TH Sonic Signatures (Baseline - Low Bb)

[Derek Reaban]

I have really enjoyed the first week of the 2016 Rio Olympics. From the dominant women’s USA gymnastics team, to the men’s Chinese synchronized divers (can anything be more perfect!), and the amazing Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps in the pool. During one of the swimming segments, NBC did a backstory on the technology behind refining the underwater dolphin kick that so many swimmers use to “avoid the wake” when they come off the wall after the turn in all the races. The story talked about Nathan Adrian (Gold Medalist with Michael Phelps in the Men’s 4 x 100 m freestyle race) who was outfitted with LEDs that were strapped to various parts of his body. These lights were then picked up by high speed underwater video as Adrian did his "perfect" dolphin kick in a dark pool, and software developed by BMW (originally crash-avoidance technology) allowed for detailed analysis. Making sense of the data allowed Adrian to refine very small movements in his technique to get even better at this part of his race. This is what I found really interesting though:

[Derek Reaban]

Derek Reaban Low Bb (mf)

Bb Bach Stradivarius Model 37 with Monette B1-1 Mouthpiece

203 Hz (G#3) = -26.7 bB - G#3 is concert pitch, so G#3 = Ab3 which is our Low Bb.


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Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

[RichardCampbell]

Richard Campbell Low Bb (mf)
1982 LA Benge 3X MLP with Warburton 5M/5 (Top/Backbore)
208 Hz (G#3) = -34dB

[bach_again]

Just suggesting we refer to everything in concert pitch, it'll save issues later on.

I'm wondering why you chose low Ab as opposed to Bb, the fundamental of the horn?

Mike
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[Derek Reaban]

Mike,

It took me a long time to finally decide on the Low Bb. I originally thought I would go with Low C, but I had a really hard time finding good recorded examples of Low C by orchestral players playing alone.

For the benchmark part of this project I will be showing three octaves of Bb. The last two notes of the opening to Mahler 5 are a printed Bb. There is no shortage of great recorded examples of Mahler 5 online, and we will be able to see the sonic signatures of some really great players on this note. And at different dynamics based on the final decrescendo. For the Bb at the top of the staff, Tchaikovsky Symphony 4 (printed Eb for F trumpet) will simply amaze everyone with the rich spectrum of overtones at a very strong dynamic

Thanks for asking.
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Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

[bach_again]

[beagle]

Here's mine using my Selmer Chorus 80J.
Rob

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Schagerl Sig. James Morrison
Selmer Paris Chorus 80J

[beagle]

Here's something quite interesting for this study. I discovered I had an old recording of myself practising long tones and luckily a low Bb was among them. At the time of the recording I had only three years of playing experience, though the horn and mouthpiece were the same (Selmer Chorus 80J with Bach 3C). Even the recording device is the same, though the room is different and I've no idea whether I was closer to or further from the mic.

My old plot (below) shows just 3 overtones stronger than the fundamental and one about the same level.

My current plot (above) has 17 overtones stronger than the fundamental which would indicate a massive improvement in tone if the hypothesis of the study is valid. I certainly hope I sound better now than I did back then.

For comparison with other plots, I'd rank myself as a strong intermediate level player and have been playing for 11 years (with a couple of years break in the middle when my daughter was born and we switched continents).

Regards,
Rob

Here's the old plot:

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Schagerl Sig. James Morrison
Selmer Paris Chorus 80J

[Derek Reaban]

Rob,

Thanks very much for posting this. The whole point of this project is to raise a player’s awareness of how much vibrancy they have in their sound through a simple measurement. While I haven’t yet opened the Benchmark topic, I think my hypothesis will hold true (less strength in the fundamental and more content in the overtones up to the 2,000 – 5,000 Hz range represents a mature sound). If a player sees that they have less “trumpet content” in their sound than a pro on the same note, it will hopefully lead them find out how to improve in that area. A snapshot every month or so after doing targeted exercises to improve vibrancy and resonance will show incremental progress. The longer term comparison, like you have shown, should be validation that practicing the right things overtime maked a huge difference in the maturity in the sound (i.e. more strength in the higher overtones).

I really appreciate your participation in this project and this cool snapshot of your playing from years ago against a plot from today is what I’d like everyone to have in this folder to look back on in a year or so. If the player has incorporated the right exercises, and worked on the diligently, they should have an improvement in their plot. If not, as would be expected, the plot would be nearly identical and this might lead them to consider adding some targeted exercises!

Thanks again.
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Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

[freud311]

Gerasimos Skliros
Selmer C700 with Jim R. New R6M mouthpiece.

[/URL]

This is not my main instrument... I left my instruments at work and I did that with my old Selmer..... Maybe my main C trumpet is more resonant...

My main problem all the 30 years I play is the projection. I Just started to use a spectrum analyser in my android tablet for a week now and I see results... I am very exited to this because I tried in the past to do it but I did not knew how to use or read the plot. After reread all these post here from Derek and Pops I know what I am looking for..... Thanks

[Derek Reaban]

freued311,

Thanks very much for posting your plot. Pops has lots of good content on his site and I’m glad that I was able to provide an explanation to make Spectral Analysis easier to understand. Once I get more “benchmark” plots completed, it will give us all an excellent feel for what different notes at different dynamics look like played by great players. Eventually I’ll get a “Comparison” folder opened and do a side by side analysis of my sound against the Benchmark players for the Low Bb, 3rd Line Bb, Bb above the staff and probably an F or G at the top of the staff at different dynamics. This will show how Spectral Analysis can be used to identify target areas where exercises can be added to enhance vibrancy. Then I’ll open a “Best Practices” folder and we can all share how to make best use of this tool. We all know how a metronome and tuner work, but Spectral Analysis is new for everyone. A discussion on this new technology would be good for teachers and those of us that want to use it on our own.

Thanks again for sharing the picture of your sound!

On another note, I was in Athens two summers ago while on a Mediterranean cruise and had a great day exploring the city with my family. The views at the Acropolis made the World History books I’ve seen all my life simply come alive. What an amazing city!
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Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

[Jim-Wilson]

Derek and others,

I've been away from TH for some time but thought you all might be interested in this video that explores the complexity of sound that goes way beyond what we visualize with equipment like Audacity.

To get the whole implication of this I would encourage watching the whole video. Most of you will find it quite fascinating and revealing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMK3OVBjx2Q

Jim

[lipshurt]

Those plots look incorrect to me. They show comb filtering. A trumpet plot should look a lot different than that. Comb filtering is when there is cancelation every x number of cycles per second. These plots for sure show comb filtering. Caused by phasing issues usually from two microphones, but could also be caused by (I suppose) early reflections.
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Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
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[Don Herman rev2]

The trumpet is a resonant system so I would expect that sort of response. Not comb filtering per se, but the result of resonant peaks and nulls (anti-nodes and nodes) at key harmonic'ish frequencies.
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley