crowmadic

Aside from large lips, why use mouthpieces below a 3? Is it stricktly for a mellower sound? Please explain with details.........thanks, tom

dcstep

If you play rolled out, then a larger mpc can be nice, even if your lip thickness is average.

Dave

Vulgano Brother

Mellowness comes from cup depth and shape, rather than diameter. (Some players experience a "duller" sound if the mouthpiece diameter is too small, for example.) The larger mouthpieces tend to give... uhh, "more sound" is the best way I can put it. Not louder, not broader necessarily, but, well, more. It can be very useful when blending with trombones and horns, for it is possible to (pause for more Vulgano invented, highly subjective wording.....) send the sound "sideways," mixing the trumpet sound into the orchestra, filling without overpowering.
Hope this helps some!

BflatAnklan

I have a rather flat front to my teeth and prefer the feeling of wider rims. My lips are sort of on the thin side, but because if the surface area I feel more comfortable on what is like a 2 rim. My lead piece is more like a 3 1/2 (I guess).

You know, it doesn't really matter anyway. If you like the way you sound, go for it.

Dale Proctor

Playing on a huge mouthpiece is a macho thang.

camelbrass

I moved from a 3C to 1 1/2C and sound better and feel that it better balances with the way I play, the type of music I play and the equipment I use.

Mouthpieces are such personal pieces of kit though and what some players achieve by going larger some seem to achieve by going smaller. Context and the environment you normally play in, I suspect, play a large part as well in terms of how you want to sound. I went for a 'larger' sound that maintained brilliance. Ultimately you're looking for the 'Goldilocks' scenario.


Regards,


Trevor

John P

I prefer a Bach 1 1/4 C rim. The tone's big and dark without distortion at high volumes. The mouthpiece is somewhat big, but for the kind of playing I do (the studio here at school tends to gravitate towards that dark, "north texas" classical sound) it works well as long as I keep a reasonable practice routine. It's also the only rim I've found that really lets my articulation pop cleanly. It feels like "home." I don't have to do much, if any adjusting or compensating.

Pedal C

For some reason, large (2C - 1C) feel good, and small (7C - 10.5C) feel good, but middle (3C-5C) feel awful. It's like theres some scar tissure in there that gets in the way or something...I just can't play on those sizes.

As far as the sound, on a big horns, I sound good on the big mouthpiece and mediocre on the small ones, so I play the big size for Bb and C. On the piccolo, the big rims are unfocused and make me tired, but the small sizes sound good and are more efficient, so that's what I use there. Middle sized feel bad and sound mediocre, so I don't use them on anything.

I used a 7C-sized mouthpice on the Bb and C for a year or two, but I never liked how I sounded. I expected to eventually get the sound I wanted anyway, but it didn't happen, so I went back to the bigger ones.

So I guess I play a large mouthpiece on the big horns because it felt good without sacrificing the sound.

Jason.

music matters

A larger mouthpiece generally will give you a bigger richer sound - the large 1C, 1 1/4C and 1 1/2 C are generally preferred by Orchestral musicians who want that big orchestral sound. This usually comes at the expense of endurance (and a larger mouthpiece usually requires a strong well set embouchoure) which is why amateur players (like me) tend to play a 3C which is a good all round compromise.

I know jazz players (pro and amateur) that use the 3C as well as they can play high notes more easily and is better endurance wise so is again a good compromise.

These are just generalities - as camelbrass said what works for one doesn't always work for the next but hopefully it answers your question.

MM

hornblatt

I think it's more a comfort thing thing than anything else. I know a lot of people that are always saying "if you don't play on a huge mouthpiece then you're not a real trumpet player" and I've learned to just ignore them. Granted, when I started playing at age 7 all I had was a 1 1/2C so that's what I used. From there I went to a 5C and now I play on around a 3 rim and I vary the depth for sound. I can still play on a 1 1/2 if I need to like that one time when my regular mpc got lost at NTC the morning of the competition....but that's a different story. I guess some people are just more comfortable on a bigger mpc. I personally am happy on a 3.