| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Subtropical and Subpar
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 22 May 2020
Posts: 623
Location: Here and there
|
 Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2020 10:44 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| ChuckK wrote: | A lot of goodhearted responses and I thank you for that.
Currently I'm soldiering away with the Stork 3C but anything above top of the staff G is just not reliable.
I really like the tone of the DW 4BW, but as you might guess the range issue is not helped at all.
I'm considering a Bach 1D or 1E. My thinking is to go with a mouthpiece that helps me regain the range, and then move to a more 'cornet appropriate' piece.
Any thoughts on that strategy? |
I have, among other cornet mouthpieces, an Austin Custom Brass 3CS-b, which translates to a 3B in Bachspeak. Despite the B cup, it is remarkably efficient in the high and higher-than-cornets-will-ever-be-called-upon range. Maybe look into their pieces; ACB's cornet mouthpiece range has five depths ranging from quite shallow to deeper than many flugel pieces. I'd think either a B cup or a TF cup would suit your purposes.
_________________
1936 King Liberty No. 2
1958 Reynolds Contempora 44-M "Renascence" C
1958 Olds Ambassador
1962 Reynolds Argenta LB
1965 Conn Connstellation 38A cornet
1995 Bach LR18072
2003 Kanstul 991
2011 Schilke P5-4 B/G
2021 Manchester Brass flugel |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
royjohn
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 2272
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm having trouble figuring out how a person who did grad work in French Horn and played lead in a band when young cannot play acceptably above the staff now on a garden variety cornet. Can you not reach the notes, or are you just picky about the tone up there?
I don't think cornet mouthpieces have to be deeper or larger than trumpet mouthpieces to get a good cornet tone. The issue is more that a typical trumpet mouthpiece is more bowl shaped and a cornet piece is more funnel shaped. If I were the OP, I would go back to something similar to what I played on lead trumpet successfully before, except that I would get a more funnel-shaped, cornet mouthpiece version of same. In other words, I would keep the ID and the rim shape about the same, the throat size about the same, the bore something similar and the cup depth similar. The only change I would make is to use a cornet mouthpiece with a typical funnel shape rather than a bowl shaped trumpet piece. Even that is up for grabs if you don't mind playing a cornet that sounds like a trumpet.
I assume that you have substantially the same embouchure (same mouth and teeth) as you did when you last played lead trumpet. Therefore, a mouthpiece of similar dimensions should still work. If you use something like that and are still unhappy with the way you play, then it's down to needing more embouchure strength and practice or you've forgotten your technique. It isn't the mouthpiece...at least that is the way that I would look at it.
_________________
royjohn
Trumpets: 1928 Holton Llewellyn Model, 1957 Holton 51LB, 2010 Custom C by Bill Jones, 2011 Custom D/Eb by Bill Jones
Flugels: 1975 Olds Superstar, 1970's Elkhardt, 1970's Getzen 4 valve
Cornet: 1970's Yamaha YCR-233S . . . and others . . . |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ChuckK
Regular Member
Joined: 20 Aug 2020
Posts: 35
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio USA
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:56 am Post subject: |
|
|
| royjohn wrote: | | I'm having trouble figuring out how a person who did grad work in French Horn and played lead in a band when young cannot play acceptably above the staff now on a garden variety cornet. Can you not reach the notes, or are you just picky about the tone up there? |
Well, you do have a point. Yes to pickiness about the tone. Also factor into that 15 years of no brass playing at all since the last horn gig, and 2 open heart surgeries and you have the complete picture.
I have been making progress, albeit much slower than I had hoped for. Interestingly I studied with Bill Adam as a horn player and really liked him. So I was doing a lot of leadpipe buzzing. The other day I read an article on James Stamp's method and for the fun of it I tried mouthpiece buzzing the the results have been very good. So I ordered a BERP. I did switch to mouthpieces closer to my trumpet days and that has been a help too. So, yea, your comments are spot on. I just need to chill a bit and keep working.
Thanks for your thoughts.
_________________
Never confuse beauty with things that put your mind at ease. - Charles E. Ives |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cheiden
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 28 Sep 2004
Posts: 8911
Location: Orange County, CA
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Not sure it has come up, but some time back I started with a group that intended to develop into a proper British brass band. After a time we managed to score a number of legit BBB cornet mouthpieces like the Wick pieces. That was a humbling experience. A few of the players stuck with it and got much of their range back but a number of players just couldn't make a go of it and stuck with more conventional pieces like the stock Yamaha long shank ones.
FWIW I have no range trouble using the stock Yamaha long shank pieces on my cornet or my picc.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Dale Proctor
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 9343
Location: Heart of Dixie
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 3:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| cheiden wrote: | Not sure it has come up, but some time back I started with a group that intended to develop into a proper British brass band. After a time we managed to score a number of legit BBB cornet mouthpieces like the Wick pieces. That was a humbling experience. A few of the players stuck with it and got much of their range back but a number of players just couldn't make a go of it and stuck with more conventional pieces like the stock Yamaha long shank ones.
FWIW I have no range trouble using the stock Yamaha long shank pieces on my cornet or my picc. |
I had that exact same experience. Our brass band enlisted the help of a well-known trumpet/cornet player as a temporary artistic director. After listening to the band for the first half of a rehearsal, he rightfully went down the cornet line and asked to see what mouthpiece each of us were using. I was playing a Bach 6, which was one of the few he deemed as “ok”. He procured a batch of Getzen 4B mouthpieces (copy of the Wick) a week or two later and gave everyone one. Two or three of us stuck with them, but most reverted to their C and B cup Bach mouthpieces after he left.
_________________
"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
