harezichi

i got my best brass mute today and WOWOWOWOW. there mis literally NO resistance and its almost completely silent to everybody but me! At first I was skeptical because there is a hole int he end of it that I thought sound would come out of but its amazing. Thank you trentausten! this mute is amazing and tiny.

as for all of the teacher hype i do agree a teacher could help me in multiple ways but I play on my own schedule and i follow my own practice ruitine and its helped me so much so far. I bought one of those giant books with all the music in it from my church just for fun and i can play it all. I also made my new years resolution just to give my soul to the trumpet so i should be getting amazing soon

commakozzi

I agree with the Yamaha Silent Brass recommendation completely. I've used many different practice mutes and the huge advantage of the Yamaha system is that you can hear yourself through headphones. This may seem like a gimmick to some, but you just can't hear your attacks with those other mutes. Sure, you can feel them, but the Silent Brass helps so much. Playing without a practice mute is, of course, the most ideal way, but if you have to use a practice mute use the one that lets you hear yourself! Plus, if you're in a hurry to get a session done and don't want to "hook yourself up" to the entire system, just use the mute. It still feels better, to me, that most of the others out there except for maybe the Denis Wick mute, and if I remember correctly the Yamaha mute does feel a little more free blowing than the Denis Wick mutes I've used before.

trumpet_man

Hey I've got an idea. Why don't you just put a bunch of duct-tape over the bell. That's what Red Green would do.

davidelf

Check out the Trumcor Lyric Stealth. This the best I have found in terms of tone, intonation and resistance. Not the absolute quietest out there, but quiet enough. I live in an apartment and have not had any complaints since I started using it.

Eeviac

I was going to say, stuff a sock in it. I have some nice fluffy socks that are new and sometime if I want to be quiet I might ..... stuff a sock in it!

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Conn Pan Am made in 1950 silver + Bach 7C
King American Standard cornet made in 1940 + Olds 3C
Striving for a Touchy Tone, rather than obnoquious

rowuk

My practice routine starts with long tones as soft as possible to mezzoforte and back. With the mute I NEVER play loudly where resistance becomes an issue. After the long tones Earl Irons lip slurs then Clarke technical studies. Then depending on my mood, tunes or more technique things like double/triple tongue or arpeggios - then tunes. The trick is to realize that we use practice time to build specific skills. We are much more in tune with our body when we are not beating it up. If I have to sacrifice "sound" by using a mute, the I focus on technical and aperature building exercizes not physical strength issues.

If we seriously thing about it, don't we have more problems with a whisper soft entry in concert than a loud fanfare. Don't most conductors at least once during every concert put their hand up to signal that we are too loud? In that context, doesn't it make sense to practice softly? Mute time is perfect for those skills. Turn that time into an asset instead of a band aid!

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

Dave Mickley

between marriages I lived in apartments for 2 1/2 years and bought a silent brass mute for that reason. after about 20 minutes I put the mute away started doing what a good friend told me to do - I started played in a closet and put the bell of my horn up against the clothes. It worked and no complaints from the neighbors. I had no back pressure and it did not effect my playing one bit. Give it a try. Dave

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formerly known as old geezer Dave
C7
Yam. 231 Fl. 15383
King Master Cornet 295628
Weril Cornet Lo 7535