Much discussion has been raise over the noise factor when practicing on the road and for that reason I wanted to give just another suggestion for solving this problem.
Next week I will be on one of our vacations and because of the luggage limitations, I will not be able to take my horn. *&%^%$#@#%
I did plan to carry my mouthpiece with me but buzzing on a mouthpiece is not the same as buzzing on a horn. The resistance is such that I end up deciding I wouldn’t do that again. Also the buzzing sound tends to annoy my wife. I can’t understand why!
While rummaging through our garage the other day, I spotted some plastic tubing of various diameters and lengths. One caught my eye and I found that my mouthpiece fit into the tubing perfectly. Not able to resist the urge, I gave it a blast and to my surprise, it wasn’t very loud and seemed to have the same resistance as my trumpet. The harmonics were more like a bugle and after visiting my local hardware store, I found a much longer section of the same pipe and after placing my mouthpiece in this longer section, I found that I had more control of the harmonics and could connect much of the range of the new instrument into scale steps with a few exceptions.
Obviously I would not be able to justify carrying an eight foot long plastic tube on the plane but at the very nominal cost of the pipe, I plan on buying one when I reach our destination and use it there.
Problem solved.
Oh, also……
I taped a plastic funnel to the other end and changed by new horn into a better, although louder instrument of torture.
PS Watch out for those revolving doors.
Bruce, thanks for the ideas. Any value in taking a few days off the horn while on a trip? My thought is a break might give the facial muscles and lip time for “rebuilding”. Thanks!
I used to have a schedule with one day off a week and always thought it was a good idea.
I’m still on the road and I got about thirty minutes of long tones on the PVC tube yesterday. That was some real “burn” time.
I’ve found that a day off once in a while is always good to rebuild. I usually rest one day a week. If I’ve done too much, I find that I lose flexibility and my chops feel stiff and dry. At least that is what I have found.
I agree……..
Look up the Hosaphone. It was good enough for Dennis Brain.
We all used a hoseaphone when giving clinics to young kids. It always went over well. I think I still have one in my studio.