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Practicing with Practice Mutes


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BarryWilson
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Joined: 15 Mar 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:51 am    Post subject: Practicing with Practice Mutes Reply with quote

You gentlemen were so helpful with my "Scary Notes" question I thought I'd run something else by you.

You all know that sometimes practicing trumpet can sometimes disturb other people in your house who could be sleeping, studying, watching TV, etc. What's your thinking on practicing with a practice mute? Are there any pros or cons to using one of these things other than the fact that you can't hear your real tone?

I have both the old Charlie Spivak Whispa mute and the Yamaha practice system. I'm not fond of all the wires necessary to use the Yamaha system.
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Brassnose
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do it all the time; given my housing situation I have no choice. I also take my pTrumpet with me on vacation and on business trips and use it to practice long tones and similar things in the hotel with a practice mute.

I used the Silent Brass for a long time, never liked it because all the wires and stuff got on my nerves plus it makes the instrument really front-heavy. Sold it a few years ago and happily practice with my Bremners on trumpet, flugel, and bass trumpet now.

I also play open if possible and, as an intermediate solution, use my Wallace cup mute with some foam stuffing and then move the cup all the way up to the bell.

One thing to be careful with practice mutes is to go easy on the air, don’t overblow.
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gwood66
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 5:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As long as the majority of you practice is without a mute it should be much of an issue. I have tried several different types of practice mutes and have settled on a combination of three. I use the silent brass when I have to be super quiet or when I am traveling. It fits well in the end of the bell. At the house I use a Humes and Berg Mannie Klein practice mute. I feel it has the least backpressure and is soft enough I can practice with the door shut and it doesnt bother anyone. The third one I use is the Matt Anklan Trumpet Silencer. It fits in the end of a harmon mute. Its very portable and I keep it in my case at all times.
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zaferis
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 5:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The plus is that you are practicing, the minus is that it is with a practice mute.

You have perfectly acceptable items. I will add that with the Yamaha Silent Brass system you have the experience of hearing youself from the bell end of the trumpet, and can be a useful, enlightening variation. I especially like this when working with "play-along" tracks - a different perspective.

Keep in mind that you don't want to push against the mutes or without support, playing wise. As best you can play with the same effort/dynamic that you would without the mute. (This, IMO, is one big benefit of the Yamaha system when you have headphones on-becasue you can hear your amplified self you tend not to fight the mute as much)
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ECLtmpt2
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the Yamaha Silent Brass mutes (trumpet & Flugel) along with a few other practice mutes. When absolutely necessary I will use one but for me it only seems to work in keeping my chops in shape. I find the Silent Brass mutes kind of a pain to use. Large intervals, and slotting near the top of the staff are nothing like an open horn. For the most part I'll fall-back on a Harmon w/o insert.

I'm very interested in what has been said so far and will follow this thread for more info. There are times where I should use a practice mute but I find myself forgoing practice instead of playing. Not a great solution.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't have much of a choice, with living in an Independent Living Facility where the neighbors have no tolerance for “loud” sound, so I'm well experienced with practice mutes and have tried a lot.

My first goal is quietness. The danger is getting used to their response, which will give a false impression of how a horn should react. Don't overblow. It also affects what you have to do to get a good sound. Find ways and places to practice open horned.

"I have both the old Charlie Spivak Whispa mute and the Yamaha practice system. I'm not fond of all the wires necessary to use the Yamaha system."

You don't have to use the wires. If you use one of the other practice mutes that are very quiet, you have the similar volume as the Yamaha without the wires, anyway.

But as was pointed out, with the wires keeps you from overblowing and keeps you playing with more fineness.

Ref. weight, I'm not sure we're talking about the same mute. I had the original which was bigger and protruded from the horn and now have the current version, which is compact and flush with the bell. It is very light. I don't notice it.

Also, ref. Some muted devices/mutes that have metal inserts, I find that, while light and very convenient, give a metallic ring to the sound that carries that sound, where other more round-sound mutes don't.

Although a little dated, I've found this helpful:
Practice Mute Comparison Survey by Bill Dishman (everythingtrumpet.com)

And you should know that this topic is not unique and a search on TH may also help you. I've personally found the TH search machine almost worthless so compensate with this format: source: trumpet herald forum, -topic-
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ebolton
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I practice with a Bremer Shhmute almost exclusively. There is rarely any time in this house when I am here alone. Maybe once a week, I get the chance to practice without it, and then I grab the tuner and work on my sound.

I also have a really cheap practice mute that looks a lot like the Bremer I bought on Amazon; it works OK but it 'buzzes' on some tones. The Bremer doesn't do that.
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Rbmcneil
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2021 7:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just started using the UpMute to practice in the evenings at home. I use it to play long tones with my tuner. I am a comeback player and my knowledge of mutes is very limited but I do enjoy being able to extend my practice times into the evenings and not disturb the household.
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Jaw04
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I practice with a harmon mute sometimes, but I don't love it. Pro: you get better at playing with a harmon. Con: Easy to overblow past the resonance.

I also practice extremely soft open. Pro: It's very beneficial to practice soft and have control of aperture and dynamics. Con: It can make your sound concept small and thin if you aren't practicing full volume in a larger space from time to time to balance it out.
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cbtj51
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jaw04 wrote:
I practice with a harmon mute sometimes, but I don't love it. Pro: you get better at playing with a harmon. Con: Easy to overblow past the resonance.

