1. Tell us how you would improve a trumpet with a new feature or design. Specifications for design:
I would make the leadpipe be a reverse leadpipe and copper plated in order to get a nice dark and rich tone that many strive to achieve. The finger hook will remain as a hook, no ring for me! I would want the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd valve slides, the finger hooks, and the tuning slides to be silver plated for a rich, in tune quality. The rest of the horn would be gold plated except the inside of the bell; that would be silver plated. The leadpipe and the inside of the bell will be the only things not gold plated apart from the slides; that way, the air you blow will start at a copper plated leadpipe and will come out of a silver plated bell! The resulting tone will be beautiful. Also, I would make 2 different tuning slides: one for achieving a bright and sizzling sound that many jazz tunes require and another one for a deep symphonic sound that can be used for orchestral and symphonic work.
ML+ bore top leg of the tuning slide, ML+ bore in the tuning slide bow, L bore bottom leg of the tuning slide that enters the horn for the symphonic sound.
L bore top leg of the tuning slide, L bore in the tuning slide bow, L bore bottom leg of the tuning slide that enters the horn for the bright, jazzy sound.
I would also have my name engraved in the bell among engraved designs of mythical creatures.
For the tuning slide, I would have a plate and also a plate at the other bend in the trumpet just as a Monette, except mine would look a lot cooler than the Monette, since it would be silver plated!! The bell would be an octagonal shape instead of the usual circular shape. The bell is two piece, in gold for the main stem, and gold for the octagonal flare. As I mentioned before, the inside of the bell would be silver.
Instead of having just regular pearl valve caps, the pearl valve caps would each have circular sapphire gems in the middle of them, just like some of the Taylor trumpets do. The valve caps will feel very smooth to the touch and look very elegant to the eyes. The mouthpiece would be fully silver plated except for the cup and its border; that would be 24k gold plated! Also, the mouthpiece would come with a weighted silver mouthpiece cover in order to produce a dark and almost "smoky" sound. The mouthpiece size would be a 3C. The trumpet would have two waterkeys and a first and third valve slide w/ adjustable stops.
Then, my Eclipse will be perfect for me!!!
2. Give us a theme for a trumpet!
Just like all other Eclipses revel in their beauty and grace, mine shall too. The theme I would give to the trumpet would be
Moonflow since the silver plating coming out of the inner bell among the gold and copper plating would reflect the serene beauty of the moon. The trumpet will especially shine in all it's beauty when someone is playing it through it's voice and sound. My trumpet would be the result of dreaming for a professional trumpet that would be exactly what I wanted!
3. (back to school time!) Write a short story using each of the following at least once.
A. A TYPE OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
B. A COUNTRY OR CITY
C. A FORM OF TRANSPORT
D. AN ITEM OF CLOTHING
E. A FOOD
There I was,
walking home in the rain, a golden
trumpet in my hand. That was when it happened; lightning struck! I was down in a second and seemed to fall backward in a graceful slow arc, the trumpet flying out of my hand and glowing with electricity. So many memories flashed before my eyes; when I was born, when I went to school, etc. One such memory stood out in particular: A high school basketball game. It was really snowy that day and half the band decided not to show up; I was one of five trumpet players that decided to come that day. This was at a school in one of the many suburbs of
Chicago at around seven o'clock at night. So, my friends and I were there, in our
Pep Band shirts, just fooling around and having a great time. When it was time to play, we started playing an awesome song; it was called Macho Man, I think. Then, it happened: Halfway through the song, the entire band, except for the drums, got lost and somehow decided not to play for, oh, twelve or thirteen measures
! There was an awkward silence that followed with only the drum set playing and everyone else looking at each other, wondering what in the blue hell was going on. It wasn't that bad though, since the director just laughed it off. Then, in an interesting twist, she surprised the band with free
pizza at the concessions stand :P !!! So after eating, my friends and I busted out our hacky sack and started hackin' it up! Man, was it great! Forced back to the present reality, as I closed my eyes and felt it all slipping away, I couldn't help but smile. Then, I opened my eyes and took in the serene beauty of the place I was in. Must be heaven, I thought, and then gasped out in surprise! For before me was the Moonflow, with my name etched onto it! A custom built Eclipse trumpet for me?! "I am in heaven!!"
4. Please tell us just why you feel that you should win this contest.
I believe that I should win this contest because I am really into playing my trumpet. I've been playing for 6 years and my love for my instrument increases day by day. I still have my first and only beginner horn from 6 years ago: a Bach TR300. Due to issues with money, I am not yet able to get a new trumpet. A new trumpet such as an Eclipse could drastically change my ease at playing and I would always be amazed at my horn no matter how long I've been playing as I still do with my Bach. Everyday is a new day and I would love to be able to experience the quality and greatness of a "superhorn" such as an Eclipse. It would be awesome to see how a horn of such high caliber could change me and my playing ability; then I would practice even more than usual just so I can hear how the trumpet would sound. Hopefully, I would get a new trumpet soon; if not, oh well, you'll still see me coming in during lunch everyday just so I can play my trumpet just by myself and be able to appreciate it. Also, people tell me that I'm a nice and funny guy, and I'd like to believe them
. Wouldn't you like to help me out?
BTW, after listening to some Maynard Ferguson songs, I decided that I want to be just like him!
Kaushik