| Re: How does a trumpet work?
The shank on my son's mouthpiece is a little wider than a standard Bach and was causing a gap of 4/16" when inserted into his Kanstul. Today I shaved a small amount of material off the side of the shank to give him a gap of 3/16". I noticed an immediate improvement in response and resonance and had to tell him to back off a little because he was over-blowing as it was very loud. He said he was just blowing normal.
I also ordered some heavy valve-caps which arrived today. His trumpet is very bright and I wanted to darken it just a bit for symphonic playing. I put the new caps on and took my son to his lesson. His teacher plays 1'st trumpet in a major NYC orchestra and he immediately commented on what a beautiful sound my son had today. He didn't know about the tweeking I had done.
My son also said his lips were not that tired today, so I believe there is something to be said about a properly aligned gap. I also like the sound with the heavy caps. It's a warmer, richer sound. |