I also practice extremely soft open. Pro: It's very beneficial to practice soft and have control of aperture and dynamics. Con: It can make your sound concept small and thin if you aren't practicing full volume in a larger space from time to time to balance it out.


+1
Awareness of and adjustments for the effects on the end results...
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HoosierBrass
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have also used the SHHmute and it works well. It is relatively inexpensive and it seems to be more free blowing than other practice mutes I have tried in the past. I like it overall (although I like it better when I can go without the mute and not have to worry about the noise level).
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Seymor B Fudd
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I practice every day with a Silent mute, Yamaha; been doing so for years.
As Zaferis points out, and I think this is very important, don´t fight it - it´s all too easy to wear down your chops. Easy does it.
The downside is precicely that - the upside, in my experience might be that you get a better endurance.
Now and then wife´s out of the house and then I am able blow freely without the mute in order to "fine adjust" my attacks, my sound, phrasing, yes all sorts of important small things that may go un-noticed.
Now and then I also record myself, simple tool, my Iphone.
However, in the long run, the Silent mute has served me well.
Small things, yes I think being attentive to how you play, phrase, breath, the timing and so forth is so important.
On the personal side I may add that as I need to wear ear protection during gigs, rehearsals I´ve found that there is sort of a similarity between using the Silent Brass contraption, and playing with ear protection. I am used to hear sounds "from a distance", a bit muffled. And I still play front row and lead - which seems to be appreciated.
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trickg
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've never liked practicing with a practice mute. It changes the blow, response, and the focal point of the response. If you have to, you have to - I get it. Not everyone has a place in their living situation where they can just let it rip. I've been very fortunate over the years that I never had to worry about it much.
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Noodly
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are there tricks to making the mute stay inside the instrumemt? I have a plastic Flugel, the Tromba which does not have as pronounced a flare as the brass flugels. I have both the Flugel and Trumpet models of sshhmutes. The flugel mute is rather large and I need to hold it in with my hand. So I got the trumpet version and it will stay in usually but it makes the instrument play quite sharp.

I hesitate to really cram it in because I am afraid of cracking the plastic. How about wetting the cork first?
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HaveTrumpetWillTravel
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wetting the cork would work. Breathing in the bell is what I usually do. if the bell-mute profile is off, you could maybe try filing the corks too.
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MrOlds
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have experience with three or four options that for me have relative pluses and minuses.

H&B bucket mute. Plus - reasonable sound reduction. Reasonable feel/openness. Least squirrelly intonation. If you can close the door to your practice space it’s quite reasonable in the rest of the house/apartment.

Minus - other options are quieter.

Denis Wick adjustable cup mute. Plus - with the cup pushed in closest to the bell it’s pretty quiet. Intonation is ok-ish.

Minus - feel/resistance is more noticeable. Intonation starts to suffer. Feedback is different. Muscle memory eventually suffers.

Shhh Mute. Plus - Quiet. Moderate back pressure. Moderately squirrelly intonation.

Minus - you’re starting to get further away from the feel of playing an open trumpet. You can only play so long with it before confusing your ear and muscle memory.

Best Brass/Protec clone. Plus - very quiet. Compact. You can leave it in the bell and it will fit in any case/bag. Slightly quieter than the Shhh mute.

Minus - everything else. I only use this a couple of minutes at a time if ever. Playing the leadpipe or the mouthpiece alone will get the chops and air moving just as well before a rehearsal or gig. I would never practice with it.

But these are my subjective experiences.

If sound levels in your living space is the issue you might have a better experience playing in the back seat of your car. Even better if you have a mini van or suv. Find a parking lot with a nice view and play…
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TrumpetMD
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I dislike using practice mutes, and only use one when absolutely necessary. I find them too quiet, and find myself overblowing. But when I need one, I use a Sshh mute, which has very good intonation.

I use a Harmon mute when I need to be quiet (on vacation, hotel room, everyone asleep at home). For me, it's better than a practice mute. It's quiet enough for my needs. In addition, playing a Harmon mute is a skill I actually need.

Mike
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Rod Haney
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a condo at the beach and these people aren’t tolerant. I hate the restrictions off any mute and fixed up an acceptable solution. I found a heavy cardboard box and stapled a bunch of old towels to line inside. I then cut a hole about 8-10” around in a place where the horn lined up when setting on a chair. I just play into the box with the bell veryclose to the hole. This reduces the sound considerably and gives a free blow.
This is a condensed version of what I did but should give you an idea and mine took some adjustments. Sound will be muffled but intonation and effort will be normal. Not perfect but better than any Mute for me
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JoseLindE4
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote


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Rhondo
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm just starting out on trumpet again after not playing for 25 years. I got a Denis Wick practice mute; not sure I like it any more than the Harmon mute I had years ago. Just got the trumpet yesterday.

I live in a house with double paned windows in a regular suburban neighborhood. I think once I sound decent and have some control over the horn I'll feel alright playing some during the day. To test sound carry I put trumpet music on my desktop, turned the volume up and could barely hear it while standing outside, but a live open trumpet will probably be significantly louder.

For now I'm playing with the mute, and with open horn inside a walk in closet with the bell facing into hanging clothes to try to muffle the sound a bit. I don't feel comfortable playing in the evening when people are home and there's less hustle and bustle and noise outside.

I'm not sure hunting down another mute is going to make much difference. Maybe I'll try, I don't know.
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