Which Trumpet should I buy?

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If you are a beginning student and are interested in starting trumpet/cornet, your music teacher will be able to guide you in this area. Usually your first instrument will be rented which gives you the opportunity to find out if you want to continue. If you have been renting and now want to move up to a better instrument, continue reading. Reading advertisements on the attributes of each trumpet can be confusing for every manufacturer claims their instrument is the best. With this in mind, let me point out some important issues you will need to know when considering the…

What You Should Know Before Buying A Flugelhorn

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To many people, the flugelhorn is a unique and interesting instrument. It looks bigger than a trumpet and in some ways it is bigger. It is heavier and has a larger bell. But when stretched out to its full length, a Bb flugelhorn is exactly the same length as a Bb trumpet and cornet. That’s why they are all pitched in Bb. The difference in tone quality between the trumpet and the flugelhorn can be explained in the same way as the difference between a cornet and a trumpet. Both the trumpet and the cornet are the same length but…

Curry Sound Sleeve Mouthpiece Tone Intensifier – Review

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(The following is taken from their home page) Standard Sound Sleeve is best for all-around work, balanced to give the right amount of slot-lock and sound centering qualities. Sound Sleeve “Y” model fits slightly higher up on the shank to accommodate the longer Yamaha andBenge trumpet receivers. Lead Sleeve is designed for upper-register playing, where you want a maximum amount of control without hindering high notes. It weighs nearly as much as the standard Sound Sleeve, but since it’s mass is distributed over a greater length, it’s effects are more subtle. MEGASLEEVE is designed for players that want to add that Heavy-weight…

Product Review – Yamaha PM7 Silent Brass System Pickup Mute

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Created by Yamaha’s wind instrument design team, the PM7 Silent Brass pickup mute is made of lightweight plastic, with a unique rubber sealer to hold it securely in the bell. When used with the Silent Brass system, it has none of that stuffy restricted feeling of conventional practice mutes. In fact, it blows so close to a natural open horn that you simply won’t believe it until you actually experience it for yourself. Play high or low, loud or soft, and your pitch will remain true and centered. A special microphone inside the mute relays your sound to the Personal Studio. Product…

Testing A Possible New Way To Tune A Trumpet

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This was a recent post on one of the more active trumpet bulletin boards and caught my inquisitive eye. After careful reading I decided to test the good Doctor’s theory. I will reserve my conclusions until our next post so that you will not be biased in any way when you do your own test. Carefully follow the instructions written by its originator and in our next post, I will give you my take of this new thought. Try it and see if it works. Testing A Possible New Way To Tune A Trumpet I would like TM to participate…

Do You Need A Music Riser?

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When I was first introduced to the MUSIC RISER I had no idea what it was. It was explained to me that it raises the music off the stand making it easier to read. My first question was, “Why can’t you just raise the music stand”? That seemed like a legitimate question and then I was reminded that when you play in a dance band, most of the times you are playing on painfully low dance band fronts which cannot be raised. That was true and then my interest was piqued. I tried one on a job that night and…

Everything Goes ‘Round In Circles

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To quote one of my favorite singers, Billy Preston, everything goes ‘round in circles And so does the history of this cornet. Once upon a time in the city or Waterloo, Iowa, a young seventh grade boy worked odd jobs and regularly delivered over 100 newspapers in order to save enough money to purchase his new Bach Stradivarius Cornet to play in his school band. The year was 1956 and the price of the instrument was a staggering $300 which in that day ways a great deal of money. The young man played his cornet for the next three years…

Teaching An Old Dog A New Trick

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Who said the old can’t learn from the young? I am living proof that the youth of today are far more resourceful than we give them credit. If you have ever been performing with an ensemble when someone trips over the extension chord and all of the bands lights go out, you have experienced the helplessness we have all experienced. There is nothing you can do to get back into the action and the show stops. It has happened to me on more than one occasion and little can be done to resolve the problem. You can have the most…