TrumpetMaster - View Single Post

rowuk · 02-02-2008, 08:23 AM

Kivanck,
many times the expectation is that NOTHING should change when using a practice mute. This is simply not true. When our sound is damped, our ears do not have any clues about how much effort is being pumped in to the mouthpiece end (the sound that we normally hear does not only come out of the front of the bell-the bell itself vibrates and a great deal of energy is radiated from the outside - any mute dampens this radiation!). The result is playing with extreme force, and that leads to exactly the symptoms that you describe.

The solution is to have a practice mute routine that is different from the open horn one. Make an effort to not try and blow the mute up like a balloon! Mezzoforte effort is the absolute max if you want the benefits of any practice mute!

02-02-2008, 08:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
rowuk Moderator Fortissimo User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 4,136	Re: neck pain and headache Kivanck, many times the expectation is that NOTHING should change when using a practice mute. This is simply not true. When our sound is damped, our ears do not have any clues about how much effort is being pumped in to the mouthpiece end (the sound that we normally hear does not only come out of the front of the bell-the bell itself vibrates and a great deal of energy is radiated from the outside - any mute dampens this radiation!). The result is playing with extreme force, and that leads to exactly the symptoms that you describe. The solution is to have a practice mute routine that is different from the open horn one. Make an effort to not try and blow the mute up like a balloon! Mezzoforte effort is the absolute max if you want the benefits of any practice mute! __________________ Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.