A whole note below DHC

krell1960 · Veteran Member Joined: 20 Jan 2020 Posts: 148

Played my first A and Bb below DHC. Played is the key word there, not hit. Mind you i don't practice anymore. That's not meant to be a brag or anything other than the truth. The point is, i have been hearing for years that those high notes are a discovery. You learn the feel of them, is kind of what i have gleaned from this forum and others.
Well I have to say I think it's true. I heard stories about guys like Jake Jacoby, not playing for years and playing to DHC at informal gatherings. It is all true it seems, it's just a feel thing. The correct size mouthpiece, with the correct air delivery, the right lip tension and these notes are there.
I play really small. .600 id, but yesterday used .590, its funny how little difference that is, but it makes so much difference to your lips. i will venture smaller, manley played .560, maybe some of us just need to be smaller id's.
BTW, i did this yesterday doing 3 octave scales. The low notes didn't suffer.
just talking out loud, told my wife i played those notes and she said, I'm going shopping, do you need anything !!

thanks for listening,

Tom

peanuts56 · Veteran Member Joined: 21 Nov 2021 Posts: 229

I think once you have the mechanics down it's like the old saying about riding a bike. Years ago, I played a number of big band gigs with an older trumpeter who had spent time on the road. He played lead with a guy named Alvino Ray. WW2 happened and he was drafted. I'm not sure what he actually did in the military. He may have seen combat. After his military time, he used the GI Bill to go to college to become a pharmacist. This guy could play lead all night after not touching the horn for 2-3 weeks and never miss a note. I sat next to him one night on a 4 hour gig. The band leader called out In The Mood as the last number. He nailed the high D at the end and then a smoot glissando to a D over double C.