Heavens2kadonka

Hmm, couldn't find the fingerings on the Baroque Trumpet shop.

I can get most of The Trumpet Shall Sound from Messiah, which REALLY sounds neat of these horns, let me tell you. I can definitely see why the Baroque trumpet community gets REALLY touchy when people make assumptions about these era pieces sounding better on piccs.


I also notice a difference already in my playing. Mainly in the mouthpiece. I have two pieces with the two nats I borrowed. One is more modern-look, and the other is an authentic flat-rim.

After spending the morning and afternoon on these nats, playing on my 5C and 5B felt strange. The rim was huge, thick feeling. Also, my lips missed the feel of silver and gold (the nat pieces are raw, yuck!).

The sound seemed more broad, but maybe thats just me and hearing that "olde-tyme" sound in my head.

Van

Heavens2kadonka

BTW, about the era-trumpet forum. I would vote for it, but I am unsure how much activity such a forum would generate....

I would like to see it tried, though.

Van

mattdalton

Van -
The reason the vent holes don't work in the lower register is that they are not designed to do so. The best explanation of what the vent holes do in both the 3- and 4-hole systems can be found in Crispian Steele-Perkins' book The Trumpet. I'd take a shot at explaining it here, but would rather have people who are really interested buy the book. It's only $20 and has a lot of other great information too.

Anyway, here is a four-hole baroque trumpet fingering chart for you.



Use this chart as a starting point and vary from it if needed. If you only use vents when truly needed you'll get a better sound and be that much closer to a natural (no holes) trumpet.

I'll second Rgale's remarks (Bob and I are known to play baroque trumpet together ), and add another book recommendation. It's Natural Trumpet Studies by Robert Farley and John Hutchins. You can buy this book from Barry at The Baroque Trumpet Shop. But if you can only afford only one book now, I'd vote for starting with the first volume of the Tarr series that Bob mentioned. Sheet Music Service (Portland, OR) almost always has it in stock.

Playing baroque trumpet for the past 20 years has certainly changed my approach to performing baroque and classical music on modern instruments. For the baroque trumpet to have the greatest influence, I think you have to treat it as a different instrument and not try to make it sound like a modern trumpet. Playing a baroque style mouthpiece (sounds like you already are) and trying to get closer to a baroque oboe sound than a modern trumpet sound will give you a good start.

Heavens2kadonka

Thanks for the comments, guys, and thanks for the fingering chart, Mr. Dalton!

This originally was going to just be me holding out an instrument, and talking about it for about five minutes, maybe playing a few notes on it. However, I've wound up VERY interested in these old horns.

One good thing I've got for this is a CD of Fantini music on authentic instruments (Played with inhuman skill, my gosh!). I have a really good point of reference pertaining to sound.

Again, thanks for all the help, everyone.

Van

ROGERIO

I just received CD's I ordered of NIKLAS EKLUND. Barry at The Baroque Trumpet Shop recommended them. BTW, he also has a very nice CD out of Baroque Trumpet Music.

Back to EKLUND - Beautiful playing. It 's amazing to hear so many pieces I've done on piccolo being played on the baroque trumpet. It's not that tiny, bright sound we are so use to hearing on the picc. It's the same notes I know, but the sound is rich and full of harmonics. Really enjoying it. Would recommend his recordings highly... and they are cheap too... NAXOS... only $5.99 each from ARKIVE MUSIC. Vol 1-5

ERIC alias "Prince of the SOPRANO" , I'm burning you some samples.

Rgale

Niklaus Eklund is a real artist, and his recordings are all worth getting. And even more so at that price. I gather he's playing jazz now, so look out. He's just a monster.
Also check out Crispian Steele-Perkins, and Gabriele Cassone. Also great players.

Barry

Hi guys. Thanks Rogerio for letting me know about this forum. It's great to see so many folks interested in the Baroque trumpet.

Having been a professional baroque trumpet player and teacher for the past 20 or so years. I can truly say that playing the natural trumpet helps all aspects of modern playing. My students range in age from 14 to post graduate and they all play modern and baroque trumpets. They play traditional flat rimmed mouthpieces on the natural instruments and their modern mouthpiece on valved trumpets. Since they do this from day one, they have no problems switching as long as the rim diameter is similar.

Barry

I do have a fingering chart for 3 and 4 hole trumpets on my web site at: www.baroquetrumpet.com/finger.htm

ecarroll

For the record:

All trumpet students were required to study (and play examination recitals on) the nat when I was teaching at The Royal Academy of Music in London, and I can fearlessly say that there wasn't then, and probably isn't now, a stronger trumpet class anyplace in the world. Many of the students there could play the Brandenburg, Christmas Oratorio, bminor Mass, etc., on the nat better than I could on the piccolo, and could navigate the PMD Sonata (or a Mahler Symphony) with similar ease.

Great, great fun and one of the reasons that I've abandoned Baroque trumpet music -- it just doesn't sound good to me on modern trumpets anymore.

Best,
EC

ROGERIO

WOW... coming from you - with the coutless baroque recordings you've done... that means a lot.

Currently I'm about as "green" as you can get with the baroque trumpet, but I have to say I go back and forth between picc and the BT (baroque trumpet) and I can't help it... I just keep going back to the BT. Not only does it challenge me a great deal, but that sound... (even MY sound) is a beautiful thing.

Maybe we sence our roots in that sound... Like those men that spend a weekend in the woods beating on drums around a fire... looking for that link back to their primal roots...