Type IV & Mouthpiece Size

[Paul T.]

Huh! Ok.

I'm curious how you "walk in" if you're buzzing downstream (as you mentioned earlier in this thread) and playing upstream (as Dave typed you, and you yourself said).

Can you "walk in" and play your full range, everything you can normally play, etc?

[bg]

Yes.
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Brad Goode
www.bradgoode.com

[Mr.Hollywood]

Just started reading this thread.

Brad........You made the best move of your career taking a lesson with Sheetz. He is the very closest thing that we have to Dr. Reinhardt himself. He studied IN PERSON with Doc for 40+ years.

Don't feel too bad about your little dance with the type one. I have known several type ones (Kenny Smukal was originally typed as one by Doc). Because the legs are so "even" type ones go through many periods of "I think I feel better as a IIIA" or "I've got it now, I'm a IV". Kenny told me that at one point he could play all the types on any given day. As great as this might sound to those of you who are stuck as a IIIA or IIIB for life, having all those different playing options can drive a player to madness.

Think about this.....I'm a IIIB and have always been a IIIB (except for once about 30 years ago when I started to slip into a IVA for a very brief period). But I always knew whether a good playing day or bad that I was a IIIB. Take your case, your having a bad day......."maybe I'll try playing like a IIIA, yeah thats it".......or "Maybe the type IV will work today". Like I said I've known three type ones and ALL of them went through this constantly. And yet, all of them were excellent players.

Good luck, and just do whatever Dave tells you, and you'll be fine.

If I see our friend Ira, I'll give him your best.

Chris LaBarbera

[bg]

Thanks Chris,

Yes, you seem to have summarized my experience. Now that I have a better clue, it also strikes me how minute the differences in set-up and feel can be for me to switch types without intending to.

I'm learning more each day, and beginning to understand and identify these pitfalls.


I have a friend who is an excellent trumpeter and teacher, perhaps one of the very best in the field. I remember several years ago, when we were discussing chops and I mentioned Reinhardt, he said that he sometimes showed his students the Encyclopedia of the Pivot System as a warning and example; the point being, " trumpet playing can be extremely complicated if you over analyze it, and it doesn't need to be that way." I can see his point,
and I realize that for many players, analysis of the embouchure is taboo. However, in my case I believe it's the missing puzzle piece.

bg
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Brad Goode
www.bradgoode.com

[BeboppinFool]

[juanc]

I think that for us: "the no-natural trumpet players" the Pivot System is the only way to go, I think that most of the great trumpet players out there, just got lucky (except those who study with Reinhardt ) and of course they practiced a lot also. Understanding how the mechanics works is a work that only a genius like Reinhardt could figured out!
Regards,

juan
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Schagerl "James Morrison"
Yamaha 6310Z

[Paul T.]

That's true: some of the "great" brass players out there just experimented and practiced so much that they eventually worked out the correct mechanics for what they need to do.

However, most of them still don't understand how it works of why it works.

Reinhardt was a really rare gem in the rough in this sense: one of the few sources of really helpful mechanical advice on brass playing in a field where the "natural", "don't think about it" method is considered "state of the art".

[Mr.Hollywood]

I wouldn't jump on Brad's statement too much.
It's true that's some players are what Reinhardt used to call "lucky accidents". All is usually well with this type of player until something goes wrong. It could be anything........A long time away from the horn, losing a "favorite mouthpiece", or having a front crown replaced. This is when things really start to get "interesting" for these players.

And when "all hell does break loose" these player usually cannot find their way back to their former playing ability.

A Reinhardt student who started out as a "basket case" and came out the other end knows exactly how to "back track" to get where he needs to be by practicing the things that got him better in the first place.

I've known several "naturals" who simply "lost it" for one reason or another and they usually wind up quitting out of shear frustration.

That's generally doesn't happen with DSR students, we have learned how to practice our way back......

Chris LaBarbera

[bg]

Knowledge is power.
_________________
Brad Goode
www.bradgoode.com