I think Doug is right on with his last statement. As one who has experimented too many times with equipment, partially out of intellectual curiosity and partially out of stupidity, I have at least settled on one certain type of rim (very thin with a wide inner diameter) but have found that the cup, shank, and horn must match in some way. I remember struggling with an Alex and then calling my more experienced uncle for help. He immediately suggested that I try an Alex mouthpiece, and when I did, it was as if I was playing an entirely different horn...everything worked. Now that my horn collecting has narrowed, I can pretty much use the exact same mouthpiece on everything and it all seems to work well. I am embarrassed to say how much time, effort, and money was spent to get to where I am now. Nevertheless, my mistakes (usually made against the advice of some great teachers) have allowed me to help younger players (and to feel some degree of credibility on this topic).
Orlando -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 9:07 AM To: horn@music.memphis.edu Subject: [Hornlist] Giardinelli Mouthpieces I grew up in the NYC Metro playing a large-bell silver horn starting on a C-12 and moving to a C-1 later on and emulating the Chambers/Bloom aesthetic with some success:) At CCM years later, working on a DMA for which I had to prepare 4 recitals, it occurred to me that I needed different equipment for solo/chamber and bought an Alex Single-B that Kendall Betts had on consignment with Walter Lawson. It became immediately obvious that the Alex needed a different mouthiece. I used a Schilke 30B for about 10 years until the narrowness of the diameter began to feel restrictive. I am told that as we get older, we need to go to larger diameters and this has held true for me. I think that Schilke 30B had a 16.9mm inner diameter. I first moved to an Orval from Stork with a slightly narrow 17.5, then tried some other 17.5 Tilz models (Angerer, McWilliam), 17.5 Paxman (4B, 4C with both standard and narrow rims) 17.5 Klier (various cups in the M and K series) and finally the Halstead-Chidell line. I've given a lot of these mouthpieces extensive trials of at least a few months to several years (wary of the "honeymoon" and backlash effects of changing equipment.) I'm currently using the Halstead Chidell AN (a large 17.5) rim and switching between the 20,21A,22A and 23A cups depending on which of my horns I'm using (ranging from an Alex 107s compensating descant to a 303G full triple) and whether I'm playing solo/recital or large orchestra. I think it makes sense to use a mouthpiece system that has a variety of rims that interchange with a variety of cups. Empirically, it has seemed to me that the rim has to fit the player and the cup has to fit the horn. Doug Lundeen Brass Roots Trio Assoc. Prof. of Horn Rugers University _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/pandolfi%40deerfield.edu _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
