davyar

I've never really known how much, if any, cork to remove on a mute to fit in the bell. Should the cork be filed down? Does it really matter since the mute is used on different horns?

Thanks

Dave

Schwab

I found a good way to fit a mute to a horn is to soak the cork in water for a while, and then stick it in the horn overnight until they dry. The corks will form to the shape of the bell.

Disclaimer; I've heard that soaking in the water could cause the glue on the corks to come loose, although that has never happened to me.

rowuk

If you put the mute in the horn and the intonation stays the same, don't do anything. If the pitch goes down, you need to remove cork (mute further in). If the pitch goes up, you need to add cork (mute not so deep into the bell).
Unchanged Tom Crown mutes worked perfectly when I played Bach, I had to cut the corks in half to get the intonation right on the Monette (the bell shape is much different).
Goal is to have little intonation change with and without the mute - that increases security.

Tootsall

I'll just add that it's helpful if you have someone else watching the tuner instead of yourself: that way you'll have less tendency to try to push or pull the notes into tune.

If I only had a dime for every time someone told me that you must always "pull the slide out a bit" or "push the slide in" when a mute gets used.................

tom turner

THIS HAS BEEN A PET PEEVE OF MINE FOR YEARS!!!


I HOPE that most mute makers are making their mutes with oversized corks . . . though from looking at a lot of 'em with inconsistent spots where they haphazzardly stick the corks onto the tapered mute would tell me differently!

Horns have different flares to their bells, based on the specific model. For instance, a Model 72 bell has a faster flare, and a 43 has a slower flare, than a 37. Thus, the throat of the 72 is wider and the throat of a 43 is narrower than a 37 where the mute SHOULD go in order for the mute to be in tune.

If a mute is corked oversized, it might just be perfect in a 72, a little cork would have to be filed off to tune it on a 37 and more cork would be removed to tune it on a 43.

Obviously, this is for illustration purposes only. THERE IS NO TELLING WHAT THE THICKNESS IS ON YOUR MUTES . . . or whether you need MORE or LESS cork . . . until you TEST IT. Expect to have to do some modifications!!!

As I mentioned, this has been a pet peeve of mine for years . . . all the trumpet players blissfully inserting their stock mutes and assuming that really sharp sound on their harmons is "perfectly in tune."

It's really bad on the low D and Db . . . and most players have played 'em this way for years and years.


I blame the band directors and music teachers for not teaching the art of mute tuning. Either they slept through that class in college, or no one taught this to them during their advanced education.

I'm cursed with "perfect pitch" (a term I hate) . . . so it drives me nuts when the average trumpeter plays into their unaltered mutes.

T.

Brekelefuw

I have never cut my corks. I always knew about mute tuning changes, but I never connected the corks as a solution for it. I always figured you would trim them to fit the bell only.

rowuk

Tom,
Mute tuning is no different than any other tuning and definitely should be on the list of things to teach a student. It should also be on the packaging of the mute! I wonder if anyone has ever gotten a refund because the mute wasn't in tune?
You have perfect pitch? At A=440? What do you do when you listen to european recordings at A=442 or 443 or old Jazz recordings at A=438?
I have always wanted to ask this question!

Siegtrmpt

I wouldn't be so hard on band directors. While I understand your point many of them are struggling to get the students to press down the right buttons or play the right note when the right buttons are pressed. I think most school band directors would welcome having a band with brass players good enough to have mute tuning on the radar screen.

stchasking

when I was in high school I played Rustiques by Eugene Boza.
I played it technically correct and as musically as I could. I received a II because I didn't tune the mute.

Jim

Dave

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