How do you gauge whether your horn "blends" if

[Robert P]

it's true that you can't accurately tell what your horn sounds like from behind it? Do you feel like you can really tell what the section sounds like to the audience sitting in the section?

How valid do you think the concept of blending really is to begin with? I'm not talking about someone not playing a part with the appropriate style or dynamics, what I'm referring to is the basic tonal character of individual instruments. I've heard great stage bands where the horns being played were all over the map - which I imagine is the case with the majority of bands like that.

Do you think you could really tell if you listened to an orchestra blindfolded that one of the horns sticks out if they're all playing typical orchestral mp's?
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[LittleRusty]

Technically the sound from the section is the blend.

But the way the term is used here means that the voices of the trumpet blend together without one sticking out or, perhaps, being lost. In addition they produce a unique and desirable sound.

I personally have never cared about what instruments are in a section, but then I have never played at the high level like the CSO.

It would be interesting to know what instruments were played in Maynard’s, Chase’s or Doc’s sections. I think we can all agree they sound great.

[shofarguy]

[Tpt_Guy]

I blend by playing as in tune with the section as possible, with the goal being as pure intervals as I can get among the section.

Provided the instruments and/or mouthpieces my sectionmates are using aren't of any extreme design, using this approach results in a good blend.
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[dstdenis]

Blending is an important issue. Problems are almost always due to a player’s approach, not the instrument. Good players can blend on a wide variety of instruments; less-skilled players don’t blend well no matter what they’re playing.
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[Andy Del]

When you look at the good orchestra sections, they are not all playing on the same brand instruments, mouthpieces, or mutes. But they blend! It's not the instrument, but the player.

I have played on all sorts of instruments, and some will blend better than others in certain situations, but overall, it doesn't matter which one I play on. The rare times it IS an issue, there is another person playing who can't or won't try to blend.
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so many horns, so few good notes...

[TKSop]

I'm just going to throw out two thoughts that I haven't seen here yet...


1) When you're playing in a section, you're not usually hearing the direct "out-front" sound of the players around you either. If you're listening, you'll often get a better feel for that out-front blend than you might think you are - if you're not listening... well if you're not listening, there's no point asking.

2) There's no harm in taking in other kinds of feedback....
- If the blend is really that bad, the director is going to tell you - if they don't, it's either okay or there are more significant issues with the performance (to the point that focusing on the subtleties of blend is missing the wood for the trees).
- If you have trusted ears listening, have a chat - if one sound is cutting through too much (and it's not been noticed yet) then the first step to sorting the problem is to be aware of the problem.

[Nonsense Eliminator]

Every time this conversation comes up, I make the same point, so...

There is blending and there is matching. I can blend with the horns or the flutes or the violins, but I certainly can't match them. When it comes to trumpets, unless the models in use are totally incompatible, if everybody plays with a good sound they will blend. But they might not match. If the music is homophonic, that might not matter. In a setting where solo voices are supposed to sound distinctive, two or four or twenty different sounds might not matter. But in a setting where players need to trade passages back and forth seamlessly, the instruments need to blend and match.

Perhaps a bigger issue is that different horns project differently. Many years ago, our second trumpet player brought a horn he was trying out. It seemed like a perfectly good instrument -- in tune, even, pretty sound. But we agreed that he (almost) might as well have stayed home, because compared to me (and to his regular horn) it was practically inaudible in the orchestra. I suppose that counts as "balance" rather than blend, but it relates to the question of using different instruments.

As TKSop observed, while we don't hear the same thing the audience hears, we're also sitting behind the bells of the rest of the section. We don't get the sound from bone conduction when other people play, and we may get a more direct reflection of our own sound, but we do hear each other in similar ways. If the players feel that they're blending/matching/balancing, they usually are. The exception is if their sounds behave very differently in the hall, either because of technique or (you guessed it) using instruments that project differently.
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[cheiden]

[kehaulani]

Is this worth this much text? The OP asks, "How do you gauge whether your horn "blends". Isn't the answer simply, "Whether or not the section leader or musical directors comment on it"?
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[LittleRusty]

[gregplo]

While we cannot hear what is out in front of the horn, we can certainly hear the horns around us. We did a piece at church yesterday that required a blended sound between the two trumpets and the trombone. We listened to each other, and we found that sweet spot where you couldn't tell the difference between each of us (tone and intonation were together) when we were playing the same notes. When we are playing harmony, again, listening carefully to each other, you could hear other overtones. I was playing my Galileo Dolce, the other trumpet player was playing a Bach 37, and the Trombone player was playing a Shires trombone. Different horns, but we were able to blend well together...and that was not lost on our conductor who was very complimentary.
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