak-out mode" fairly quickly - until acclimation. I have switched enough times personally that it's now a predictable pattern.

When they do acclimate, it feels like breaking through a wall... suddenly your puffiness goes away and you feel like it's the first time all over again. That said - and we've all done it - switching mouthpieces around jury time and right at Easter (with ska gigs thrown in the mix) probably isn't the best thing to do. Give yourself time - the summer is great, if you're not too busy. But definitely give yourself at least three weeks on any new mouthpiece or your face will stay confused. Just my 2 cents...

[jhopkins7]

To the OP...Please don't take this as criticism (I certainly have juggled mouthpieces at various times too), but it sounds like you had a busy weekend with gigs and juries to follow. Perhaps this wasn't the right time to try a new piece? Changes have a way of getting into your head, particularly when they don't work quite as you planned. My two cents...If i have a lot of work and in particular something important like juries...I try to eliminate any possible variable that could disrupt what I've prepared.
_________________
-Jon
Getzen Genesis 3003 Bb
Bach Strad MLV/72 Bb
Bach 229 C
Warburton mpcs

[razeontherock]

[brassjunky]

[MacMichael]

Have been there a couple of times as well,
thinking a Monette might be a tremendous improvement,
gave them much time, spent considerable money only
to end up sounding worse than before.
So finally I found out the Monette mpcs are just not for me.
Sticked with Mark Curry´s 3 cups and have been a happy camper ever since, end of.

[brassjunky]

this is an aside but these days I am becoming more and more a subscriber to the saying " a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Having a mouthpiece that works, ticks most boxes for me, is worth much more than all the potentially "better" mouthpieces out there. Yes, there are limitations, but finding something better is actually hard, expensive and time-consuming and can mess with my chops unless I am very careful.
_________________
Cannonball 789RSL
YFH635ST Flugel
Blessing Artist Cornet (1947)

[aljohn29]

Monette mouthpieces are good... Pickett Brass are better though

[dr_trumpet]

In my opinion, something in the Monette was just close enough to feel good, but different enough that you subconsciously changed something in your playing to adapt to the mouthpiece. I have never felt the 6 rim is like a 3C rim, as it always felt smaller to me. The B4S has proved far more comfortable for playing, and to be honest, I've played a lot of them.

That said, I too would have cautioned you to avoid switching anything this close to a jury. You never mess with equipment the week of a gig, or even a week before. You settle on equipment and stick with it through a recital (or jury) series. NEVER switch in the middle, on a potentially taxing gig, that could cause more issues to undo in a short time than the change was worth. (I am sure you loved reading this, but I mean it kindly, and would caution my own private students and friends the same).

Play some long tones and use a few of the first Embouchure Builders in Lowell Little's book for your first playing of the days, and work back to your form. Unfortunately in the long run, this may be a "learning experience" for you.

One other thought-drink some water-lots of it. Trust me on this one...
_________________
Dr. Albert L. Lilly, III DM
Artist/Clinician for Vincent Bach Trumpets (Conn-Selmer)
Principal Trumpet, Hendricks Symphony (Avon, IN)
Arranger/Composer; Lilly Music

[dr_trumpet]

[Brad361]