LaFleur Baritone

[John Pereira]

I bought one of these yesterday, second hand of course. It came without a mouthpiece but that did not cause me concern because I know I cannot possibly use any baritone or euphonium mouthpiece I've seen - they are too wide for me to even close the aperture with my lips - but I was intending to play it with my tenor horn mouthpiece. I find, however, that the receiver is a bit wider than that of my tenor horn and the mp is not a snug fit in the baritone I bought though it did fit a new Yamaha baritone at the shop.

On getting the baritone home I found that a Chinese trumpet mp I bought for very little on eBay is a better fit and I could play a little with it. The trouble is the aperture (internal rim diameter) is narrower than that of the tenor horn mp which does not facilitate the low notes. I have a very old tenor horn mp which fits the baritone quite well but is somewhat corroded inside the cup. I shall have to get another mp with an internal rim diameter that is viable for me AND a shank that is snug in the receiver. A Denis Wick tenor horn mp I was shown in the shop rattled around in the receiver.

It seems that external shank diameters and tapers are not standardised and there could also be some difference in the internal diameter of receivers.

Does anyone know the usual external shank diameter of a French Horn mp? or a tenor trombone mp?
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John Peel
". . . the sound of his bugle brought me from my bed . . ."

[JayKosta]

A french horn mpc is smaller than a trumpet, FH is Morris taper 0, and trumpet is MT 1 dimensions.
A tenor t-bone might work in the baritone (or in a euph).

I play euph (once a year for Tuba Christmas) and though the mpc is huge compared to trpt, it takes me only a day or 2 of practice to get used to its size. The main difference is that the lip aperture is controlled more by muscle use, where with trpt the mpc rim helps to 'contain' and 'support' the aperture.

Jay
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Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[Shifty]

A baritone will not sound like a baritone with a small mouthpiece. I bought a British-style baritone to fool around with; it came with a 6.5A mouthpiece. Like you, I had initial problems. I tried some smaller small-shank trombone pieces, which allowed me to at least make a noise. Once I got used to them, I went back to the OEM piece and found that I could use it and produce a much richer sound. Most serious baritone players will say that even a 6.5A is too small.

No guarantee on your horn, but I think most baritones use the same as a small-shank trombone.

It just takes practice. I play high brass horns 6 days a week and pick up the barry on the 7th. I really have to concentrate on relaxing my lips to get into the groove. As Jay said, it's a different embouchure. But, with practice, you can get the hang of it. Switching back and forth on the same session is a real challenge -- don't know how Maynard did it.
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Getzen Eterna 700, Eterna 800
Conn Connstellation 28A, Victor 80A, Connqueror (1903)
ACB Doubler Flugelhorn

[Dennis78]

Use a baritone mouthpiece
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a few different ones