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| Did the mp feel like it "fit" when you were a beginner? |
| Yes, felt right from day one |
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22% |
[ 4 ] |
| It took a while but eventually it did |
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16% |
[ 3 ] |
| Didn't feel right at first and I still struggle with it |
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16% |
[ 3 ] |
| I don't remember, feels good now |
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33% |
[ 6 ] |
| Took years for me to figure out how to make it feel right |
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11% |
[ 2 ] |
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| Total Votes : 18 |
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Robert P
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 28 Feb 2013
Posts: 2596
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 Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2024 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| abontrumpet wrote: | I have floated/posited the idea that before puberty, individual possess low somatic awareness. That, combined with inexperience on the instrument, results in "unawareness" for a very (relatively) long time.
Most young beginners don't seem to really "feel" the mouthpiece and they are very far away from "feeling a sense of belonging" of the mouthpiece. That is the "blessing" they are given (they don't have to think as much -- while adult beginners have the curse of somatic awareness); they just approach the instrument from a position of "play."
That being said, personally, I never thought about mouthpiece and the way it felt until undergrad. In middle/high school, I played middle of the road name brands (Yamaha and Bach). Now, depending on the year/month/week/day, the mouthpiece feels more at home versus other days. At an advanced level, it's obvious when a mouthpiece has the potential to work for you and when it will not. Often, "comfort" is a product of "good efficient playing" more than the specs of a mouthpiece. When I play poorly, my mouthpiece feels terrible and vice versa. |
Maybe I'm unusual but I was very conscious of the fact that the mouthpiece didn't feel right even as a beginner.
I have a fairly full upper lip and I know that was a factor. The vermillion and "white meat" are different from a tactile standpoint. If I suck my lips in to simulate having thin lips the way the mouthpiece feels is very different - there's a distinct feel of a pocket. I can't play that way but it gives insight as to what people with naturally thin lips experience. I had to learn to find a pocket with my lips in a natural position.
I once saw a beginner book where they direct you to place the mouthpiece so there's a small amount of upper lip white meat visible inside the rim as seen with a visualizer. No way that works for me - of course the model for the photos had thin lips completely unlike mine.
My good friend who I played in a stage band with who was the "natural" had thin lips. When I described my struggles they were completely foreign to him - the mouthpiece had always felt good to him.
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Last edited by Robert P on Wed Mar 13, 2024 1:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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abontrumpet
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 08 May 2009
Posts: 1781
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2024 8:57 am Post subject: |
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| Robert P wrote: | | abontrumpet wrote: | | Most young beginners don't seem to really "feel" |
Maybe I'm unusual but I was very conscious of the fact that the mouthpiece didn't feel right even as a beginner. |
For clarity, you started trumpet at age...? |
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Richard III
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 2655
Location: Anacortes, WA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2024 10:22 am Post subject: |
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First mouthpiece was an Olds 3 that came with the Olds rental trumpet in the 4th grade. I played that all the way to high school. Very comfortable and nice sound and range.
Then in high school my parents got me a private teacher. He immediately switched me to a Bach 1.5C. That felt fine also and had nice sound and range. I didn't know any better. Then my parents bought me a Benge 3X trumpet to replace the rental.
By the way, I just pulled out an Olds 3 mouthpiece. I could totally play on that now. Nothing wrong with it.
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Richard
King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece |
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Robert P
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 28 Feb 2013
Posts: 2596
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2024 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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| abontrumpet wrote: | | Robert P wrote: | | abontrumpet wrote: | | Most young beginners don't seem to really "feel" |
Maybe I'm unusual but I was very conscious of the fact that the mouthpiece didn't feel right even as a beginner. |
For clarity, you started trumpet at age...? |
5th grade so I was about 19.
Probably age 10.
_________________
Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C
Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Flugel |
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Robert P
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 28 Feb 2013
Posts: 2596
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| Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2024 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Billy B wrote: | | I have never paid any attention to how it feels. My focus is on how it sounds. |
What that tells me is that it felt very comfortable so it was never an issue - much like my friend "the natural" you didn't *have* to pay attention to it. If it hadn't felt right you would have been keenly aware of it.
_________________
Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C
Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Flugel
Last edited by Robert P on Fri Mar 08, 2024 12:10 am; edited 1 time in total |
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spitvalve
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 11 Mar 2002
Posts: 2158
Location: Little Elm, TX
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| Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2024 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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I started playing at age 10. The mouthpiece was just a mouthpiece, and I didn't really become aware of different mouthpiece types until high school when one of my friends sold me his Bach 7C, which got a lot nicer sound than the stock mouthpiece that came with the horn I was playing. When I got to college is when the safari began--I went through three or four mouthpieces my freshman year and by the time I was 30 I'd played more than 20 different mouthpieces and another dozen since then. Selling most of them on eBay a few years ago paid for one of my horns.
I miss those early days when I didn't think about all that stuff and just played.
_________________
Bryan Fields
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1991 Bach LR180 ML 37S
1999 Getzen Eterna 700S
1977 Getzen Eterna 895S Flugelhorn
1969 Getzen Capri cornet
1995 UMI Benge 4PSP piccolo trumpet
Warburton and Stomvi Flex mouthpieces |
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