| John , try the pinky out of the hook. Honest. There are tendons in the hand that seem to be common to the 3rd finger and pinky. Locking the pinky down slows down your 3rd valve finger action. Just let the blamed thing (pinky) wave around like a granny drinking tea out of a porcelain cup. The only reasons for having the pinky in the hook (besides habit) are when playing with one hand (as in using a plunger mute or picking up/removing a mute with the other hand) or turning pages with the left hand. I'll also "carry" the horn this way since it's more secure and prevents the horn from "slipping out of my fingers".
When I started teaching myself to play trumpet I had a sticky 3rd slide. Moving the slide tended to "upset" my "set" due to unnecessary hand movement. Eventually I go the 3rd slide adjusted and aligned so I could move it fairly easily (sometimes too easily!) with my 2nd finger so I have gravitated towards the "Vulcan" grip.... first finger lightly holding the 3rd valve casing, 2nd finger in the 3rd valve ring, ring finger lightly holding the 3rd valve casing below the 3rd slide, and 4th finger either just below the 3rd finger or sometimes "under" the bottom cap of the 3rd valve. I find it makes it harder to "apply pressure" and the 3rd valve is still easy to move. It helps to have a horn (s) that is properly balanced "fore and aft". |