Lynn Nicholson 's Xtreme mouthpiece

[jicetp]

Hi everyone,

Just a few words to relate my experimenting with this piece.

As I am used to, I first overdid the mouthpiece playing.
Lynn states to kinda warm-up with it till you get some sort of a clear sound ( at least that's what I understood ).
As I can't play with this piece, I tried to ' make it work ' and began some long practice sessions with it ( mouthpiece buzzing, leadpipe buzzing, pedals....) , and the proceed with the normal mouthpiece, but constantly getting back to it, to monitor how far my actual playing was from playing with the ' thing '.
I slowly began to get to have some decent sound, but just with the mouthpiece, with the horn sound was kind of ' blatty '.
I noticed that my chops were a little confused with the constant switching, and it was at that time I had planned to get some vacations ( to go wreck diving ).
Plan was to bring the Xtreme piece along, buzz it several minutes a day. Which I did !
Back home, I decided to have sort of a Warm Up with this piece ( low buzzing, up to normal range - middle C ).
What this did ( without me realizing it at first ) is that trying to get a sound on the piece shifted my embouchure slightly ( to the left ), and this position is great !
I already played a little angled on the left side, but my discovery was that I need to have my mouthpiece further on the left.
Instant benefits : more sound, flexibility ( up/down and dynamic-wise ) , less strain up there.......

Now, after two weeks ( not a long time to settle my observations so far ), I use the Xpiece as a checking tool ( is my mouthpiece at the best position for me ? ).

As far as the rim thing goes, not much ' luck ' with it ! I try to play along some ballads with it, but ' high register ' is non existent ( sometimes I squeal a High C or D ). I shall keep trying...

Hope this may be of some help to anybody struggling....

Best

JiCe

[burnhamd]

I realize this posted was originally posted back in April of 2016 but I wanted to share my experience.

I played the traditional way for many years so I decided to give Lynn's way a try. I have had a different experience with these pieces than jicetp did. I have been at it for a week. I've always had a pretty good range on conventional mouthpieces usually up to a G above High C. I had reached a brickwall, so I thought at my age, give it a try.

The MF Protocol is a different approach to playing, you play relaxed versus using tension. After a day or two, I was able to play A's below low C and hit Double Cs with consistency.

Like jicetp, I had to change my placement of the mouthpiece a little to the left as well. It didn't take long after changing the placement, the notes just fell in place.

In closing, If you are looking to increase your range and play more relaxed it is worth you looking into it,

Dan
_________________
Callet Jazz Gen. II www.callet.com
Getzen Eterna Bobby Herriot Model
MF Holton LT-302
MF Holton LT-306
MF Holton ST-307
Cheap Flugel
www.danburnham.com

[ljazztrm]

Jice - It took me several weeks to get used to the Xpiece to where I felt I could play gigs on it if I wanted to.

burnhamd - Good for you man! I found the most beneficial thing for me with Lynn's stuff was changing my mindset - getting it more on the concept of relaxed playing and airflow. As Lynn says, you have to experiment with this and find what works for you. I haven't worked with the rimpet too much but have found other exercises focused on airflow and not looking to 'tire' my chops has made a big difference.. I posted on the 'long tone' thread in the CG forum about the way I am practicing Clarke 1 and focusing on getting the whole playing mechanism to learn the muscle memory of a relaxed, low-impact feel of playing over a long stretch of time. All the best, Lex
_________________
Mpcs: Jim New-Manley Jazz1/Jazz2/Jazz4/Lead3. Legends MF1. Reeves 39EX/HV. Frost 39MVD. Flugel: Jim NewMF3. Jim New-Manley F1+F2. Pickett MF. Reeves HF.
Trumpets: THE LYNNZHORN!!/Stomvi Forte pocket
Flugel: Manchester Brass Pro Model
Www.LexSamu.com

[Usedtobegood]

I have an X piece and the reversible rim from Lynn. At first I literally could not make a sound on either. But, I slowly started using the X piece more and more in my practice routine and was first able to make a sound, then play some notes, then scales and then exercises and etudes on it. I found when I then played my regular mouthpiece I played with a bigger more centered sound and that I didn't fatigue as easily. I noticed it seemed to strengthen my corners quite a bit.

I stopped using it...why? Because I'm stupid!!! I found that the gains I made are now gone....I plan to reacquaint myself with it this weekend.

PS I never could really do anything on the reversible rim...could be operator error!

[burnhamd]

Hey Guys,

Sorry for not getting back sooner. I've been covered up, trying to get the gospel tracks on my website for everybody to use. www.danburnham.com
then go to the trumpet section.

Thanks for the replies back. Since I last posted, I made an additional purchase. I talked to Derek at LegendsBrass and I purchased a LegendsBrass MF HG.

I have posted 2 videos on my website to chronicle my journey learning the MF Protocol. I got permission from Lynn before I started posting.

http://www.danburnham.com/mf-protocol-my-results.html

Ok, here is what I have found "for myself." I got the MF HG because it was what Maynard used back in the 50's. It's not a C cup and it's a V cup not like the Jet-tones.

http://legendsbrass.com/legends-mf-hg.html

It is the copy of the of the Calicchio mouthpiece made for Maynard. I found when I incorporated the new mouthpiece placement with the MF Protocol with this mouthpiece. It all clicked. Understand I'm little past 2 weeks now but the range is there. I can play Double "C's" as easy as I can High "C's."

I am absolutely loving it. I'm still settling into the mouthpiece after 5 days of use but I think I've found the right combination and I just wanted to share my findings.

Dan
_________________
Callet Jazz Gen. II www.callet.com
Getzen Eterna Bobby Herriot Model
MF Holton LT-302
MF Holton LT-306
MF Holton ST-307
Cheap Flugel
www.danburnham.com