[Trombone-l] Pedal Note Articulation

[Daniel Pliskin]

>A quick question.  I've been spending a lot of time trying to get a
>fuller, quicker responding pedal range on the bass trombone


Doug,

This works for some people and not for others.

Try adding some weight to your mouthpiece.  The quick and easy way to do 
this is to take your mouthpiece down to a good hardware store.  Find a large 
nut (as in nuts and bolts), which fits loosely over the shank area of your 
mouthpiece, the area closer to the rim, which doesn’t stick into the 
receiver.   Then wrap masking tape on the shank until you can thread the nut 
onto the shank.

That will give you a mouthpiece, which weighs an extra few ounces.  And if 
it works for you, it should give you faster articulation.  If it doesn’t, 
you’ve spent a bit of time and 50 cents.

On some trombones, you can also thread a nut onto the end of the receiver, 
using the same trick.

If it does do what you want, where do you go from there?  There are heavy 
mouthpieces on the market.  There are also lots of mouthpiece weights on the 
market, which, I’m sure, look better than having a steel nut screwed to your 
mouthpiece.  At least you’ll know where to look for that rapid attack you’re 
after.

DanP