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Originally Posted by likefoxes  I bought a pretty battered trumpet off ebay the other day because i have decided to teach myself how to play. What mouthpiece would be better (and more forgiving) for a complete beginner. I read somewhere that 'C' mouthpieces are best, but i don't really know what that means. The mouthpiece the trumpet came with has A8 written on it. Any advice on mouthpieces for a complete beginner? thanks |
Although many beginning trumpet students of many years ago traditionally started on Bach 7C mouthpieces, many of us consider that a lousy mouthpiece because it is actually deeper than most "C" cups and it has a sharp "bite" on the inside edge of the rim.
You might try a Bach 3C which is available almost everyplace.
It is slightly larger diameter than a Bach 7C and is slightly shallower than a Bach 7C, making it a good all-round mouthpiece to try.
(I discovered that our local music store keeps lots of Bach 3C's on hand but usually doesn't carry Bach 7C's anymore, so things have changed in the 35 years since I was a teenager.)
Every trumpet player eventually learns what cup diameter and cup depth works best for him in terms of tone and range and flexibility and endurance.
But you will need to start with a common mouthpiece like Bach 3C for the first year or two just to "get your feet wet" in developing your initial "embouchure" (pronounced "OM-boo-sure", meaning the muscle formation around the lips for playing a brass instrument).
Then you can change to a larger or smaller, shallower or deeper mouthpiece if you need to.
A deeper cup gives a mellower or darker tone.
A shallower cup gives a more brilliant tone.
Smaller diameter cups and shallower cups help with endurance in playing high notes.
Larger cup diameter and deeper cups give a richer tone for playing ballads.
In the Bach mouthpiece system a "1" is biggest diameter and "10" etc are smaller diameter.
"A" cups are deep while "E" cups are shallow, with "C" cups falling between.
In the Schilke mouthpiece system everything is the opposite.
A "5" is a very small diameter while a "24" is a very large diameter.
An "A" cup is very shallow while "E" cups are very deep, with a "C" cup falling between.
- Morris