study888

I was reading this I thought on the Curry are Warburton mouthpiece site. But have not been able to find it again and read in more detail. Will this type of exercise help in improving your playing? Has anyone tried it? And what is your opinon as the worth of doing it?

Manny Laureano

How would not hearing yourself well make you a better musician?

ML

trumpet blower88

I had really bad allergies a few weeks ago, and with those really bad allergies came plugged ears. It didn't help me at all! I couldn't hear the sound comming out of my bell very well, and all I could really hear is the sound in my head of my playing... I was very out of tune...

Alex Yates

I have seasonal allergies that have intensified over the years. I have tried several prescriptions and just do not like the dry mouth and drowsiness that go along with most of them. Once you are congested and continue to play, you are pushing the liquid back into the ears. Once you are at that point, it takes much longer to rid yourself of the annoyance. Since I know when to expect my allergies, I have gotten pretty good at keeping most of the congestion at bay homeopathically. I don't know if you are familiar with a regimen of cleansing the nasal passages with saline, but this really does a great job. I use a traditional NETI Pot and pharmaceutical salt (contains no caking agents or other chemicals), but you can buy Saline Sinus Cleanse kits at local drug stores now. Once you have gotten congested, I highly recommend investing in a bottle of "OLBAS" oil made in Switzerland. It is a mixture of six or seven essential oils and contains no petroleum. It is MUCH more powerful than Vicks and lasts much longer. It is also a fantastic rub for sore muscles or muscle baths. You can find it on line or in health food stores.

P.S. Playing with anything stuffed in your ears is no way to practice a trumpet. You are supposed to be listening to your sound so you can create the voice you want.

Bear

I dunno, I'm gonna have to disagree with y'all. I reguarly play with earplus on most of my gigs and it helps me stay relaxed without pushin' and strainin' and all. (Lead, rock, jazz, bigband, etc) Plus, when I'm recorded I notice a big difference in my sound. Without plugs I sound strained and pinchy. With plugs I sound relaxed and centered. HOWEVER, I do only use one plug, not both... Just my two cents.

Solar Bell

Bear wrote:
Where do you stick it?

I mean which ear.

-cw-

study888

I tried it the other night through most of my practice book. What I noticed was how good of a buzz I was getting out of each note. How well I was really tongueing and slurring and strong and weak notes and to lip up the sharp are flat ones. Also like last post said. I played more relaxed and did not tire out. At the end I played a few exercises. And my pitch sounded better and stronger. Its like I can hear a good buzzing note are bad one inside my head out. Now I just a rank come back player and maybe giving myself a self placebo thing. I wish I could find the site. It was being recommended by a Pro. Even believe they had their own recommended air plugs are a cheap substitute that would work as well. Of course it could have been for another reason. Had hoped some of you had read it are using them with good results. What ever that maybe. I am not making this up. It is out there some where on I believe one of the mouthpiece selling sites. I read over it real fast and may have got a wrong understanding of what the person was trying to recommend. Maybe it is a easier way and cheaper way to do the Berp buzzing m. p. exercises. That is the way it felt to me.

Jimi Michiel

I'm not sure I agree that you can't hear yourself when you practice with ear plugs. I've seen many people cover one ear when they tune to better hear themselves over everyone else.
Although I have never tried it (it's a little late to be practicing in my apartment or I would go try it now), I would imagine that it would just be another way to hear yourself. Unless you record yourself with a DAT, one will probably never hear him or herself in the same way that an audience member will hear the player, so really it's just a variety of different versions of the same product.
The teache I studied with freshman year told me that he would go around his house pointing his bell at different things while he practiced. His idea was that maybe he would learn something about his sound by positioning his bell a few inches away from a brick wall one moment and a few feet away from a wooden wall the next.
Just my 2/100s though... I guess in the end it's whatever floats your boat
-Jimi

study888

Hello everyone. I have found two sites of interest on this subject. Enter: Ear Plugs and the Brass Player. Written by Nick Drozdoff. The other is titled: Ear Plugs. This a very good article by Eddie Lewis. Make sure to read both his articles. There maybe more of same info out there on the internet. One problem I am starting to have is a ringing in left ear as sound is bounce back in this small room. I am practicing on a 1961 model 37A/B Conn Connstellation short model cornet with a .485 bore. My smaller bore Olds special cornet needs some valve work. Using this fat boy till I get the other fixed. It has more power than this ole rookie can handle. But boy does it sound off in a church building.Hmmm wondering if maybe those on the front and second row are wearing ear plugs

Bear

Most of my hearin loss is in my left ear. So that is usually the one, however, if the drums happenin' to be really kickin' it on any particular nite then....

It is really neat how well you can "hear" what is transpiring on the inside of your mouth with plugs in. It really lets you know if your tounging is happening efficently or not, etc. You should also try the pinwheel trick, that'll show you what you're doin' (or not) with your airflow. Peace all.

It's nice to be able to throw out ideas and not get flamed or shotdown because they are against the norm... thanks sirs/ma'ams.