Practicing with Practice Mutes

[scatanas]

Not sure if the OP got his answer but here are my 2 cents. A few years back wife and I lived in an apartment for a while and no excessive noise was tolerated.

I practiced EXCLUSIVELY on the Bremmer Ssshhh mute for 5 months. So 100% of my playing was on a mute. (We just moved to a new city for my work and I was working 70 hrs a week. I practiced only in the late evenings and on weekends. I am by no means a professional, just a devoted amateur - so I had no gigs nor a place where I had an opportunity to play).

Back to my point. I practiced exclusively on the Bremmer Sshh mute for 5 months. Eventually, 5 months later I found a church to attend and one morning after the service I waited until everyone left then I got my horn out and tried to play. .

PRACTICING EXCLUSIVELY ON A MUTE FOR 5 MONTHS TOTALLY MESSED UP BY PLAYING. I could barely get a sound out.

So much of trumpet is based on “feel.” For example I know right now what an A above the staff “feels” like on my chops. I also know what a piano or a forte middle C feels like, etc. A mute will change ALL of that.

My takeaway from that “experiment” if you will…. Practicing with a mute is ok but but on a regular basis I now practice withOUT it, even if I go play in the car. I usually sit in the passenger seat and practice.
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Martin Bohme Tumultus
Kanstul 1525

[Seymor B Fudd]

You´ve absolutely pinpointed something extremely important:...... "So much of trumpet is based on “feel.” For example I know right now what an A above the staff “feels” like on my chops. I also know what a piano or a forte middle C feels like, etc. A mute will change ALL of that.

The "feel" is a very complex thing; A myriad of feedback loops helps us 'dose' everything from contractions of muscles to air pressure. Most of time time on a subconscious level.
As you write: "I know.....A.....feels"; yes and not only that, you will hear what it sounds like, and precicely when doing that some of these feedback loops will kick in helping you to obtain the right pitch, loudness etc. etc.

So if you don´t have developed your playing upo to the point that it has become structured/systemized/institutionalized, part of your skill/ability, then you should not use Silent Mutes or contraptions like them.
While I´m at it, I´ve heard so many times people playing just awfully when using mutes because they have nil excperience of doing so. Takes quite a while to learn in which way a mute affects pitch, sound etc. etc.

But if you already are able to play the horn - then practice mutes can be very useful.
What happened in your case was probably that as you were never able to play without the thing this sort of compromized the "loops";thereby gradually loosing your feeling!
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[Rhondo]

"But if you already are able to play the horn - then practice mutes can be very useful."

This is what I'm realizing, coming back to trumpet after years of not playing.. Last night I practiced a little open horn, then put the practice mute in and it felt nothing like what I had just been doing. The notes didn't fall into place at all. I was thinking of getting an adjustable cup mute because that would be more free blowing, but now I think I should probably hold off on that as well.

I was told while building my embouchure up again to stick with just one of the 2 mouthpieces I own so as not to add another unneeded variable. Adding a mute into the mix seems to be similarly unadvisable.

Last night I started playing a little softer. I think this is advantageous anyway for playing, but there's also less worry about the sound bothering other people.

[ebolton]

As I mentioned early in this thread, I practice almost exclusively with a practice mute and play open on the rare occasions when I can. It only takes me a few minutes to adjust between muted and open, and I'm a 63 year old comeback player 10 months on after a 40 year gap. I don't adjust to anything as well as I did in my 20's. I don't think it should be so difficult for most people here who are far better players than I ever was/will be.
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-Ed