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young Freddie Hubbard ca 1962

Adolph Herseth -
principal trumpet Chicago Symphony

Miles Davis
Adolph Herseth - intro to Mahler 5
Freddie Hubbard - The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Freddie Hubbard - Straight Life
Miles Davis
Miles Davis - So What

Learning the Trumpet

Learning to teach yourself is most important.

Practice sounding good.   Do not play something wrong over and over again!   Slow down the tempo until you can play it with the correct notes, in tune, and in rhythm.   Listen to how it sounds.   Play melodies out of fake books or etude books or by ear.  Playing melodies makes it real obvious if it is out of tune or has a bad sound.   Play along with recordings.

If your practice starts sounding worse then rest (for a few minutes, hours or day).   Do not think about it while resting.  Do something else.   Try again later - it almost always sounds better.
 
 


Players, Teachers

Perfection - Tine Thing Helseth with Det Norske Kammerorkester, notice the complete lack of any muscle tension
The Berliner Philharmoniker perform Stravinsky's Petrushka / Trumpet tutorial
Bud Herseth Lesson Notes
Bud Herseth more info
Pencil Exercise - G Rawlin
Pat Harbison, Karl Sievers
Bill Moriarity talking about Roy Stevens and the history of the Stevens-Costello method
Warren Vache On Embouchure Lesson
The Balanced Embouchure
YouTube - Trumpet Lesson 4 - Zero Pressure technique
Lynn Nicholson - can scream without forcing it
Bill Adam - Great Teacher
Bill Adam
The Other Side of the Bell � A Trumpet Podcast; Episode #15: Bill Adam Tribute
Chris Botti Interview with Mr Adam
William Adam & Greg Wing play the "Routine" by GWing

Jimmy Stamp
Jimmy Stamp on youtube
Stamp Upper Register Etudes

Player/Horn Combinations

 

Trumpets

Benge Serial Numbers
5/64 hexkey for bach strad stop rod
Bach Strad Bells
Bach Stradivarius Bell Variations
Early Elkhart Serial numbers
Bach Strad Leadpipes
Bells - Harrelson
Bachloyalist.com Bach trumpet serial numbers
Bach Stradivarius Models - TrumpetMaster
Dave's Bach Trumpet Page
Besson Trumpets
Yamaha Schilke Clones
YAMALLOY - older yamaha trumpets may have valve problems
Guide to new trumpets
Schilke Serial Numbers
Kanstul Model Comparison List
Valve Aignment At Home?
 

Mouthpiece

Bach Mouthpiece bach loyalist
Bach Mouthpiece Manual
Bach Mouthpiece history
"Vincent Bach Corp, no dot, mouthpieces are essentially Mt Vernon pieces and EVERYTHING about them is different from subsequent eras. 
Exceedingly comfortable rims with just the right bite, more open and balanced throat and backbores standard (not designated as such), 
a makeup of brass that resonates like no other. Every one I've played has been remarkable and very few modern copies seem 
to be able to capture what makes them special." 
Alpha Angle
Warburton Trumpet, Cornet and Flugelhorn Mouthpieces
Stork Trumpet Mouthpieces
Stork Specs
Stork Comparison
Kanstul.com Gustat Mouthpiece
Bach - Schilke Mouthpiece comparison chart
Mouthpiece comparison chart
Schilke Mouthpiece model descriptions
Holton Heim Mouthpiece vs stork vacciano.url
Kanstul Mouthpiece Comparator - superimposes trumpet mouthpiece profiles
    B = Elkhart Bach
    BMV = Mt Vernon Bach 
    BNY = New York Bach 
    GIR = Giardinelli 
    S = Schilke 
    W = Warburton 
    M = Monette 
    BFL = (Modern) Bach flugelhorn 
    CG = Claude Gordon 
    G = Gustat 
    P = Parduba Bob Reeves Rims 
Backbore Comparator
Bob Reeves cup size versus bore
  S - Shallow bowl shape #28 Bore
  M - Medium bowl shape #27 Bore
  D - Medium deep, conical bowl shape #26 Bore
  C - Medium deep bowl shape (like Bach 3C) #26 Bore
  
