[Trombone-l] New: Personal Blast Shield Needed

Wed Oct 1 13:55:55 CDT 2008

Hi Bob,

Many trumpeters have their mouthpieces bent so that the bell of their instrument is raised up without their having to change how they play.  I play a little to the left of the center of my embouchure so I've had a few alto trombone mouthpieces bent so that the horn doesn't bump up against my head when I play.  Bending them hasn't changed the way any of the mouthpieces play, even in the slightest.  Bob Reeves in LA can do the work and it doesn't cost much at all.  Suggest it to the lead player for the next time.  Maybe he would like to increase his projection and match the look of the rest of the section as well.

The plastic baffles work OK for most players, but not so well for trombones.  That's because the shield needs to be as close to the back of your head as possible in order for it to work properly, the closer the better; more than about six inches and it actually provides no protection unless it's huge.  That doesn't leave enough room for your tuning crook.

You CAN get used to wearing ear plugs.  Get some ER 20's.  They're pretty good.  Start with one in the ear closest to the sound source and don't put it in very tightly.  Not much protection, but you can still tune and start getting used to the way you sound.  Little by little put the one in farther and then start with the second plug.  It doesn't take long before you can interpret what you're hearing correctly.

I recently purchased another off-the-shelf earplug called MusicSafe Pro by Alpine, made in The Netherlands.  I haven't had a chance to try them on stage yet.  They appear to be similar to ER 20's.  A little more expensive, but they come with different inserts to adjust the amount of attenuation.  Perhaps someone can comment.

Steve Gamble, Librarian
Tucson Symphony Orchestra
2175 N. 6th Ave.
Tucson, AZ  85705
520-792-9155 x118 office
520-792-9314 fax
520-991-7056 cell
sgamble at tucsonsymphony.org
www.tucsonsymphony.org

-----Original Message-----
From: trombone-l-bounces at samford.edu [mailto:trombone-l-bounces at samford.edu] On Behalf Of bonemstr at america.net
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 11:04 AM
To: trombone-l at samford.edu
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] New: Personal Blast Shield Needed

Seeking input for protecting hearing.
I play in a big band where the lead trpt stands right behind me. The  
set up is per director's orders, so there's no moving around. The trpt  
is a nice guy and fine player. He is the only one who does not play  
with a raised stand; rather, its completely down. He plays directly  
into the back of my head and/or either ear and won't play over my  
head. When I present the problem to him, he refuses to change or  
adjust and says, 'that's just how I play.' I'm not sure if he has  
shoulder problems and can't raise his arms high enough or what.

Instead of making a bigger issue, I've decied to build a clear plexi/  
Lexan 'blast shield' to mount on the chair back and protect my ears  
and head from direct attack.

Anyone have experience with this situation, this remedy or  
alternatives? Ear plaugs don't help the back of the head and don't  
allow for good pitch tuning w/others.

Thanks in advance for any input. First concert of the season coming up  
Monday. Home Depot this weekend!!

Bob Devine
Roswell/Atlanta, GA
An 'All Shires' family

Quoting james meador <jamesmeador at hotmail.com>:

>
>
> Tim Buzbee's New CD "Buzzed" Official Release Today
> Just wanted to let everyone know that today is the official release   
> date of Tim Buzbee's new CD "Buzzed". The CD is available online at   
> several different places, including Barnes and Noble, Target,   
> CDUniverse, and Amazon, and eventually the CD will be sold in store   
> at Barnes and Noble. The CD is just fantastic, and Tim's playing is   
> absolutely incredible...as musical and solid as it gets. Everyone   
> I've played the disc for has to scrape their jaws up off the floor.   
> His Herculean low register impresses even string players!!! The disc  
>  includes Danish composer Chister Daniellson's Suite for Tuba and 4   
> Horns, two pieces by James Grant for solo tuba, Three Furies and   
> Stuff, two pieces by myself, Six-Pack and Reciprocity (with Jessica   
> Buzbee), Sandtrom's Song for Lotta, and an arrangement of an   
> Icelandic folk song by Christian Lindberg. To close the CD Tim has   
> included a track of bloopers from the recording sessions. The CD is   
> a must have!!!!Check out Amazon first, as it seems to be the only   
> one with artwork so far. Here is the   
> link:http://www.amazon.com/Buzzed-Timothy-Buzbee/dp/B001F7OX3MAnd a   
> few   
> others:http://www.target.com/Danielsson-Buzzed-Christer/dp/B001FA2W5Khttp://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7760706&style=classical&cart=776318470http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ean=34061105428&ourl=buzzed&itm=11&rv=1Enjoy!!James MeadorJames Grant's music is available at http://www.jamesgrantmusic.com/, James Meador's music is available at   
> http://www.warwickmusic.com/composers/m+-+o/james+meador.
> ====================== James N. Meador, Bass Trombone Orquesta   
> Sinfónica de Yucatán 011-52-999-221-5845 cell jamesmeador at hotmail.com
> _______________________________________________
> Trombone-l mailing list
> Trombone-l at samford.edu
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>

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