[Trombone-l] Alto Trombone Mouthpiece Advice

[David W. Buckley]

For sure you have to use what works for you. The difference in timbre, 
shorter shifts, different setting of the partials not to mention reading the 
alto clef all make playing the alto an interesting experience for most of 
us. I  bought a Minick alto a few years ago from Mark Donatelle when he 
retired from orchestra playing and spent a fair bit of time trying to find a 
mouthpiece that worked for me. My community orchestra only programs music 
requiring an  alto every couple of years so that also affected my search. My 
normal setup is from Doug Elliot and consists of a 103 rim, F or G cup 
depending on whether I'm playing orchestra or brass band, a G Conn shank and 
an F shank for my Bach 36. After a lot of checking - I tried every mp at the 
booths at Nashville ITF - on the advice of both Doug Elliot and Tom Izzo I 
settled on staying with the 103 rim but with a C cup and C shank. That seems 
to work or at least both the trumpet player sitting in front of me and the 
orchestra conductor seem to think it sounds fine. With the few times I use 
it this enables me to get up to speed fairly quickly and also if necessary 
move between horns easily on the same gig. I still have trouble feeling 
comfortable with the sound and reading the clef but I guess that's the way 
it is for us amateurs. Must confess I sometimes write in the shifts for 
safety. Playing the horn is challenge enough without thinking at the same 
time.

Dave Buckley.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Daniel Pliskin" <daniel_pliskin at hotmail.com>
To: <trombone-l at server5.samford.edu>
Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2006 12:37 AM
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Alto Trombone Mouthpiece Advice


>
>
>>I'm having trouble finding the "right" MP to use.  My
>>main bone is an old (1967) 48H and my normal MP is a
>>Yamaha 48 MP. In my gig bag I also have the following:
>
>>Anyway, right now, I seem to get the best sound (to my
>>untrained ear) with the Wick.
>
>
> Ultimately, it's you who have to listen to most of your alto playing and 
> you
> who have to be pleased with the results.
>
> Also, there is no ideal setup, only good compromises.  The rest takes
> practice, with whatever setup you settle on.
>
> So if you're happy with the tone you're getting with the Wick, stay with 
> it
> for a while.  I don't shun away from changing mouthpieces.    If a 
> different
> mouthpiece requires that I make different muscles, then I get to make
> different muscles.
>
> For me, the mouthpiece is the least of my problems with playing alto.
> Mostly, I get mixed up as to where harmonics are on alto.  And then I get
> mixed up again, when I go back to tenor.
>
> DanP
>
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>
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