lowered pitch

[Dieter Z]

For the past 40 years my tuning slides were usually about 1 cm pulled out. Lately I have to push it almost all or all the way in to stay on tune/pitch.

If my pitch gets any lower, my tuning slide will be too long.

Just wondering what or why this is happening.
_________________
B & H Sovereign 928
Conn 80A
F. Besson Brevette Kanstul made
B&S Challenger II 3137 rl
Buescher 400 - 225 (WWII)
Benge 90C
Eastman 540 D/Eb
ACB Fluegelhorn
Selmer Picc
ACB mouthpieces for most of my playing

[GeorgeB]

If your tuning sliding is all the way in and you are still off pitch you will have to learn how to lip notes. With me I am usually too sharp and need to move the slide out. Other times I don't even have to touch the tuning slide. Go figure.
_________________
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

[Seymor B Fudd]

[Billy B]

Check your horn for leaks?
_________________
Bill Bergren

[dstdenis]

[Benge.nut]

Could be a bunch of things. Could be something with the horn, but I doubt it.

Most likely gap, or maybe playing on a mouthpiece that's just too big, or too open of a backbore or too open of a throat.

Maybe try a different mp with a shallower cup, smaller rim, or tighter backbore or maybe let another player try your horn to check tuning.

It can be VERY frustrating....been there.

[JoseLindE4]

If it happened suddenly, it could be something stuck in the horn somewhere.

Did you change anything? What led up to the pitch issue? One horn or all horns? One mouthpiece or all mouthpieces? What happens if someone else plays the horn?

[Dieter Z]

Thanks so far for the input.

It's not a leak issue.

However, the past year I have worked on playing a lot more relaxed and also on using more tongue level to play high notes.

Besides that I prefer large mpc's like ACB CeeBee (guess around a Bach 1X size) and ACB 1 1/4. Before I was more of a 3ish player.

Also, I have noted that my tuning note and the notes played during a piece of music are not the same pitch. I tend to be flatter when I just play one note to tune. I remember some time back a guy here on TH had similar experience.
_________________
B & H Sovereign 928
Conn 80A
F. Besson Brevette Kanstul made
B&S Challenger II 3137 rl
Buescher 400 - 225 (WWII)
Benge 90C
Eastman 540 D/Eb
ACB Fluegelhorn
Selmer Picc
ACB mouthpieces for most of my playing

[1jazzyalex]

Here's an idea: Can you try another trumpet just like yours? Like if you play a Strad, go to a shop and try the same model and key of Strad?

Here's hoping you play a horn that there are a lot of out there.

If you have the same problem on an at least theoretically identical horn, then the bug's in you, if not then the bug's in the horn.
_________________
Yamaha 8335LA with Blessing 3C, 5C, Schilke 11A4A

[Dieter Z]

It's pretty much on all of my instruments, so it is me.
_________________
B & H Sovereign 928
Conn 80A
F. Besson Brevette Kanstul made
B&S Challenger II 3137 rl
Buescher 400 - 225 (WWII)
Benge 90C
Eastman 540 D/Eb
ACB Fluegelhorn
Selmer Picc
ACB mouthpieces for most of my playing

[Dieter Z]

I did some more playing around and tried different size mouthpieces from my ACB collection from a MV3C to a CeeBee. Watching the tuner as I slowly played some exercises.

At the end I had the most even response with my ACB MC3CB. Also my tuning slide is back to its old position.

I assume that with the more relaxed approach and the large diameter my lips were just too relaxed and therefore the pitch too low.

Does that make sense?
_________________
B & H Sovereign 928
Conn 80A
F. Besson Brevette Kanstul made
B&S Challenger II 3137 rl
Buescher 400 - 225 (WWII)
Benge 90C
Eastman 540 D/Eb
ACB Fluegelhorn
Selmer Picc
ACB mouthpieces for most of my playing

[1jazzyalex]

Eh ... could be.

I think the most important thing was to figure out if the problem was with your trumpet(s) or with you. Now we know your trumpet(s) is/are fine, and now you know what to work on (technique?) rather than looking for nonexistent leaks in your horn(s).
_________________
Yamaha 8335LA with Blessing 3C, 5C, Schilke 11A4A

[Seymor B Fudd]

[comebackcornet]

Dieter,

While I don't have an answer for you, I can share a portion of my continuing story that seems similar to your current struggle:

In my comeback, I too realized that I had to push my tuning slide almost completely in to be in tune with a band - and this was never the case on my old/previous embouchure. After some experimentation I stumbled upon two things (that I think are related).

Leadpipe buzzing
Jim Pandolfi's you tube interviews focusing on "playing on top of the pitch"

How I relate this to the leadpipe is just a minute or two during warmup making a concert Eb on my trumpet leadpipe. What seems to work for me is making sure this note comes out by altering the blow - and NOT lipping it up. When transferring this thinking to the cornet, I immediately was able to pull my slide out significantly and I believe my sound is much more "lively".

However, my caution is again to make sure the difference is in the blow and that you are NOT lipping up the sound. I found my endurance (already poor) suffered a little and I think that is because I pulled out too far and was lipping up (inadvertently). So now I am somewhere in between, which is still an improvement.

Hope this helps, and if I figure anymore out I'll let you know.

[Bstradivarius]

Did you check if the mouthpiece might have blockage? I know you checkes the tpts. Just a thought
_________________
Jon J
Principal trumpet - Symphony Orchestra
Soloist
Brass Quintet
Brass choir

[Billy B]

You have become lazy with your air.
Read this
http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=88727&highlight=bubbles
_________________
Bill Bergren

[PH]

[dbacon]

DB

[Billy B]

This is too relaxed.

https://www.wikiart.org/en/norman-rockwell/trumpet-practice
_________________
Bill Bergren