nickkiet

Hello Everyone,
I am 25 years old and have played the trumpet for 11 years. Then I moved to a new city and the apartment I lived in had stringent noise rules. So for the past 5 years I have not been able to play. But suddenly I have a massively huge desire to get back into it. So I have been trying to figure out where I can practice daily (suggestions?) and what exercises I can use to get back to where I was (which is a slow and arduous process). Anyways, I thought I would soak up the knowledge of all the talented people in here!

Thanks so much for posting all of your wisdom here!

Nicole

Vulgano Brother

Welcome to TM! Parking garages work great and sound great, and some churches will let you play inside, especially when playing music. For that boring stuff no one wants to listen to, the Yamaha Silent Brass system works pretty well.

administrator

Welceom Nicole!

nickkiet

Thanks! I totally forgot those even existed! I am going to locate where I would get one in my city and if that doesn't work then I will order from the net. As for the parking garages, I always worry that I will be bothering someone.

Richard Oliver

Welcome Nicole! Grab a Wick practice mute and Arbans somewhere around page 12.

That's what I did after a 25 year layoff.

splinter

Hi Nicole
I'm new to trumpet myself, so i don't have any advice about playing,but i do know about living in a flat!!

I had to buy a Yamaha silent mute to keep my flatmate happy lol..He now says he can't hear me 99% of the time from the next room,as for the 1 % he said it was not enough to worry our neighbor's..

I will say with the mute you still feel like its loud,i was surprised when i first used it (turned off), i was like wow that still feels loud,i guess your hearing the mouthpiece noise inside ur head (if that makes sense),but my friend said it was very quiet..

Apparently theres a very quiet mute from best brass,made by the same designer, might be a second option, its small and cheaper and less harmful to ur playing so i read...I'm sure others can tell you about that mute,i couldnt find one in the UK..
Oh welcome by the way
andy

jlentini

The silent brass is helpful, but beware of playing exclusivley on it. I lived in an apartment and played alot using the silent brass, I was working up Del Staigers arr. of Carnival of Venice. When the performance came about I was so used to playing with the mute that my real soud sounded foriegn, sound, flexibilty, resistance, intonation, and range were all affected and I nearly fell on my face performance wise. Try talking to your surronding neighbors see if they mind you playing at specific times, check local schools for practice rooms as well. I had a friend that played lead and could play very loud, and that guy never used a mute, his neighbors were fine with it. Besides it will be benificial for you to start back playing soft passages. I would also get clarke's book and do the first study, and play quietly, this helps in re establishing your foundation in which you play on. Welcome to the forum, and good for you for coming back to playing!!
Cheers,
Jim

nickkiet

Thanks everyone!

I picked up a wick practice mute and it is working like a charm. Now I have to locate a copy of arbans or any other exercise book. I also have a friend who has a recording studio in his basement and twice a week I go over there to play and he accompanies me on the drums. I also have a jazz combo starting that rehearses once a week too. So I'm hoping this will stop me from finding my sound foreign.

Thanks for all the great advice!

Nicole