NMex

I am a student of design. I intend one day, to be an architect. By my training, I have learned to believe that good design is about how something works, not how it looks. This is one of the reasons that trumpets are so beautiful. If something is well designed, it will almost always be beautiful to behold. It all boils down to function. If it isn’t necessary, it shouldn’t be there. Fancy finishes, trigger mechanisms, water keys, tuning slides, complex metal compounds, should all add to the delivery of fine music if they are to be included in the final instrument. A live musical performance is an interaction between player(s) and an audience. The history of the trumpet is long and regarded with much heraldry. A trumpet should be recognizable as such or it becomes some new instrument.

1. Design improvements
a. I have always had trouble operating the slides on my trumpets. I think that the problem is that when I throw the third slide out, it can feel as though I have nothing to push against. This problem could be addressed in a couple of ways. One would be to use a trigger mechanism similar to that used on the Olds Mendez that allows the player to pull towards the valve block in order to operate the appropriate slide. The other would be to place something on the bell side of the valve block to allow one to support the trumpet and hold the other fingers so that the motion of throwing the slide out gives the index and middle finger something to push against. I think this one aspect would reduce secondary movement significantly.
b. The bell side of the valve block could be contoured to allow for comfortable positioning of my fingers.
c. All rings should be adjustable for position. They could be made to move on rails along the tops, or bottoms of their respective slides with either a screw stop or a click locking mechanism. Maybe they could even be integrated with a rod stop mechanism. All "throw" mechanisms" should be fully round.
d. Waterkeys should be traditional in appearance. Amados look clean but what is a water key? It is a hole in the tubing that we pull a stop away from to allow us to drain water. We shouldn’t complicate this simple feature by forcing multiple holes into alignment with some mechanical device. The waterkeys should however be easy to reach and to operate. Springs ends should be hidden to prevent injury to person or clothing.

2. The theme for this horn will be a tribute to the craftsmen. The bell should be shaped and left raw, with only a lacquer coating, revealing to the audience that it has been forced into this unnatural shape by the fiery will of the craftsman. The more heat discoloration, the better. The valve block should be brushed nickel over brushed brass. The tubing should be brushed brass. All connections should be brushed nickel in order to accentuate them. When fully depressed, the valve tops should move into a recessed valve top that is contoured on the finger edge. This would force the player into a correct finger position. I think trumpets with small bores are easier to fill and play. I also think you might make up for the sound characteristics of a small bore horn by using a larger bell. Details/Connections can be hightlighted by using contrasting materials or finishes.

3. I am a comeback trumpet player. I played through high school and then went to college locally. My dream ever since the eighth grade has been to be an architect and that is what I studied in college. I picked up the horn again one year after finishing high school and began performing with a small local band. We played a variety of music and it was here that I found I really enjoyed performing. I played with this group all the way through college (5 years in an undergraduate program), earning just enough money to get by but having the perfect release for the pressures of a grueling degree program. This group became one of the top musical acts in the state of New Mexico (we keep our egoes in check when we recall that the population of our entire state is less than that of most major cities). Still, we are able to travel to neighboring states and are eventually invited to fly and meet with executives of Sony’s Spanish label in San Antonio, Texas.

That dream never panned out. Now, seven and one half years later, my nephew showed an interest in playing trumpet. I have not touched the one my father bought for me in eighth grade for a long time. I pull it from the back of the closet, clean it and sell it to my nephew for one dollar. I can’t just give it to him. I tell him that he can use the horn with two conditions. Condition number one is that he cannot sell the horn. If he decides he doesn’t want to play anymore, he has to sell the horn back to me for one dollar. If however, he decides he want to play the trumpet, I agree to buy him a professional quality horn when he enters high school.

Almost as soon as my old horn leaves my house, I have this urge to play again. After much research, I finally decide on a professional quality horn for myself and make the purchase. I am now taking lessons and am literally having the time of my trumpet playing life. I wish that I had been able to receive private instruction when I was younger or that I would have at least paid more attention to the instruction I did receive. I also wish that I had allowed for the possibility that I might have been able to make a living as a performer.

I have no regrets for the way my life has evolved. I am now able to revisit my options and my approach to that aspect of my life that really has been the most rewarding. I am close to achieving my lifelong goal of becoming a registered architect but understand that my music is just as much a part of who I am. I remember that my dress cowboy hat is on the shelf above my closet. It’s time to call out that side of my being and realize it’s full potential.

A riverboat glides slowly by the club on the San Antonio riverfront. It’s full of lackadaisical tourists, cameras around their necks, dressed in their recognizable tourist shorts and flowered button down shirts. As they pass the Hard Rock Café, they can’t help but pause and listen. The sound of a trumpet rings out. “Who is that band?” they ask as they pass the club. They watch the action as the sidewalk patrons, eating nachos and eagerly drinking margaritas to quench their thirst from dancing in the heat of a San Antonio until one of them recalls, “I heard about a new horn player from Albuquerque that is gigging here now with his band. I don’t recall his name but just listen to that horn. That sound will take him far. And I can tell that he’s got a lot to say.”


4. It’s hard for me to say that I deserve this horn. That being said, I would absolutely love to win this prize. I believe that this will be the only way many of us will ever own a horn of this quality. I am very impressed with the craftsmanship and innovation that I have seen come out of the Eclipse factory. Even more so, I have been awestruck by their generosity in awarding horns and distributing information. I have been happy to participate, and would be very pleased to be a winner in this contest.

Respectfully submitted,
NMex

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