Many of us have dabbled with Pedal Tones during our stint as trumpet players so this post may be an eye opener for many of you. It was for me when I discovered this anomaly.
During a return to Claude Gordon’s wonderful collection of trumpet lessons, Systematic Approach to Daily Practice”, I came across a shocking realization; the notes I thought I was playing were in fact one full octave above where I should have been playing. To fully explain how this came about, let me start from the beginning.
When practicing notes which include pitches above our normal range, we sometimes lose track of the notes actual pitch. In order to check my accuracy in these two areas (Pedal Tones and extreme high range) I decided to collect recordings of the actual pitch by adjusting the octaves through my ever faithful program, Audacity. If you still do not have this versatile recording program, you need to get it. For more information on Audacity, check out these previous posts………………..
Learning To Improvise Jazz Using The Creative Side of Your Brain
Using Technology to Improve Your Trumpet Playing- Using an oscilloscope
Brass Players Obsession for “The Sound” Part 3- What Does A Full, Rich Sound Look Like?
In order to duplicate the lowest range of my Pedal Tone ability, I recorded the notes an octave higher and lowered them an octave through the Audacity program. In this way I would be able to hear a more accurate representation of the lower frequencies. In this first example, you will hear the actual pitches as the trumpet descends.
How shocked I was to hear my actual lowest pedal tones when the correspondingly same notes on the recording were beyond my actual hearing capacity. If I could hear and recognize my lowest Pedal Tones while playing but could not hear the recorded example of the same pitch that means that I was actually playing an octave above the pitch I thought I was playing! If the recorded pitch was beyond my hearing ability and the note I was playing on the horn was recognizable to my ear, something was wrong with this picture.
If the pitches I thought I was playing were actually an octave higher, where did the octave change occur and why have I been incorrect in my thinking for all these years? I have no idea. That’s where you, my readers come in. If you understand my confusion and you have an idea as to how this happens, feel free to send in your thoughts for I have no idea why this is true. Or, is this actually true?
