Bill Dishman

I am trying out a Besson Eb Cornet made in 1899. It is in incredible shape. The mp is the original with the flat rim and a very sharp bit. Very uncomfortable for me. I obtained a besson shanked Denis Wick and the feel is quite a bit better. It has a deep funnel bowl.

Question. Is the typical Eb cornet sound deep and full (like with the Wick mp) or should it be more resonant and lively as with a more "C" shaped cup?

Thanks...


Bill Dishman
Gainesville, Florida

tom turner

Hi Bill,

The original mouthpiece will give it the correct sound it was designed to produce.

Don't let the "cookie cutter" rim scare you. In the mid 1920s Vincent Bach forever turned the mouthpiece market around with the wider, rounded, "comfort rims" we use even today.

However, in finding a really comfortable rim . . . combined with the addition of the pinky finger hook on leadpipes (to play one-handed during mute changes and plunger work started in the 1920's too), players were exposed to horns that were soon mashed strongly against that new, wide "comfort rim" in order for new students to squeak out a higher note.

The result was a dramatic increase in pressure on the chops that continues to plague tons of players through the decades. IMHO, the "comfort rims" have cursed hundreds of thousands of young, potentially fine trumpet players to mediocrity due to learning to play with excessive pressure that they could never have done for three minutes on a "cookie cutter."

Again . . . DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE COOKIE CUTTER RIM!!!

Instead, avoid the pinky hook (if that horn even has one . . . which I doubt) . . . and learn to play on the original "piece" without pressure!!! It will dramatically improve your lip trills, flexibility and endurance if you'll master that "piece" . . . and those improvements will transfer back over to your "comfort rim" mouthpieces on other horns!

Remember . . . the sharp, flat, narrow "cookie cutter" rim provides the necessary air seal with exponentially LESS arm pressure needed on the chops. Once you "re-learn" not to use pressure on that currently "brutal" mouthpiece, you'll have amazing endurance, flexibility, etc. . . . IF you'll stick with it and discover what I've discovered.

Once I adapted to mine on my Boston 3-Star, I discovered that I could literally play on it all night with no loss of endurance or range!!! One huge worship seminar I played at (the photo is my avitar) had one event that lasted FIVE straight hours. As a matter of fact, that was the night of the photo . . . and I'd been playing that day also in morning and afternoon sessions. I truly felt I could go forever . . . and was playing that little Boston 3-Star cornet in the photo all the way up to Double Es all the way to the end of the night with no fatigue. (The green "rectangle" on the bell is the rubber clip of the AKG C-419 instrument mic of my wireless system I use at these events)



Believe me though . . . that cookie cutter will nearly INSTANTLY tell you when you are using more pressure than needed (which won't be much)! If you heed its "warnings" . . . you'll see some cool results on every mouthpiece you play.

Sometimes I think we all screwed up when the "comfort rims" caught on . . . for they both allowed us . . . and required us, to use more pressure to get the needed air seal. Worse, they "allowed" young players the luxury of using really massive pressure on the lips to make short cuts that let 'em squeak out a high note in an improper way.

Call me crazy . . . but even though this is April Fools Day . . . I ain't kiddin" about what I've written! Try it, stick with it . . . and you'll see!

Sincererly,

Tom Turner

Robert Rowe

Tom Turner is correct.

Only thing -- your lips will look like "Betty Boop's" (especially after playing for 5 hours).

Robert Rowe