How to Strive for a Sound

[Billy B]

I can change a student's sound in a lesson setting without saying a word.
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Bill Bergren

[delano]

[ComeBackTumpet]

I like the comments regarding find your own sound.

Herb Alpert couldn't play very high nor did he seem to have great technical skills. Boy did he have the "sound".

[Hnelldor]

[Blackquill]

I'm not an expert by any means, but I think the most benecial aspect of trying to imitate players is that it may help you improve your sound in ways that other methods to improve sound probably won't accomplish. As for me, I would listen to some solo that I liked and would imitate, and the resonance in my tone actually improved significantly over a period of several months. So that trick helped me significantly at one point in time. It could be harmful if taking out of context or taking it to an extreme, though. Still, I see nothing wrong with imitating many different players from time to time for practice sake.
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Trumpet is for extroverts only... no, wait... Trumpet is also for introverts who need an avenue for extrovertism!

[trickg]

[Lionel]

[HERMOKIWI]

[brassmusician]

Have you tried experimenting with different vowel sounds to change the shape of your oral cavity? Ooor, Eeee, Aaaah etc. Pretty sure I am doing this without thinking when change my tone for different styles.
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[LSOfanboy]

Hi,

To pick up on points by Lionel and Hermokiwi above.

Lionel; your comments are very interesting and the Reinhardt link is cool. It depends on your definition, but I would probably disagree that Marsalis has a particularly 'brilliant' tone (ie. a sound with a lot of brilliance), at least not in the manner that you describe with the link to Stan Mark. To me, Wynton has a broad sound, with significant diffusion and therefore with a soft edge. It is more pronounced now, on his Monette equipment, but even if you listen to Carnaval on cornet, or either of the Haydn/Hummel concerto recordings or the Tomasi/Jolivet album, there is a slight 'air' around the core of his sound and articulation. The opposite of this would be a player like Chris Martin, or actually Wayne Bergeron, who both have totally pure/efficient/resonant sounds. Its not to say that Wynton doesn't have a great sound, he absolutely does, but I don't think it is right comparing it to an 'edgy lead player', and you certainly won't get closer to Wynton's sound by using a shallower or tighter mouthpiece.

To Hermokiwi: as I have said before, I think the real answer lies somewhere between the two of us, but I disagree that a player will always sound like him/herself, especially because of physiology. I know that I can produce a whole spectrum of sounds; perhaps not control it to the extent of being able to perfectly imitate my colleagues, but there is certainly a massive variation in the sound I can produce and am not limited by 'my personal sound'. Through slight adjustments in my physical set up (firstly, the amount of air I allow into my cheeks, and secondly, a slight change in the tautness of my upper lip) and the use of the 4 trumpet mouthpieces I carry with me daily I am able to dictate, to a large extent, the focus (from clear/direct to fluffy/diffuse) and the brightness (from bright/brittle through to warm/dark). I think I might have said it before, but my opinion is: can we perfectly imitate another individual's sound (with perfect overtone equivalence etc)- probably not. But can we adjust our own sound massively (and are therefore not really limited to 'our own personal sound' that we must stick with)- absolutely yes.

All the best

[delano]

[twestervelt]

A good tone has a center within a center.

Try bending notes.

Also, try taking out the tuning slide and playing your music without it.

Also, buzzing with and without resistance devices is very helpful. Try Thompson's buzzing book and CDs (or mp3).

[HERMOKIWI]