| You should talk to your teacher about what he feels is missing. End of story.
My own (limited) experience with GR mouthpieces leads me to believe that your teacher's criticism may have some validity, depending on what you were playing before. I also have experienced the Instant Paperweight phenomenon -- and my teacher was absolutely right. The mouthpiece I was using didn't have the right sound. Once I heard what he was talking about, it was as plain as day.
As for Patrick's comment about sound concept -- I'm going to have to disagree with that a little bit. The teachers I have learned the most from had an idea of what I should sound like that was better than the one I had. Certainly, there was room for individuality, but certain ingredients in the sound would not be compromised, period. A good teacher doesn't try to make you sound like him (or her), he tries to make you sound like you, only better. Sometimes we aren't as aware of things as we should be and make poor equipment decisions that make it difficult to achieve a mature sound. |