Angela, Without quoting your post:
1. Count your (Bent) Blessings: (One-One Thousand, Two-One Thousand....) Blessings are used by band directors because they are cheap. It is my opinion that they are not good mouthpieces. I've tried them and lots of others, and the Blessings are rarely good for development or performance. My opinion, but there you are. Bending mouthpieces used to be a more common practice in repair shops (see repair manuals from the 1930's), and it was done to correct for dentition problems. With the advent of orthodontia en masse, it is rare to require a mouthpiece be bent. There are right and wrong ways to bend mouthpieces. The right way involves cutting a "V" into the shank at just the approriate place, then bending and brazing the mouthpiece back into a single unit. The wrong way is to just bend it. If a bad mouthpiece is bent and produces a worse mouthpiece, have you gained anything? Still, some band directors will do anything for the right effect on the field. Reminds me of Lt. Scheiskopf (that's his name, right?) from Catch-22, who was so obsessed with parades that he wanted to install bolts from the soldiers' arms to their hips to keep their arms from swinging. 2. Conn Flakes - a well-balanced meal: Horn balance can be an important issue for some people. Finke horns are designed especially to achieve the kind of balance you want in your 8D. You'll notice that each wrap of horn has its own peculiar balance issues. I am sure you'll get a lot of good suggestions about what to do to counter-balance the high center of gravity. Many different schemes could work, but I think you should try a strap, such as the Clebsch strap. It won't change the balance, but it will allow you to hold the horn more easily. There's a trombonist here in our town who has the most incredible contraptions soldered and glued to his horns to achieve a perfect balance. I guess it works, but it sure is goofy looking. Whenever I work on his horns I have to work around these Rube Goldberg-like devices. Not fun. Dave Weiner Brass Arts Unlimited _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
