Larry Gianni

Hello

Here and extension of the “Free Blowing “thread (that turned out to be a very interesting ride) adding the mouthpiece element. So does a mouthpiece have a obtain a cup / backbore equation of resistance to achieve an efficient design all by itself, away from the trumpet?

Will a mouthpiece with a very shallow cup and a large backbore or vise versa ( large cup / tight backbore ) make the player manipulate the way they play to overcome an inherent problem?

Here's what Karl Hammond of Schilke had to say on the subject (thanks to Marc Melton for this)

Custom Mouthpiece Design
By Karl Hammond


Balance vs. Resistance “The Fine Line”
Every mouthpiece should be a balanced combination of blowing freedom with equalized resistance. These features come together to create the ideal mouthpiece and are critical to the efficiency of a player’s set up. Every set up has this “fine line” of freedom and resistance. This occurs when the player finds the center of the pitch along with the desired sound and controlled flexibility. Each player’s “fine line” is different. At Schilke Music, we do not make the assumption this “fine line” is the same for all players or musical situations. Through consultation, our Custom Shop will help assist a player to determine what sound they want and why their current set up doesn’t accomplish this balance.

When a mouthpiece is to “open and free”, the net musical result is usually a loss of control with poor attacks and “cracked” notes. When there is too much resistance in the mouthpiece, the center of the note may be hard to find resulting in an unstable feel. The components of the mouthpiece that help create this balance are the rim, cup, throat, and backbore.

One critical performance variable to address regarding custom mouthpiece work, before discussing the various mouthpiece components, is the “gap” size. The gap refers to the distance created within the trumpet mouthpipe receiver occurring between the end of the mouthpiece and the beginning of the lead pipe. A smaller gap can raise the pitch of the trumpet compromising a player’s accuracy and control. I n instrument is playing flat consistently; the gap could be too large resulting in poor attacks and a lack of focus to the sound. The trumpet shank or stem can be altered to penetrate further into the mouth pipe receiver to raise the pitch rather then alter the inner characteristics of the mouthpiece.

Now here's another variable not mentioned alot. How about the length or the mouthpiece when a certain cup/backbore combo seems to work the best for you.? Why are Callet mouthpieces longer than the norm or was Bud Brisbois Reeves ( copy of Bert Herrick ) or the Stork “ Studio Master Series “ shorter than the norm. Note – this is a rhetorical question and not the point of this discussion to dicuss any one individual line of mouthpieces vs. another– pro or con.

Listen to this,

Here in Los Angeles, some much respected players actually were tuning their mouthpieces by shaving the mouthpiece length. This was started a couple years ago by a man named Ollie Mitchell, who now resides ( retired to ) in Hawaii, and was a premier studio player for 30 years on the West Coast and was the son of Harold “Pappy " Mitchell, who was one of the West Coast pioneers of the trumpet and recording industry.

Here what is done:

You buzz the mouthpiece on a concert Bb (tuning note) or concert Eb ( which ever is more comfortable to you )

You play it as relaxed as possible until the pitch centers were the mouthpiece length and design dictates with the biggest core ( it' usally flat )

You actually very, very slowly, file the end of the moupiece, until the natural and fullest , dense pitch is obtained and is in tune.

When you now play this mouthpiece in conjunction with your trumpet , you tend to relax the aperture because you are not fighting an – out of tune “ portion of your set-up.

I certainly makes sense in Theory and having found my worst in-tune mouthpiece to experiment on , it seems to work very well depending on how sensitive a player you are to all this fine tuning.

Having tried it, ( not on every piece ) along with some trumpet players that are household names to everybody, it does help to slot pitches when played on the trumpet. When played in the trumpet, notes play slightly easeier and the slots feels more locked and efficient . When doing the tests, I ded find out the mouthpiece I like the best, buzzed perfectly in tune all by itself without alteration.

Now, do I advocate that everyone stop everything and do this , unequivocally NO – NO , NO , NO

I understand the obsessive nature of trumpet players in general so I've never mentioned this before in public because I don't want cards and letters coming my way about how " I ruined my best mouthpiece with that cr** you advised me to do “

If you have an old mouthpiece that you want to experiment with, then try it if you‘d like and but use a tuner to help with the pitch so the subjective element of “in-tune “is taken out of the equation. But do it at you own risk and it doesn’t take much filing to change the pitch.

Yes, the gap will change because you are shorting the mouthpiece, but again, you will take off very little.

OK, now everyone reading this raise your right hand and repeat after me -

I am a human being and I possess free will and I do not hold Larry responsible for my actions regarding shaving the end of a mouthpiece especially if I try this and ruin my best mouthpiece that I mowed lawns all summer to buy “

If your mouthpiece centers sharp (to short) then all this is a mute point because you would have to have your mouthpiece lengthened. See the dilemma

For right now, let's talk about what Karl had to say and the Ollie Mitchell action in theory only – does it make sense?

Larry