Bob Reeves Rims
  40 - Semi-flat with a medium-sharp bite. Functionally similar to Bach Mount Vernon 10 1/2C, Bach 11 3/4 C, 17, and Schilke 6 rims.
  41 - Semi-flat with a medium-sharp bite. Functionally similar to Bach 7C, 9D, 10 3/4 A,11A, 11C, and Schilke 13-4 rims.
  42 - Medium-round with a soft bite. Functionally similar to Bach Elkhart 3C & 6C, Bach 8C, 10B, and Schilke 14 rims. 
  43 - Semi-round with a soft bite. Functionally similar to Bach 2 3/4 C, 3, 3E, 3F, and Schilke 16 rims
Bob Reeves backbore
  692s   A very efficient backbore. It causes the mouthpiece to be physically shorter than our conventional mouthpiece. 
         When combined with shallow cups, it makes the upper register very efficient. When combined with very deep cups 
         (like a "B" cup) it allows the darkness in sound of the cup while continuing to assist in the upper register.

  2      Our standard backbore. More centered than a Bach #10 with excellent tone color and intonation. This backbore works 
         well on all of our cups. It was the 2nd backbore Bob ever made.

  69     Good for big band playing. Records well; bright, focused sound. This is very popular on our shallower cups 
         (S and shallower). Good if you like to "power" the upper register. It was named because Bob developed it in 1969.

  692    Darker and broader tone than our 69 backbore. Works great for those players who "power" the upper register. 
         It is a combination of both our #69 and #2 backbore and thus the name, 692.

Mouthpiece Throat Size (bore)
Throat Size
wire    inches                        
gauge	decimal  mm               
28	0.1405	3.569              
27	0.144	3.658              
26	0.147	3.734             
25	0.1495	3.797              
24	0.152	3.861             
23	0.154	3.912              
22	0.157	3.988
21	0.159	4.039
20	0.161	4.089

Mouthpiece Gap

Mouthpiece gap on vintage Benges
Benge Gap
Benge 3X Question, Problem
Harrelson Shim Kit
Harrelson
Mouthpiece Gap Solutions Venturi & Shim Demo Video Jason Harrelson
Warburton Mouthpiece Gap
GR mouthpiece gap
Bob Reeves Gap info
Improving the upper register with the correct gap
If your mouthpiece gap is greater than the optimal gap, you will have a bit more resistance, although the horn will slot and speak well. Lower register may become stuffy, upper register may reach a "wall", above which resistance can not be overcome.

If the gap is less than optimal, you will have less resistance, as well as difficulty slotting (less distance between the slots), poor definition to the notes above high C,
Lower register very free-blowing,
Lack of healthy resistance causes upper register to "airball", or wash out
There is nothing to "lean on" when coming back down from a high passage


Here is the GR Mouthpiece formula for calculating the optimal gap.
the exit wall thickness of the mouthpiece shank multiplied times 5
   plus
the leadpipe internal diameter minus the receiver internal diameter multiplied by .75


Example:
exit wall thickness of mouthpiece = .021"
           X  5  =  .105"
leadpipe internal diameter is .345" and receiver internal diameter is .385.
.385 - .345 = .040
.040 X .75 = .030

.105 + .030 = .135 Optimal Gap
 
Warburton makes it more simple: "The optimal gap is usually somewhere between 0.100 and 0.150 inches " 

Harrelson says optimal gap usually between .060 and .100 inches.

The great Clifford Brown said 1/8 inch, .125"

Bob Reeves emphasizes differences in players, rather than equipment affecting the optimal gap, and sells 3 piece mouthpieces that give different gaps with different sleeves.

Some outrageously good players use no gap. A Flugelhorn has no gap. Some players are successful with gaps much greater than 1/4 inch. If you are getting good results there is no need to change the gap. Leave it alone!

A change of .001" of the mouthpiece shank diameter will cause a difference of about .020" in the gap distance.
      Gap Size    
      fraction  Decimal   mm 
       3/32"   0.09375   2.38125
       7/64"   0.109375  2.778125
       1/8"    0.125     3.175
       9/64"   0.14062   3.571875
       19/128" 0.14844   3.7703
       5/32"   0.15625   3.96875