FreshmanTrumpeteer

Hey guys. For a while now i have been wanting a piccolo trumpet pretty badly and was wondering if im ready for one. And its ok if the answers no, as i havent been playing trumpet too long and might need more practice. So yeah ive been playing trumpet for about 3 1/2 years and im first chair in our school Honors band (the bands go like this (lowest to highest): Concert, Symphonic, Honors, Wind Ensemble) though i have a kinda bad tone which is for some reason at its worst (fuzzy that is) if ive been playing for like 2 hours straight, but if i come back to it its better. also my tuning slide is out about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, which through practice im trying to reduce to 1/4 of an inch. my private lesson teacher told me that its because im not using enough air. my highest note on any given day is as low as a high Concert D (above the 3rd octave Concert C) to high Concert G (3 steps above the Concert D). I was just wondering if i was ready for a piccolo trumpet. Pricewise, i realize that i need a $2000+ for a professional piccolo to last me a long time, but im looking below $1000, as low as i can get (may i remind you im a freshman and also have a car to be saving up for) before it gets unplayable. and i mean like its okay if its just okay quality, just as long as its playable, and later on i can buy a really good quality one. Thanks!

MJ

Do you own a C trumpet?

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FreshmanTrumpeteer

No i currently own a Bb Bach Strad

MJ

Buy a C trumpet before a Piccolo IMHO

Bb
C
Piccolo / Eb

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FreshmanTrumpeteer

would this really be necessary? if its really required to get a c trumpet, then this is kind of out of the question. I got my Strad in 7th grade and play to use it until it literally doesnt work anymore. I like it way too much, dont have the money or willingness to buy another trumpet (regular non-piccolo trumpet that is :P), and also it costed me and my dad quite a lot for the one I got (my dad wouldn't even tell me the price, he just said that I would need to fork up at lease a grand if I were to get this trumpet, meaning my guess is its like $2500). Thank you very much for the input.

bjntrumpet

I would wait for a while before purchasing a pic. Any problems that you have on the Bflat will only be amplified. You have so much to learn still on the B flat, keep practicing and lip bends will help with the tone issue. Listen to your teacher, he knows what is best for you.

Brett

FreshmanTrumpeteer

Alright Ill wait at least until these problems are corrected. Thanks!

FreshmanTrumpeteer

By the way, I was just wondering, what should my range be on the Bb before i can play piccolo. Also, when playing piccolo, does it always feel like it does when playing high on the trumpet. I personally do well in the higher range with high notes, they are pretty steady and usually i hit the note, even if i slur up to it from a note in the staff. I am wanting to try one out some time, but all i have is like 3 "Mr E's" music stores near me and none of them have any piccolo trumpets.

burgerbob

As a low brass player playing a Schilke P5-4 way too much lately, I play the picc almost completely different than Bb. I can get a good high F on the Schilke with a Schilke 11A. I play a Yamaha 2320 Bb with a Schilke 16, usually, with a range up to about a D above high C. I just take a completely different approach, with a different airstream, to the picc, because otherwise you get a very nasty sound and bad note transitions. It isnt really a matter of range on the Bb transtitioning to the picc- my friend can NAIL high Gs on a Bb, but struggles to get a D out on the picc.

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FTW!

Me play brass.

GordonH

Here in the UK, the tradition for moving through the instruments is:

Bb Trumpet
Eb/D Trumpet
Piccolo Trumpet

One point to note is that I have always been able to play higher consistently on my Bb trumpet than on piccolo trumpet so if you want a piccolo to help with high notes you may be disappointed. Where the piccolo trumpet comes into its own is articulating complex passages in the mid to upper register. On a Bb trumpet all those notes are more difficult to differentiate and they tend to smear together at the top end.

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"O trumpeter, methinks I am myself the instrument thou playest,
Thou melt'st my heart, my brain--thou movest, drawest, changest
them at will;" (Walt Whitman)