What I've learned in 8 months...

vwag · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 9:26 pm Post subject: What I've learned in 8 months...

Things I’ve learned in 8 months after a 30 year break:

1. A different mouthpiece and/or a different trumpet won’t make you better, HOWEVER you will find that certain trumpets and mouthpieces make playing easier and more fun.
2. If you aren’t on a pro horn, and can afford one, get one.
3. There are two types of people- those that embark on a never ending search for the right mouthpiece, and those that play the same one forever. I’m jealous of the latter.
4. As a comeback player, like in fitness, your growth will be in leaps and plateaus. One day you’ll feel stuck, the next day you’ll be playing a piece you couldn’t touch a month ago. Just keep playing.
5. The endless amount of of information in forums, youtube, method books, etc. are overwhelming and confusing. Find a teacher, or pick the material that speaks to you. Mix it up.
6. Find people to play with (I’m still working on this, but did solo at church recently, which was terrifying). If you can’t find anyone, use your computer to record yourself and play some duets.
7. Keep an extra mouthpiece in the car (lots of cheap second hand mpcs out there), buzz songs you hear on the radio.
8. The same horn and mouthpiece can create a wide array of sounds, record yourself and experiment a bit.
9. If you eat almonds, hang your horn up for the day.

I can confidently say I'm better now than I ever was, but I couldn't touch 90% of the folks on this forum, but I'll keep playing anyway.

Always good info here, thanks to the forum for that!

VW

Trumpetingbynurture · Heavyweight Member Joined: 18 Nov 2015 Posts: 898

GeorgeB · Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 7:10 am Post subject:

Congrats for making it through 8 months. I'm at a little over 6 months after a 50 year lay-off ( I'm 80 ). I started playing with a local community band 3 weeks ago and had enough range ( E over high C ) to play first trumpet. Boy, it sure beats playing alone.
I used a Bach 10 1/2C in my younger days. I used it to come back but switched to a 3C a month ago to get a more robust sound. The 3C works for me so I will be sticking with it.
I have a routine where I practice technical stuff for 90 minutes in the early am and play tunes for an hour in the afternoon. Endurance is not bad but a far cry from when I played 2 to 3 hour gigs in the 50s/60s. It gets me through my sessions with the band but I'd like a bit more gas in the tank to spare.

Everything you said is pretty much dead on.
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GeorgeB
1960s King Super 20 Silversonic
2016 Manchester Brass Custom
1938-39 Olds Recording
1942 Buescher 400 Bb trumpet
1952 Selmer Paris 21 B
1999 Conn Vintage One B flat trumpet
2020 Getzen 490 Bb
1962 Conn Victor 5A cornet

pinstriper · Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 5:14 pm Post subject:

Almonds ?
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~'77 DEG Dynasty II Soprano Bugle in G
'13 Chinese POS "Hawk" branded Flugel
'59 Olds Ambassador Cornet
'51 Olds Super
'69 Olds Studio
'40 Olds Special Cornet, Military Issued

1jazzyalex

[quote="vwag"]

9. If you eat almonds, hang your horn up for the day.

/quote]

Brush & floss AND chew some sugarfree gum, then you'll be OK.

I favor blue Eclipse myself.
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Yamaha 8335LA with Blessing 3C, 5C, Schilke 11A4A

Comeback · Heavyweight Member Joined: 22 Jun 2011 Posts: 1143

Excellent post, vwag.

Jim