Sound On

This weekend I was overloaded with art experiences. It all started Friday night, March 2, 2007…

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This film work of what is technically science fiction has been recommended to me time and time again by film making friends whose tastes I trust. Though it stars Jim Carrey, it is devoid of the usual antics and rather features Carrey’s “real” acting skills. It only took a few moments for me to be completely engrossed by the film – I was instantly sold.

This work is shot on real film and you can tell. It hasn’t been color corrected by insane amounts as most films are. Combined with the shallow depth-of-field focus, the vignetting and true film colors give the entire piece a dream-like look and feel.

After watching, I couldn’t help but feel so thankful that I am the way I am. You must experience this incredible Michel Gondry film!

David Keuhn: Trumpet Recital

Mr. Keuhn was principal trumpet of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for many years. He played fantastically well with accompanist and composer Persis Vehar. As an owner of the album Musical Landscapes for Trumpet on which they play, it was my pleasure to hear the pair perform live as part of the Buffalo Brass Festival at the University at Buffalo on Saturday.

Persis Vehar’s impeccable piano technique perfectly complemented David Keuhn’s lyrical phrasing, crisp articulation, and relentless stamina. It was a thrill to hear Vehar’s Sound-Piece for Trumpet, Flugelhorn and Piccolo Trumpet, which plays one movement per horn, has a modern sound with phrases coming to conclusions on blue notes, memorable motifs, and brain twisting developments - one of my favorites. The performance was nothing short of inspiring.

Hila Plitmann Sings Corigliano

Saturday night, the BPO played John Corigliano’s tune Mr. Tambourine Man. If Corigliano’s name is on the program, I’m at the concert.

As Mr. Corigliano explained, the piece uses the lyrics of Bob Dylan as poetry (Corigliano has never heard Bob Dylan sing), and sets them not only to new music, but Dylan’s artful opposite. In an interesting musical twist, the secondary theme of each movement becomes the main theme of the next. The spacious, emotional piece carries the audience on a journey through Dylan’s thoughts, and (while it may sound hokey) the “pulse of the nation” through the 1960s. Unfortunately, I fear the Masters of War are still at work, and the Chimes of Freedom have yet to toll. For better or worse, Dylan’s journey is as relevant now as ever.

I think I figured out the hype behind John Corigliano. He writes modern music with modern sounds, but his work is far from utilitarian; he writes meaningfully and with emotion. He is, in a sense, Bob Dylan’s art-music counterpart, which explains how he felt so at home with Dylan’s text.

Hila Plitmann’s performance brought honest beauty and an imposing stage presence to the piece. She was introduced as the greatest living soprano and I have to agree. Her voice can be as pure and clear as a serene lake or as shimmering as crystal ice. She plays with a level of artistry and attention to detail that is rare, even amongst professionals. Her physical manifestations personify the music with a bit of tasteful theatrics. I can’t imagine you’d want to hear anyone but Hila Plitmann perform this piece.

Back stage after the performance, Ms. Plitmann so graciously accepted every compliment, and confessed to having had Buffalo wings for dinner, which was my only wish for her while she visited the Queen City. Her husband, composer Eric Whitacre, was also in town but was busy caring for their offspring. Also back stage, some students had lined up to speak with John Corigliano. One of them said, “it was… Okay.” The unfortunate reality is that the audience did not like Mr. Corigliano’s tune and I know why. When people saw Bob Dylan’s name, even if they read in the paper how the lyrics were set to new music, they really believed that somehow, Bob Dylan’s music would come through in the piece. Of course, they were actually treated to the musical opposite of Bob Dylan. But it’s a great piece, and two weeks ago the audience responded so enthusiastically to Corigliano’s Altered States. If they liked Altered States, they must like Mr. Tambourine Man, as each bears the unmistakable stamp of John Corigliano’s musical voice. However, audience members let expectations cloud their judgement. If the audience came with the same open ears and open brains that they did for Altered States, they would have loved Mr. Tambourine Man. Perhaps it will grow on them with time.

Saturday night was a great performance of a great piece, and I can’t wait to pick up a copy of the recording. Anyone who attended was touched by the journey of Bob Dylan, the voice of the nation, and the voice of an angel.

