Technology in Trumpet Playing – Page 2

Substantiating Evidence That All Trumpet Mouthpieces are Not Equal (or consistent).

written by Bruce Chidester on July 4, 2023

In a previous post, I addressed the practice of “Clocking” your mouthpiece (“Clocking” Your Mouthpiece Part #2 – Trumpet Blog (thetrumpetblog.com). At the end of my post, I admitted to the possibility that rotating one’s mouthpiece can and did change the sound as well as a resistance factor. In the same article I admitted that I was originally skeptical of this technique but after trying it myself, I was convinced that the rotation made a difference in the final outcome. I also admitted that I had no idea why this happened. I recently had the pleasure of visiting with someone…

More Interesting Assumptions Proven and Disproven

written by Bruce Chidester on April 30, 2023

In our never ending quest for truths and the American dream, I came across this assertion which sounded very plausible, yet questionable. On one of the more popular trumpet bulletin boards I found a reference to a trick which apparently Mr. Armando Ghitalla was given credit. The writer mentioned in passing that “Ghitalla did a lot of experimenting with paper clips, and various hand fashioned doodads, placing them in the backbore of the mouthpiece and other places”. Now I am not a strong fan of placing paper clips in my instrument but the name Ghitalla raised my interest. If this…

Current Listing of 38 “Two Minute Trumpet Tricks”

written by Bruce Chidester on January 22, 2023

We began posting our Two Minute Trumpet Tricks on Dec 28, 2021 and our most recent addition numbers #39 (Replacing Valve Corks). During this period, we have had many visitors to our sites and one request was to list all of our Trumpet Tricks in one location so that our readers would have an easier time choosing the trick that interest them the most. Because of that request, we have listed below all of our Trumpet Tricks to make your selection much easier. If you find this listing helpful, please share it with your friends for we are all here…

Product Review- “flowStick” and “flowDisk” Part 2

written by Bruce Chidester on January 1, 2023

A full week has passed since I began evaluating this product and I have posted my findings below. Advertised claims- True …..“Tool for Brass Instruments- Trumpet, trombone, cornet, French horn airflow and sound True …..airflow training with music and the instrument- The flowStick makes it possible! True …..an airflow you can hear and feel Possible…..The bore of the flowStick is a sophisticated system with blowing edges inside for optimal feedback on the air intensity. True …..flexible for everybody True …..The air consumption with the flowStick can be adjusted individually by turning the screw”. True …..The air resistance or air consumption can…

Learn More About Nick Drozdoff

written by Bruce Chidester on November 29, 2022

In order to fully understand the accomplishments of this talented player/educator, I suggest you first read his Bio at….. Bio | Nick Drozdoff Music | United States …and when you are done, come back to our next post and I will try to fill you in on his most recent activities. Don’t forget to come back for you will miss some very important information about how his advice has improved some problems in my playing…

Three Steps To a Perfect Performance- Revisited

written by Bruce Chidester on September 4, 2022

My previous posts related to “Three Steps to a Perfect Performance” delt with Material, Preparation and Confidence. Selection of Material- Grade A- My selection of Mozart’s “Concerto for Flute In G”- 1st mvt. was slightly beyond my current ability to do a perfect performance. This experience was good for improving my playing but not good enough for a perfect performance. Preparation of Material- Grade B+ Although I prepared as well as I did, some passages were still beyond my current ability. Confidence in executing a perfect performance- C+ Final evaluation- Just as I stated in my post on the importance…

Dime or No Dime? Re-Printed from Feb. 17, 2013

written by Bruce Chidester on May 21, 2022

On one of the more active trumpet discussion boards this month was a question about inserting a dime in the third valve lower cap to change the sound of your trumpet. Being the skeptic I am and will always be; I decided to test the concept. I played with the dime placed in the bottom of my third valve for two weeks and today removed it for my testing. During the two weeks with the dime in, I neither felt, heard nor recognized any change in timbre, accuracy, response, range endurance, amount of money made or any other factors in…

Returning to the Gap Debate…Again!

written by Bruce Chidester on March 10, 2022

..and still the debate continues. Should there be a gap or should there not be a gap. To more fully understand this question, you must first understand what a gap is and in order to show you, please view the following video produced by the Bob Reeves mouthpiece company.

Voldyne 5000-does it work update

written by Bruce Chidester on February 22, 2022

Here is my update from my original article, dated 12/25/2018. It works! “After one month of using this simple device, my vital capacity (amount of forces inhalation) increased from 2,500 ml to 4,000 ml. Read this first- Would you like to increase your air intake? So would I. – Trumpet Blog (thetrumpetblog.com) Voldyne 5000 how does it work The Voldyne 5000 Spirometer Volumetric Exerciser from Hudson RCI is a spirometer used for breathing therapy. It has a clever low-work-of-breathing filter and a high volume measurement. A built-in grip and a compact ergonomic design are included in this spirometer. The Voldyne…

A Fast and Easy Way To Improve Your Intonation Problems

written by Bruce Chidester on October 3, 2021

Tuner Ninja – Online Instrument Tuner What is this? This is a chromatic instrument tuner which is using your microphone to record and detect pitch of musical notes played on your instrument. Why Tuner Ninja? Most of other tuners are either not working, or working only on specific devices. Ninja Tuner is cross platform tuner accessible from wide range of devices. It works on almost every new browser across all operating systems. Users on Android device can add it to their homescreen, and it will take less than 1MB of the device storage. Privacy Your audio is processed in your…