benny4540

This is my first post. 38 year old comebacker after 17 years off and I have a spit problem...

I used to play a king student model in high school and a bach strad in college. I played mostly lead in college with a pretty solid high c to high f on a good day range. I wanna say I had a schilke 14 or 15A that i bought in college that gave me 3 notes with ease, that g-f high. big sound has always been easy for me, in fact I could make the bell over vibrate on my king model when I was a senior in HS(not that that's a particularly pleasing sound to make, obnoxious is a better word for it, but so be it, I can move air.)

i eased my way back into playing this with a 1955 King cleveland superior, (the bach strad lamentably sold for $300 in 1990) It had a bach 10c mouthpiece which i hated cause i have a big mouth and big lips. I bought a bach 3c and have been playing now for a month...

and my god do i put out spit into this king. and it doesn't clear out with the spit valve. in fact, by the time i hear the knocking of too much water, and i clear the spit valve, i think a lot of the water is already past the water valve cause occasionally it comes out of the bell!

so my question is, is this a comebacker problem of loose embochure, a king cleveland superior model problem, a horn from 1955 problem, a used to play schilke 15 now playing bach 3c and still trying to get up high problem, some other problem, or am i the only person in the world who is having this problem. I hope not.

any feedback is appreciated,

thanx!

rowuk

Benny,
you are not alone. Your spit in the horn has little to do with a loose embouchure, but maybe with your "brutal" approach.
Moving air may be acedemically interesting, but is only a goal when you want to move mountains which is not necessarily a musical goal.
A couple of things worth mentioning: try a more relaxed approach to playing. Breath in and out in a relaxed way without holding the air in. Once this works, replace exhale with play, but don't PUSH, just exhale into the horn. It may take a while to get the hang of it, but it is worth it.
A more forceful approach is generally only useful when playing lead in a big band.
Once you have a more relaxed approach, the amount of water ending up in the horn should be much less.

__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

benny4540

Thanx for the reality check...I am very impatient trying to get back into playing shape-as if seventeen years doesn't leave a mark...

when i first started up again a month ago, i couldn't play above D. Freakin D!. and i was soooo raggedy. so i've been overblowing, now that i think about it, trying to get these notes out.

I got my A back last night (hooray for A!) next stop C above.

having said that...Maybe i'll calm down a touch and actually try to establish good habits.

benny

stchasking

None of the above.

The spit, or condensation, is in the second valve slide. Tlt the horn bell up and pull the second valve slide. Shake the water out of the slide. Press down the second valve and blow through the horn.

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"I was performing professionally at age 17 and have never had a real job." Allen Vizzutti

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lupin62

I find I have the same problem. It really only effects me when I'm doing my daily routine though. Once in a while it'll happen to me in ensembles too though. I don't really have a solution for you, all I really do is empty the spit valves and blow the rest of the spit out the bell of my instrument.

oldlou

Much of what is said here is inherant in the design of the horn. I have never owned a trumpet or cornet that accumilated condesation in the second valve crook, but, one of my section mates in a local community concert band that we play in has an awful time with water build up that same crook on his Getzen 900. I have the same problem in the first 'pre loop' on my York Perfec-tone cornet. My deduction is that some horn designs are more susceptable to condensation in the early or late segments of the tubing than most others.


OLDLOU>>

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aragorn10027

Hah. I have the same problem with my Kanstul. I love the horn, but it's a rainmaker. Never had so much spit before.