[Trombone-l] Assessing mouthpieces

[Dave Demko]

Listers,
	I have a question related to the discussion, a little while back,
about moving students up from a 12C to something larger, even a 5G.
	Thanks to Newell Sheridan, who travels with more and better trombones
and gear than some stores have in stock, I was able to try some
mouthpieces with my horn (and some very nice horns with my
mouthpiece). The experience reinforced for me the importance of
verifying by ear and feel whatever differences size, shape, weight,
and so on are supposed to make according to the spec sheet.
	For example, I tried a Griego 4.5 and 3.5, both a bit larger than my
5G, expecting them to help my tone quality at the expense of my high
range. But they didn't make much difference in either. A 6 1/2 AL does
help my high range while making my tone thinner.
	I'm not asking for specific mouthpiece recommendations so much as
advice on an approach to evaluating mouthpieces. I'm not even sure I
want to change, but I'd like to explore the possibilities in a
systematic and sane way. Any suggestions?
	I'm planning to spring for some lessons for the sake of "course
correction," and I'm thinking that a teacher's ears and guidance will
be very useful in evaluating mouthpieces.

Thanks,
Dave D.