| If you are used to playing good equipment and can play the horn you have in an ensemble setting "in tune" you have all the skills you need to check a new instrument out. Instruments that are well balanced in intonation and tone, are just more fun to play. You notice immediately that it is less work. Still, never buy a trumpet alone! A second opinion (not from the salesman) can often save you a lot of grief(there are some notable exceptions however)!
As there is no "absolute" intonation (an E in a Cmajor, Amajor, EMinor......... chord for instance are not the same pitch. Pianos are tuned "well tempered" not our ears).
When playing equipment that I am not familiar with I start with some easy tune, just to get used to the basic tone. Then octaves, thirds, fifths. By then, I pretty much know the "intonation" of the instrument. The next step would be to go and play in a concert hall type space(I hardly ever play directly into a microphone). There you can figure things out like projection and dynamics.
The potentially "bad" notes are pretty well known - on a Bb there should be NONE below double C. On certain famous name brand C trumpets the fourth space E and Eb are flat, sometimes the third space C is sharp. There are alternate fingerings to correct the intonation, but they also change the tone color. If you are looking for a specific instrument - just mention it here - there are enough people with good and bad experiences with just about everything.
If you have a tuner, let somebody else watch it while you are playing. You will almost always adjust and then the purpose is defeated. Except for an old Conn Stroboconn, I have never had any use for a tuner-except to get my Bb or A tuning note.
__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again. |