WaWa

Manny,

I am a junior in highschool playing on a Bach Strad with a Bach 5c mouthpiece. I have recently been more and more interested in trying out some of the Monette mouthpieces and even possibly purchasing one.

I believe I have a fairly go sound..and a range I can get by with, with my 5c..but I was interested on the advantages of the Monette's.

I was just curious as to what you think is the biggest advantage of using Monette equipment over..Bach for this case.

And also, I've heard a lot of talk about the PRANA configuration. What are some of the advantages to having a PRANA mp over a standard.

Thanks for your time,

__________________
Peyton

Just have fun with it!

K.Buck

I just got a Monette B2 and I find it to be more free blowing than my Bach 3C. However, where you adjust your slide when you tune may change for a while.

Trumpet Hobo

I'd love have to a Monette , but I don't have the $$$ .

__________________
'66 Olds Ambassador
Bach Mt. Vernon 7 mpc

Manny Laureano

Wawa,

I play Monette mouthpieces for a variety of reasons:

1) financially, it's not a burden for me

2) the intonation is superior to anything else I've ever played

3) the sound is very brilliant and I like the way his mouthpieces compliment his horns. Nothing else I've tried works as well on his horns as his mouthpieces in my experience and i have a lot of experience.

The Prana is a very free-blowing mouthpiece and requires a player to have great control over his breathing and a very stable embouchure, even more than Dave's previous mouthpieces.

ML

JazzBird

Hi Manny,

I could not help but read your comment on this thread:

I have been playing a B4S Prana with my Prana 993 for a few months. I love the combination "when I get it working" , but have found that I get inconsistent results day by day . I have played this setup for 6 months.

Just this weekend I stuck a classic B4S STC-1 into the Prana 993 (which I am sure Dave would cringe at) and all of a sudden everthing seemed easier to play. Although, the horn sounded brighter too.

I get the feeling that I am fighting the lack of resistance on the Prana mpc and maybe this is causing my inconsistent results ? I try to play relaxed and with the ideal posture that Dave talks about....but often this is difficult to maintain.

Any ideas/thoughts would be very welcomed

JazzBird

Manny Laureano

Ready for someting a litle weird:

Go grab your horn and Prana mouthpiece. Yeah, fine, I'll wait. I have to use the restroom anyway.

Okay... just play something. How about "Over the Rainbow" or "Somewhere"?

Now put the horn in your lap and notice where your jaw and temple connect, the temporo-mandibular joint. Mentally disconnect them so the joint is "disconnected". Notice how relaxed that feels? Now maintain that idea as you play that tune again right now, please.







Bingo.

Happy practicing.

ML

JazzBird

Thank you Manny. What a great mental technique ! I just tried that this morning and noticed the difference right away. As you suggested I imagined that my jaw was disconnected and in fact slipped down about an inch...and I felt much more relaxed and my air seems to flow better.

Thank you very much !!!

Manny Laureano

JB,

That's great,my friend. Hang around... we'll have some more good talks. One last thing, remember that this approach is going to require even MORE wind to keep it afloat. You're back on track, babe... go sing!

ML

JazzBird

Thank you so much Manny. It's amazing how sometimes a slight change in approach can make a huge difference.

I certainly will stick around...and in fact I am going to spend a few hours and read all your other posts too

Singing happily today

JB

gzent

A few hours? It would takes days!

So, JB, et.al. let's start whining again - when's Manny going to write a book for us mortals?

Greg

__________________
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