Jon Nelson: Trumpet Recital

Again as part of the Buffalo Brass Festival, Jon Nelson gave a recital on the Slee Hall stage. Accompanied by Persis Vehar, he performed that beast that is Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Trumpet and Piano with finesse. Morton Feldman’s A Very Short Trumpet Piece, composed for children, showcased Mr. Nelson’s beautiful tone and musical phrasing. Finally, Gustavo Matamoros’ RE: JON provided a brilliantly fun conclusion to an emotional weekend of the arts. The balance of the live performer and tape was absolutely perfect, with Jon Nelson’s sound weaving in and out of the accompaniment. The piece concluded with a fanciful bit of improvisation.

Buffalo Is Alive With Artistic Expression

The art scene in Buffalo, NY is thriving. Like a muscle that sore from thorough exercise, I carry a dull emotional ache from the weekend’s artistic experiences. If you live in or around Buffalo, get out and experience all the art that is happening!

The trumpet can be quite a beast. Endless hours are spent practicing. Because of that, most trumpet players would like to see progress like this:

When in reality progress looks more like this:

Because the trumpet is such a beast to play, many players are looking for any sort of help they can get to increase their rate of improvement. Because it’s relatively inexpensive and easy to change, many players turn toward a new mouthpiece.

The True Role of the Mouthpiece

The shape and size of the mouthpiece change the character of the sound. A mouthpiece that is too small will give you a tone that is not your best. However a mouthpiece that is too big will often encourage you to work too hard. Trumpet players start to do weird things (unconsciously) to compensate for fatigue. So the best mouthpiece to play on, for most mortal earthlings, is in the middle of the road. Everything else should be considered specialized equipment.

Middle of the Road

By middle of the road, I mean a (Bach sizes:) 7C, 5C, or 3C (Schilke sizes: 11, 12, 13C4, respectively).

Bach Size Notation

In Bach size notation, the number is the cup diameter (higher number – smaller rim) and the letter is the cup volume (A is big, F is small).

Schilke Size Notation

Example Schilke size: 13C4c; 13 is the cup diameter (bigger number = bigger diameter), C is the cup volume (A=small, B=large), 4 is the rim contour (1=rounded, 5=flat), and c is the backbore (a=tight, e=large). Because standard sizes are omitted, this size would actually be written 13C4, because c is the standard backbore.

Specialized Equipment

The whole idea of trumpet equipment is this: you want to approach the instrument the same way all the time, but change your equipment to facilitate the appropriate tone quality. You want the right tool for the job, because otherwise you are going to end up creating a strange unnatural technique to make up for it. The 3C-7C is going to be fine for 90% of people doing 90% of playing. A very advanced high school student who happens to play lead in jazz ensemble might consider, under the guidance of a private instructor, a smaller mouthpiece to facilitate a bright tone to carry through the ensemble and a smaller cup volume to facilitate extended upper register playing. I play a Schilke 12A4a for lead and a Bach 7E for piccolo trumpet.

For 95% of playing I use a 7C. While I may be able to get slightly more overtones in the sound with a 3C, I am shooting for perfect technique and I don’t want to make a big compromise in technique for a small benefit in tone.

Also, I play on gold plated rims. Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with aesthetics; I am allergic to nickel which is a common ingredient in silver plating. If you are not allergic to anything, save your money and get the usual silver plating. I also have a plastic mouthpiece which is especially nice for playing out in the cold.

Roadkill

It’s important to have an accurate aural model of a good trumpet tone in order to develop good playing technique. When I was younger, I listened to a lot of flugelhorn playing and really enjoyed the warm, mellow sound the instrument made. While you should not try to control your sound (you should discover your own natural tone using good technique), consciously or not, I began to imitate the flugelhorn sound with my trumpet playing. I ended up playing with my slide pushed all the way in and using the biggest mouthpieces I could find; a Bach 1”X” (larger cup volume than A) and after that a Monette B1-5D (often confused for a toilet bowl). This helped me get that warm, dark, flugelhorn-like tone I was looking for. It also led me to a tone very uncharacteristic of a trumpet and strange habits to compensate for my quick fatigue, as I was swimming in those mouthpieces! They would be appropriate for a professional orchestral player who knew how to use them, but not for me as a lowly high school student. I would have saved a lot of energy and frustration if I had just invested in a flugelhorn mouthpiece at the time to get that flugelhorn sound.

