Superchops and sound

[tptguy]

Though this topic has been covered extensively in the past, the following recent comment on this area of the forum made me think that it was worth bringing up again, “I even went to a performance of a respected SuperChops advocate in order to hear what the big deal was…. the guy I heard had a high register, but his timbre just wouldn't be acceptable in any situation that I play in.“ As a longtime student and teacher of Superchops, I’d like to make the following observations.

First, the sound model of SC is Harry James (vibrato of the time is excused). That rich, full, sparkling sound captured the world and also planted the seed in Jerry Callet to figure out what James was doing. A thin sound, a spread sound without focus or excellent projection, an airy sound, a sound that flattens as you ascend or tire, these all show lack of development in some important aspect of trumpet technique. If an individual SC player displays one or more of these traits then there is more progress to be made. Of course, depending on the individual, tremendous progress may have already been made, but more is left to do. In my experience, SC is not only more attentive to great sound, Jerry Callet spends more time teaching his students to recognize the fine details of good trumpet sound than any other teacher I’ve ever studied with or heard about. Before I studied with Callet, I spent years with some pretty renowned teachers (including two that have private forums here). None of these teachers approached Callet in instructing, displaying, or achieving great trumpet sound. Surely, this is my opinion. But, I can now put my ears up against anyone (other than Jerry!) to analyze and critique individual tpt sound. And unlike most opinion, I can duplicate the details of that analysis day after day regardless of recording, acoustics, etc. That’s because it is not just a matter of taste; it’s a matter of technique. Before my studies with Callet, I didn’t have a clue.

Nonetheless, there is still a range of “great sound” that can be tweaked as easily with SC as any other system. Horns, mouthpieces, tuning slides, valve caps, etc can make as big an impact on a SC embouchure as any other. Around the world, professional SC players have proven that they can shape their sounds to the highest pro standards: record the Mahler 5th with the Concertgebouw, play lead with the Philly Pops or NY Voices or a top
Broadway show, drive the big bands of Ellington, Toshika, and Maynard, play blistering jazz with Phil Woods, etc, etc, etc. It’s my experience that there is as much room for personal preference in SC as any other method. But in no method is good sound more important or more emphasized. Best regards, Kyle

[Emb_Enh]

Mr.Kyle writes:

"It’s my experience that there is as much room for personal preference in SC as any other method."

...hopefully true

"But in 'no' method is good sound more important or more emphasized."

..in 'NO' method....what?..none?..how do you know?..have you played ALL other methods?..you seem ...EVER... so sure!

..hey what cha doin 'out' dude? - welcome!


_________________
Regards, Roddy o-iii RoddyTpt@aol.com

"E M B O U C H U R E___E N H A N C E M E N T"
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[Self Analysis and Diagnostic Trumpet Method]

[walter]

Kyle- I've read [on Callet's website] that the principal trumpeter in the Concertgebow uses a Callet trumpet. Is he also a SuperChops player?

walter

[William Bentley]