cornetguy

hi manny and all

saint paul civic is doing till eulengpiegel (sp?) there is the spot marked gestopf. i have recordings that they are just using straight mutes and others that they are doing hand on bell. what is usually done in that spot?

Tootsall

Did you say "Get stuffed"?


Ok, waiting for Manny's reply.

Manny Laureano

The true gestopft sound is a brassy sound. The folks that merely put their hands over the bell are wrong. A modern mute is probably closer to the right sound. Attempting a true gestopft sound is certainly possible but hardly worth the effort. You can reach around, jam your hand in the bell, transpose down half a step (or up, I forget which way right now, it's late) and get a fairly accurate rendition of the correct sound. It takes a lot of practice to just be able to nail it the first time in concert. I don't know anyone who can nail it on the first try but, what the heck, if you want to invest the time, why not? Just get the section to buy into the idea of practicing it so it's in tune and spot on and you'll have a "new" sound. It comes in handy for Mahler symphonies also.

For the rest of you: you're not allowed to write in and argue with me until you've played the section he's talking about as marked in performance. That would be a concert G# above the staff fortissimo, in tune, and without missing. The same goes for your section.

ML

Vulgano Brother

Played the third trumpet part under Gunther Schuller and we all used cheap aluminium straight mutes -- no copper bottom, no heavy wall, just cheapo ugly sounding things.

As for stopping with the hand, the bonus points are doubled when used on a rotary!

tpetplyr

I have an old, beat up Tom Crown aluminum straight mute that I keep around for when conductors ask for an ugly, muted sound (it happens. Rarely.). While not disgusting, it is significantly raspier, brassier, and all around more crass than the Denis Wick I use most of the time. In the hypothetical situation that I ever actually get to perform said piece, would this be appropriate?

Stuart

Richard Oliver

Sometimes things are said just right.

Boss: Richard, could we have something different there?
Richard: Sure. What do you have in mind?
Boss: Something not so cheapo and ugly sounding.


Richard


p.s. Apologies. It's a day off and for some reason I'm embued with frivolity.

Vulgano Brother

Ok, ok, guilt is getting the better of me. I got lost during the performance, so Gunther was less concerned with "gestopf" as he was with a certain "Dummkopf."

rowuk

The horns have to do this quite a bit in Mahler. It is has the edge you would get playing FFFFFFFF at about a mf-f volume.
My trumpet teacher (88 years old) has a mute that kind of looks like a straight mute but is made of wood and covered with thin leather. He says that is how they used to play it.
The correct translation in this context of "gestopft" is plugged up.