Roadkill Café

Sometimes younger students have old equipment that has survived from a relative’s days in the school band. A raw brass horn is ok, but be careful of a mouthpiece whose plating has worn down; it is very possible to get lead poisoning from an un-plated brass mouthpiece. Even if the equipment is well plated, if it is strange or otherwise unidentifiable, I always steer students to the middle of the road.

Goldilocks and the Three Trumpet Mouthpieces

Why are you still reading this? You should be practicing! I was just joking, but in reality, any time spent mulling over the question, “will this new fangled piece of equipment help me get better, faster?” is time better spent practicing.

No new piece of equipment is going to turn you into Maynard Ferguson or Wynton Marsalis.

Your equipment should help you and work for you; make sure you are not the one working for it.

If you are a mature player working in a special situation, then you need specialized equipment. If not, just get your 3C, 5C, or 7C and get to work practicing.

Listen to live, un-amplified trumpet performances regularly (even if it is just your instructor) to help you develop a strong, sound aural model of what a trumpet really sounds like, but otherwise let go and discover your true sound on the instrument.

If you really want to sound more like a flugelhorn, just get a flugelhorn already! Short of that, a flugel mouthpiece will dramatically alter your tone.

Ultimately, stay in the middle of the road and don’t let students play on anything unnatural. Good luck and happy practicing!

James Thompson’s “The Buzzing Book” is a valuable asset for brass players. The book comes with treble clef notation, accompaniment cds in Bb and C, and most importantly, Mr. Thompson’s detailed instructions on how to use the exercises. The Buzzing Book helps players at any level discover correct mechanics through modeling and guided practice on the mouthpiece and horn.

Notation

The notation is large and clear. Each exercise is preceded by a few critical bullet points. They are meant to be played twice; first on the mouthpiece, then on the horn. The mouthpiece should stay on your face through the entire exercise - the player is supposed to only breath through the nose in order to extend the same “middle G” setting through the range of the horn. This definitely takes some discipline. I don’t always breath through my nose, but I do always try to keep the idea of “same setting” with me throughout the exercise. Another discipline issue is holding the mouthpiece with both hands so as to strengthen (psychologically) the mouthpiece-horn connection. I’m planning on picking up a berp to help with this. The notation is riddled with detailed instructions (e.g., “glissando as gradually as possible,” “never let the notes sag”) to coach the player through the exercise as effectively as possible. Each exercise strives to go beyond the normal range of the horn, frequently a C (below the staff) down to F gliss, using all 3 valves + slides extended.

Accompaniment

The accompaniment cds feature a harpsichord/organ/piano combo composed by Tadeusz Kassatti and recorded by Kevin McPeak. The organ especially creates a template for your sound: it provides an encouraging palette to paint with overtones. The accompaniment really shines in that each track is preceded by James Thompson modeling the exercise. This provides the player with a strong aural model for both the mouthpiece and horn. The value of this feature cannot be underestimated!

Word

James Thompson’s verbiage is another critical component of this book. It’s easy to overlook the words and get straight to the exercises; just what any aspiring player would do, right? Get to the practicing? However we know that being mentally aware of the skill you want to develop is the key to improving. The notes on habits, thinking in the present time, air/lip balance, a single embouchure, etc. are an invaluable resource. Read many times, practice many times. Discovering the written instructions kinesthetically takes time.

To Buy Or Not To Buy

While a bit expensive at over $20, “The Buzzing Book” is a daily resource for my playing. If there is one thing that has improved my playing more than anything else (short of collegiate level instruction), this book is it. I am still discovering and refining mechanics using this resource. No player is too advanced for it. Bottom line, you are a fool to keep practicing without it!

James Thompson

James Thompson studied trumpet with Richard Longfield, Ray Lichtenwalter and finally, with Roger Voisin.

After a distinguished career as principal trumpeter with several orchestras including Montreal and Atlanta, James Thompson, laureate of the 1979 Maurice Andre International Competition in Paris, also enjoys a career as a soloist. As principal trumpeter he has recorded over 80 CDs.

Professor of trumpet at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY since 1998, James Thompson is considered one of today’s grand masters of trumpet pedagogy.

The Buzzing Book for all brasswind instruments, and Bandroom Buzzing (for group instruction) are two key volumes intended to help develop correct playing techniques at all stages of brasswind instrumental apprenticeship. The Buzzing Book is published by Editions Bim.