Youri le god

Hi all,

Can anybody explain these 2 terms for me? Slotting and Freeblowing. I've never really understood what they are. I think I understand freeblowing - I used to have a Getzen Large Bore, I now have an Olds medium which feels a lot tighter, stuffier....less freeblowing???? I keep seeing these 2 terms cropping up on various forums and as I'm buying a new trumpet hopefully round Christmas it will be helpful.

Thanks folks
Youri

camelbrass

Hi,

'Freeblowing' to me is a relative thing. Some trumpets create resistance close to the mouthpiece and that suits some players and styles, others seem to take all the air you throw at them and that suits others. I must admit I don't like the term 'stuffy' although I know what people mean. The only thing I will say is that I think that sometimes 'freeblowing' is used as a default word for 'good' and I'm not sure that's always the case.

I've always thought about slotting as being the effort it takes to move a note from partial to partial (and by inference note to note). My Bach Strad almost 'clicks' between partials even when I'm doing glissandos..that's at the tight end of the spectrum. I once heard slotting explained as like the rings on a dart board; the centre of the ring being the 'resonant' note...some trumpets have wide shallow rings, some have narrow deep rings.

I'm sure that somebody will clarify further.

Regards,

Trevor