TrumpetMaster - View Single Post

tom turner · 03-25-2007, 08:27 PM

THIS HAS BEEN A PET PEEVE OF MINE FOR YEARS!!!

I HOPE that most mute makers are making their mutes with oversized corks . . . though from looking at a lot of 'em with inconsistent spots where they haphazzardly stick the corks onto the tapered mute would tell me differently!

Horns have different flares to their bells, based on the specific model. For instance, a Model 72 bell has a faster flare, and a 43 has a slower flare, than a 37. Thus, the throat of the 72 is wider and the throat of a 43 is narrower than a 37 where the mute SHOULD go in order for the mute to be in tune.

If a mute is corked oversized, it might just be perfect in a 72, a little cork would have to be filed off to tune it on a 37 and more cork would be removed to tune it on a 43.

Obviously, this is for illustration purposes only. THERE IS NO TELLING WHAT THE THICKNESS IS ON YOUR MUTES . . . or whether you need MORE or LESS cork . . . until you TEST IT. Expect to have to do some modifications!!!

As I mentioned, this has been a pet peeve of mine for years . . . all the trumpet players blissfully inserting their stock mutes and assuming that really sharp sound on their harmons is "perfectly in tune."

It's really bad on the low D and Db . . . and most players have played 'em this way for years and years.

I blame the band directors and music teachers for not teaching the art of mute tuning. Either they slept through that class in college, or no one taught this to them during their advanced education.

I'm cursed with "perfect pitch" (a term I hate) . . . so it drives me nuts when the average trumpeter plays into their unaltered mutes.

T.

03-25-2007, 08:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
tom turner Mezzo Forte User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 788	Re: How Much Cork Do You Remove??? THIS HAS BEEN A PET PEEVE OF MINE FOR YEARS!!! I HOPE that most mute makers are making their mutes with oversized corks . . . though from looking at a lot of 'em with inconsistent spots where they haphazzardly stick the corks onto the tapered mute would tell me differently! Horns have different flares to their bells, based on the specific model. For instance, a Model 72 bell has a faster flare, and a 43 has a slower flare, than a 37. Thus, the throat of the 72 is wider and the throat of a 43 is narrower than a 37 where the mute SHOULD go in order for the mute to be in tune. If a mute is corked oversized, it might just be perfect in a 72, a little cork would have to be filed off to tune it on a 37 and more cork would be removed to tune it on a 43. Obviously, this is for illustration purposes only. THERE IS NO TELLING WHAT THE THICKNESS IS ON YOUR MUTES . . . or whether you need MORE or LESS cork . . . until you TEST IT. Expect to have to do some modifications!!! As I mentioned, this has been a pet peeve of mine for years . . . all the trumpet players blissfully inserting their stock mutes and assuming that really sharp sound on their harmons is "perfectly in tune." It's really bad on the low D and Db . . . and most players have played 'em this way for years and years. I blame the band directors and music teachers for not teaching the art of mute tuning. Either they slept through that class in college, or no one taught this to them during their advanced education. I'm cursed with "perfect pitch" (a term I hate) . . . so it drives me nuts when the average trumpeter plays into their unaltered mutes. T.