Another approach on mouthpiece hunting...

[JohnD]

Hi, tooters, here is another approach how I decided for a mouthpiece. When I let sound be my guide, I would decide for a flugelhorn type, deep v-cup J.K.Klier 7A, let´s say app. 1.5 Bach, but deep. Nice dark sound. For lead I had a Monke B4 which sizes 1.5 E. Edgy when it comes to recording, does not blend the Dixie band, cuts bones.
What to do? I listened to a CD of Kronwerk Brass from St. Petersburg, Russia, and tried the first bars of their famous up-tempo Sabre Dance on both mpcs - and failed terribly. So I pulled out that Yamaha 11B4 ( the one recommended by Jens Lindemann of Canadian Brass ). Although I did not like the sound first, I was baffeled when I play tested it with a harddisk recording. Sound was oke and intonation had increased (and I did not ruin the maximum input of that recording device). The sound-guided decision towards that deep Klier 7A lead into too much a flexibility in slotting, so the intonation suffered. The next day with the Yamaha showed up with beginning ability of playing those Sabre Dance eights. Due to an incredible amount of effort it was impossible for me to play this stuff on the deep cup before. My 0.02 cents are: Let a relatively effortless playing be the guide when hunting for a mpc. Within certain ranges, sound can be modeled later.

If you want to give it a try, see a brief piece of sheet music below and listen to a short mp3 I ripped off the Kronwerk CD since they are not on the net. I kept it short for educational purposes and for not violating copyright laws.

Warning: This is NOT for beginners. I can play up to a clear high F anytime on any of my mouthpieces. Do not ruin your embouchure, if you are not well prepared for this kind of test. Stop if it hurts.

Sheet:
http://www.jazzer.de/th/sabre.jpg
(bug fixed)

Listen to Kronwerk Brass, Russia:
http://www.jazzer.de/th/sabre.mp3


Have fun, JohnD


[ This Message was edited by: JohnD on 2004-02-15 07:52 ]

[ This Message was edited by: JohnD on 2004-02-15 09:31 ]