Murphy Strikes Again

[Craig Swartz]

Finale of last concert set of season, the extras all come on stage (Ravel Bolero), oboe sounds A, I check pitch on my P5-4, move pipe in slightly (I'm in A) and tighten the screw. Head breaks off, now the pipe is free to slide in, no way to keep in place. The threaded end of the screw will not come out so trying to substitute a different screw from my C or my neighbor's won't work- double "screwed". Conductor walks in, lights dim, work begins. Well, after all these years and times playing, guess I'm doing this thing on Bb. Nice thing is, there's plenty of time to "rehearse" the fingerings before I play. It also is another reason I'm so glad I do a majority of my transpositions by using clefs, or fingerings for a certain clef or instrument. Basically, all I had to do was read the music as one would to play bass clef baritone, play in the key of D, remember those written Ab's are C natural, F#'s are A# and off we go.

This may be a good reason to find a dedicated A pipe for my P5-4, although I never could see the need prior to this. But it got me thinking- 2 weeks ago I drove all the way to N MN to perform Messiah with my summertime orchestra. If this had happened on The Trumpet Shall Sound I don't think I'd have fared so well- at least I'm glad I didn't have to find out. It certainly is difficult to plan for every occasion for which Murphy's Law decides to bring you into court, the last time I can remember a similar situation was about 40 years ago when about 60 seconds before the downbeat the 3rd valve slide fell out of my old C and hit the concrete floor, flattening a good portion of the open end of the lower leg. Wouldn't go back into the tubing. t was able to insert my mouthpiece into the leg and reshape it to round. Worked so well I didn't even take it to a tech to make it better. Think I'm getting too old to do this stuff... It'd be good material for a book, though. Jim Becker or some other brass guru could have fun compiling it.

[BeboppinFool]

Back in 2001, I played a concert in NYC with Bobby Sanabria's Afro Cuban Big Band featuring guest artist Steve Turre. One of the tunes we did was Groovin' High, which has a trumpet solo and Bobby wanted me to do a cadenza at the end, where I always played the Dizzy Gillespie cadenza that ends on the high F waiting for the band to hit their big final chord.

Well, after my trumpet solo, I was emptying my water key (I was playing my New York Bach large bore), and the spring broke. I asked everybody around me if anybody had a rubber band, but to no avail. Time was running out quickly, and the guy next to me handed me his Bach . . . medium bore.

Well, the first several notes came out okay, but then I realized I was in trouble as the resistance was all starting to back up on me, and when I went for the high F at the end, the hugest frack you could ever imagine came out of the horn. Frustrated, I said (a little too loudly, I'm afraid), "Yer mama!"

Everybody laughed, and Steve came in and did a fabulous cadenza and then we ended. Afterwards, I was able to talk to Bobby after he came back from mingling with the crowd, and I apologized profusely for sucking so blatantly. He said that the audience all thought that was a routine, setting Steve up for the big finish, so no apology necessary.

I suppose that was a good ending to a humiliating scenario. Nice of Bobby to "let me off the hook" that way.


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Puttin’ On The Ritz

[Craig Swartz]

You should've used your horn, on rotors we call that a Vienna key

[RandyTX]

I think Bob Reeves makes an 'adapter' so you can use one pipe in your picc for both A and Bb sides, and all you have to do is add or remove the adapter instead of carrying both pipes. Of course, you likely still have to make some tuning adjustments with it anyway, which wouldn't completely prevent the need for moving the adjustment screw.

Your points about transposition are very well taken also.
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"Music is like candy, you throw the (w)rappers away."

[Craig Swartz]

The P5-4 only uses one long leadpipe- both A and Bb depending on how far it's pulled. When I ordered the screw yesterday ($14 and shipping- so it's really a screw...), I saw on their site that Schilke now offers dedicated pipes for A and Bb, in both cornet and trumpet shanks (wonder how Ren would've liked that?), so for another $215, I believe, I could get an A pipe that would probably bottom out and not need the clamp screw except for fine tuning.

Think I'm going to toss a small pair of vice grips in the case pouch from now on- that would've fixed things.

[Craig Swartz]

The P5-4 only uses one long leadpipe- both A and Bb depending on how far it's pulled. When I ordered the screw yesterday ($14 and shipping- so it's really a screw...), I saw on their site that Schilke now offers dedicated pipes for A and Bb, in both cornet and trumpet shanks (wonder how Ren would've liked that?), so for another $215, I believe, I could get an A pipe that would probably bottom out and not need the clamp screw except for fine tuning.

[Nonsense Eliminator]

Now, the downside of dedicated A pipes...

When I was in school I played second on the Bach b-minor Mass, with my teacher playing first. We got to the performance, he put his horn together... and his A leadpipe snapped in half, where the two diameters of tubing join. Catastrophic solder failure I guess? He didn't have his B flat pipe with him. I offered him my horn (I had a E flat trumpet with me) but instead he just stuck his mouthpiece in what was left of the leadpipe and sounded great.
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Richard Sandals
NBO

[John Mohan]

[RandyTX]

Can't help wondering if you might be in the habit of over-tightening that leadpipe somehow? Mine looks like it will probably last another 500 years unless I go out of my way to damage it. Same idea applies to my flugel that also tunes at the mouthpiece end.

P.S. Yes, I realize I've probably challenged Mr. Murphy to a duel by bringing up this point.
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"Music is like candy, you throw the (w)rappers away."

[benlewis]

There's also the Bob Reeves A adapter...

http://www.bobreeves.com/products/accessories/adapters.htm

HTH

Ben

[homebilly]

[Craig Swartz]

[cjl]

[RandyTX]

[cheiden]