Peso de bulbo y peso total de plantas

Finding the perfect mouthpiece has been almost as elusive for trumpeters as finding the Holy Grail has been for those of the Christian faith. The most important thing I can say about mouthpieces is that you better have one because that sharp rim of the leadpipe will cut your lips! All kidding aside, it is true that I have practiced, on occasion, without a mouthpiece for the pur- pose of eliminating the use of pressure. Further, this can only be accomplished by using a very small aperture of the lips, which in turn requires considerable focus of the air. I would not recom- mend this experimentation to others, but it was interesting to try and was just another example of how far I would go to find a way to help my students.

I began playing at age six, and sometime before I was ten, my grandmother bought me my own King cornet. I played the mouthpiece that came with the horn. It was an M5, whatever that means. I played on that mouthpiece through public schools, college, the army, back to college, and was still playing it when I started teaching at North Texas in 1950. Somewhere along the way I decided I ought to know something about mouthpieces since students were always concerned about what they should use. Most of my students played Bach mouthpieces—wonder how many of them were still playing what came with the horn?—so I thought it was a good place to start. I got the Bach mouthpiece catalogue and made an arrangement with the local Bach representative to have several of the popular model num- bers to try out.

I discovered that the Bach mouthpiece most like my King M5 was the Bach 7B. So, I played the 7B for awhile. Then Alois Hruby of the Cleveland Orchestra sent me one of his designs

that was also much like the 7B Bach and the King M5, and I played on it for awhile. Still experimenting, I discovered I could play a richer, fuller sound on the Bach 7. From the first time I played the Bach 7, it was the sound I wanted on the Reynolds trumpet and cornet. I stuck with that mouthpiece for many years. In fact, I recorded the Golden Crest Recital album on the Bach 7 cornet and Bach 7 trumpet mouthpieces. I became more informed about mouthpiece makers and mouthpiece characteris- tics, and since I was now fifty pounds heavier than I was when I first played the Bach 7 diameter, it was time to move on to something wider! After purchasing every Bach mouthpiece in their catalogue for the trumpet department, I finally switched to the Bach 1½B that I played for the rest of my career, probably close to twenty-five years.

Mouthpiece selection is a very personal thing. It must match up to what the trumpet design needs and at the same time fit the player and his expectations. It must be comfortable on the lips, and it should enhance a good tone. Numbers do not mean a whole lot to me because fine players will make the horn sound the same regardless of what they might play. The right mouth- piece will make this easier. Less-gifted players do need to con- sider which mouthpiece they play because they need all the help they can get.

To keep things simple for most players. I suggest trying the popular Bach sizes—numbers from 1C, 1½B, 1½C, 3C, 5B, 5C, 7, 7B, to 7C. Most players know this, but for those who don’t, keep in mind that the numbers 1 through 7 indicate the diameter of the mouthpiece, with 1 being the widest diameter and 7 being the narrowest. The numbers go all the way to 20, but I do not recommend anything more narrow than 7 (which is considered Medium) for standard playing. A smaller diameter is certainly a

consideration for smaller F, G, and piccolo trumpets. I used a Bach 20C when I played the Brandenburg Concerto in 1950.

The letters indicate the depth of the cup. Size A= very deep; B=deep; C=medium; D=shallow; E=very shallow. Remember that the diameter determines how it feels on the lips and the depth determines the quality of tone.

Some players might need a more comfortable inner rim. Schilke and Yamaha make identical mouthpieces, but the num- bering system is exactly the opposite from Bach. A glance at the ads in any International Trumpet Guild Journal will reveal that mouthpiece makers probably outnumber trumpet makers these days. Some brands have been around for years; others are quite new, and it would be interesting to compare them to the ones I know best. David Monette even incorporates the mouthpiece into the design of the leadpipe of his high-end horns.

Everyone should experiment with mouthpieces even if they are perfectly satisfied with what they have. You will not know if you have the right mouthpiece until you have played and rejected a variety of mouthpieces. Who knows? There just might be one out there that you cannot reject. Go ahead and buy it. Nothing is forever. You will change again some day.

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John once said, “Being a trumpet player is like being a plumber. You must have a full bag of tools to get the job done. If you show up at my house to fix the faucet and don't have a basin wrench, it is impossible to perform your duties. With trumpet, all the tools such as flexibility, range, double tonguing must be in that tool kit ready to go. And you don't need a basin wrench to clean out your horn.”

Gary Barrow

One day when I was an undergraduate student, some of us were talking about how moving the braces around on your horn could really help the free- ness and the intonation. I was working at that time in the horn rental and repair office. Some friends of mine were taking instrument repair, so we de- cided to take my horn (a New York Bach), and remove some of the braces and see what changes we could make. You never know if you can find the right thing. We might have been able to find the secret formula for double high C’s! Well, that week I went to my lesson with Mr. Haynie and showed him what I had done. He looked at the horn and asked, “Now what does that do for you?” I told him I thought the intonation was a little better and that it seemed a little freer to blow. Mr. Haynie replied, “Well, when I get so good that I can tell the difference, maybe I’ll have it done to my horn.” That afternoon I went and had all the braces put back where they belonged. Mr. Haynie’s words were so true. If I’d only spent that time practicing!