sapper

Hi Wilmer,

I'm trying to convince a friend, who will be playing West Side Story soon, that the D trumpet parts should be played on Bb. I could see the whole show being played on C, but to me D just gets too "small". I'm sure I've seen a thread on this topic, but can't find it. Can you weigh in?

Thanks,

__________________
Cathy

wiseone2

There are many versions of West Side Story. I have played one that had D trumpet on the first and second part. Phil Ruecktenwald played the second part on a Monke piccolo on the Bernstein recording, he sounded full on that setup. I remember the first time that I played the show. I played second trumpet. I used a Bach 236 D trumpet. You can make a lot of noise with that sucker.
I like D trumpet.
Wilmer

__________________
Be sure Brain is engaged before putting Mouthpiece in gear.
S.Suark 1951

sapper

Thanks Wilmer. Not exactly what I was expecting to hear. I guess it depends on the player and the horn. I know I couldn't get the right sound with my D or picc.

__________________
Cathy

tjtrumpet

Here are my thoughts on the D trumpet part. I've been playing WSS in various configurations since 1975.

The 1st Trumpet player almost always gets a little extra bread for playing 1st Trumpet (on Bway that amounts to $9.38 extra per show). On WSS, both 1st & 2nd trumpet are equally hard. My thinking is when the show was first in rehearsals that the 1st & 2nd trumpet players went to either the contractor or MD or orchestrator and asked for there to be some way the 2nd trumpet player could get a little extra bread for all the work he has to do. By adding the double on D, it'd make all that playing more palatable.

Makes sense to me - discuss amongst yourselves.

To reinforce this thinking, the piccolo trumpet part on Phantom (only 1 measure) was added for a similar purpose - to give that player a little extra bread, also making it more enticing for subs to come in on that part.

Side note - current Bway scale gives the guy playing the double a whole lot more in pay than the guy playing 1st with no doubles.

I've played in on D, I've played it on Bb, and I've played it on picc just for fun - all work.

__________________
BTW, contact me for "The Best Damn Trumpet Lead Pipe Swab Period! - you won't be disappointed! (Proudly made entirely in the USA....Brooklyn and Exit 15W, to be precise).

Jimi Michiel

Remember too that there are many different kinds and sizes of D trumpets. I have a D trumpet that was cut down from a Bach 239 C trumpet that I use for big stuff that just fits better on D. I also have a very small Getzen D trumpet that I use when I play baroque stuff and I want a bigger sound than my little P5-4 can give me. I don't think I could make WSS work on my smaller D trumpet, and the few times I've played it were all before I got my bigger D trumpet. Hopefully I'll get a chance to test it out sometime soon...

__________________
Jimi Michiel
personal website: http://www.jimi-michiel.com
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/trump3t
trumpet studio FB page: http://tiny.cc/trump3t

rowuk

There is a reason that it is written in D. A bit more brilliance is called for. Most symphonic players are not brilliant lead players. The D sound gets them closer. Last time I played it, I switched to a lead mouthpiece for that section and kept using my Bb. The cellos in front of me were not amused though, the conductor just kept grinning........

__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

tjtrumpet

If the cellos are not amused, that means you are playing the trumpet just the way it should be played!

__________________
BTW, contact me for "The Best Damn Trumpet Lead Pipe Swab Period! - you won't be disappointed! (Proudly made entirely in the USA....Brooklyn and Exit 15W, to be precise).

ttrumpetguy

Hi Wilmer, is there any advantage in using piccolo trumpet in A, as opposed to Bb to play the D trumpet parts in West Side Story?

ttrumpetguy

Hi Wilmer,
Is there any advantage in using piccolo trumpet in A, as opposed to Bb to play the D trumpet parts in West Side Story? I'm more of a commercial player who studied classically while in high school and college (some 20 years ago) and I thought the idea of using the A lead-pipe on a piccolo trumpet was to make the fingerings easier, though in this specific case, I'm not sure that concept applies. Would there be other reasons such as the timbre being closer to a D trumpet on picc. with the A lead-pipe? Please note that the fine young trumpeter Trevor Neumann is using this set-up for the D trumpet parts on the current Broadway production and he sounds fantastic! (so does the entire trumpet section; John Chudoba (lead), Matt Peterson and pit orchestra IMHO). The only place where Trevor uses a regular Bb trumpet is for the solo D trumpet parts in "Mambo" as it fits the Latin dance idiom more authentically than a Bb/A piccolo or D trumpet would.

ttrumpetguy

Hi Wilmer,
If memory serves me correctly some of the music from West Side Story was used in another Broadway show "Jerome Robbin's Broadway" that you played lead on. Do you remember if those parts from WSS were played on a Bb/A picc. or on a D trumpet?