Interpretation vs playback

[Shaft]

When you play back a recording of yourself…
Does the trumpet sound different than what you
interpret in your head as you were playing?

Recently, I had tubes put in my ears.
Getting a diagnosis of patulous Eustacia
Where the valve stays open, where
the eustachian tube meets the nose.

My hearing is still great, however
I’m getting used to how I interpret
My own voice when I speak and also
How the trumpet sounds as a play.
It’s way different and a the wild change.
Possibly how I should have always
been interpreting the sound of my
voice and the trumpet.

Perhaps some of you have
gone through something similar.

[abontrumpet]

It is essential you record yourself for any trumpeter. Play/Record, listen back and repeat.

Through this process, the recorded sound, played sound, and trusted feedback (3rd party) work together to create your sense of what kind of sound you are producing at any given moment.

Since you had a procedure done, you will need to heavily rely on trusted feedback along with the other two factors to create a new sense of sound.

[deanoaks]

First, I wish all you all the luck in the world tracking down your medical diagnosis. That entire process can be very frustrating and emotionally taxing and I hope that you are doing well.

With interpreting your own sound, both vocally and trumpet, you will never 'really' know what you sound like. You can get a really good idea, especially if you're in a resonant space where you can hear your sound bounce back to you off the wall, or have a really good sound technician, but the experience of your sound in a hall is unique that we will never be able to experience. Sitting behind the bell, we hear the sound coming out of the bell, but we are more overwhelmed from the bone conduction that occurs as our lips and oral cavity vibrate. This vibrates our jaw a bit and our ears interpret that sound, which is typically a bit of a darker sound (more fundamental fewer harmonics) than is the reality. Which also happens when we speak, by the way, anytime I listen back to my own voice, it always appears to sound higher than what I hear, which is the same result of that bone conduction warping our sense of sound.

Something I'm curious about - When I was studying in London, we were required to take a course on hearing health and one of the things that the doctor spoke to us about is this unique situation that happens with brass players specifically when we play. Apparently the compression/tension from playing causes something in our ears (very technical I know..sorry, been 5 years since the presentation) to narrow or tighten which actually helps protect our hearing. I wonder if the tubing that is shoved in your ears is preventing this mechanism from happening and you are actually picking up more of your sound that you were before.

In any case, you are definitely not alone in being confused on how to interpret your own sound from behind the bell versus in front of the bell. It's certainly one of the most frustrating parts about being a musician.

[Shaft]

I appreciate the feedback. Yes it is a very wild phenomenon.
We hear a recording of our voice and think is that really how it is?!