Lawrence Yates <[email protected]> wrote: How do people cope with the muted/open passages in this piece where there is only a quaver rest to change?
I have two different suggestions. The first is simplest. Play the unmuted notes holding the mute in the bell about where your hand would be, inserting fully only for the muted notes. The mute won't substitute for a proper hand in the high range, but it can be made to work well enough in the low range. You'll need to practice to be confident about pitch adjustment. The second is only slightly more complicated but requires a capital expense somewhere between 15 and 25 cents US. The idea is to add a short strap to the mute so that you can hang it on your wrist while doing unmuted playing, but grab and insert it in something much less than a second. This can be done nondestructively to almost any mute, so you don't need to worry about trashing your $200 mute hand-crafted from virgin organic birch harvested by skilled native craftsmen in the Canadian northwoods. Requires no drilling, gluing, soldering, or brazing. I've put three photos online showing the construction: http://www.franz.com/~smh/mute1.jpg The first shows construction details. From plastic cable ties construct a continuous loop just large enough to fit around the base of the mute. (Three ties, 3-4 pence each. Of course, if you don't already have some in your toolbox the initial purchase of a hundred or so might cost you a couple pounds. But these are incredibly useful things to have around the house.) Adjust the ties so that the continuous loop can be wedged tightly onto the mute. Details may be different for different mutes, but you want the fit to be tight enough that it won't come off inadvertently, but so you can remove it when you want. Next, tie the two ends of about 1/3 meter cord onto the cable-tie band at roughly opposite positions. Note the overhand knot in the center of the cord loop that can adjust the precise length of the cord. http://www.franz.com/~smh/mute2.jpg When playing open, the mute hangs out of the way. But by adjusting the precise length of the cord, you can hang it where your right hand (that's the one at the end of your right arm, usually positioned in the bell) can instantly rotate downward to grab the mue, shown in the final photo: http://www.franz.com/~smh/mute3.jpg Having grabbed the mute, it is a quick move to insert it in the bell. When it is time to remove the mUte, just pull it out, drop it, and reposition the right hand for proper playing. Lather, rinse, and releat as necessary. Like everything else about horn playing, these moves require practice, including gradual adjustment of the loop length. The tricky part is inserting the mute quickly without making a lot of noise, or worse, without denting you bell. Practice slowly and figure out what works for you. _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
