Quote:
Originally Posted by Patric_Bernard  "Originally Posted by PSH (Playing on new mouthpieces) I have no experience with LOUD mouthpieces, however I do know this: the shallow cup will not increase your range. It will brighten your sound. A brighter sound tends to cut through more easily, making you have to work less to project over the band. The thing that will increase your range is hours in the practice room. There is no magic mouthpiece..."
Amen |
How many high-note specialists could play Triple C's on a deep Bach 1 mouthpiece?
Even if you cite the few who could do it on a Bach 3C, a Bach 3C is about the same cup depth as the *piccolo* trumpet mouthpiece 7E, except the Bach 3C is somewhat even shallower than the Bach 7E near the rim, more "V" shaped than the "U" shaped Bach 7E.
A shallow mouthpiece *should* indeed extend range to some degree,
while it should also brighten tone and extend endurance in the upper register.
Just read all of the testimonials from people who have tried extra-deep mouthpieces such as the Curry TF mouthpieces and the Yamaha short-shank cornet mouthpieces.
They routinely say that with such extra-deep mouthpieces it is a real challenge to play above the staff, although they find it easy to play High C's and above on shallower mouthpieces.
It is true that a shallow mouthpiece will not automatically give a high register to a person who did not already have one.
A shallow mouthpiece is no substitute for embouchure development.
But a shallow mouthpiece should give the player 1/3 of an octave advantage over a much deeper mouthpiece.
Using an extra-deep Yamaha 13E4 I have trouble getting above the staff.
Using a Weril W46 which is slightly shallower than a Bach 7E I can play an octave higher, blasting out High F's and High G's that neighbors can hear a block away even though I have my windows closed.
You might say, "I know some people who can play Double C's on a Bach 7C".
Yeah, and they could be playing Triple C's all night long if they used a shallower mouthpiece.
A shallow mouthpiece does not really "give" anything because the player must already have worked his butt off developing an embouchure that is capable of playing high notes.
But a shallow mouthpiece will make those high notes much easier to play, while a deeper mouthpiece will fight against the player every step of the way.
"The thing that will increase your range is hours in the practice room."
When I was a kid I spent many years playing a terrible Bach 7C, but I always hit a ceiling with a weak High C. No amount of practice could get me above that ceiling.
I finally broke through that ceiling when I abandoned that Bach 7C for a shallower one.
What mouthpiece is best for a player varies from player to player.
But a player can devote thousands of hours to practice and still have terrible range if he is playing a mouthpiece that fights against him rather than works for him.
When it comes to the upper register, a deep cup will fight against you while a shallow cup will work with you.
That is a matter of simple physics, because the shorter distance inside a shallow cup reinforces higher frequencies, just as the shorter strings in a piano reinforce higher frequencies.
Experiment:
Blow across the top of a glass soda pop bottle when it is 2/3 full and you will get a high frequency.
Blow across the top of that same glass soda pop bottle again when it is only 1/2 full and you will get a lower frequency, because you now have a deeper air space "cup" inside the bottle. If you try real hard you can get a high note again when the bottle is 1/2 full, but the bottle will really be fighting against you on that high note.
- Morris