Bad mouthpiece advice?

[Olofson]

I don´t remember any bad mpc advice. I bought lots of "wrong" mouthpieces, but was just bad choice made by my self.

[MrHCinDE]

The first mouthpiece I bought specifically for trombone was a Bach 5GB. I started on euphonium and was playing a 4AL on that. I also used the 4AL at the beginning on trombone.

The 4AL was ok and I still occasionally play it on trombone but it’s pretty deep and for my chops a little inflexible. I was advised by my teacher to try a Bach 5G for a slightly brighter (more “trombone like”) sound and got one through a small local music shop, actually owned by a tuba player I believe.

I didn’t know any better that I’d actually been sold a 5GB, not a plain old 5G. I spent a couple of my formative trombone years fighting the narrow rounded rim before I found something more comfortable. I had questioned the difference but it was explained away with something that 17 year old me believed without questioning.

[Kbiggs]

I have a 5GB as well. I love the sound I get when I play it, but the rim is very uncomfortable. I suppose, though, the rim shape is partly why I get that particular sound.

[MrHCinDE]

I can also play the 5GB these days for a lighter programme and quite like the sound of it with my Bach 42. I’m not trying to say whether the 5GB is good or bad in general terms.

My point was that don’t always trust that people in music shops know what they’re talking about. In my case it coincided with ending lessons when I finished high school so I was basically playing something which was wasn’t well suited to me for several years before I started to look for something more comfortable.

[BrianJohnston]

I almost forgot about the bad mouthpiece advice of: "You don't need a new mouthpiece, you just need to practice more".

This is sometimes true, but if you've had the same problem for about a year or more, the problem might be in your mouthpiece, and not you.

I played on a cup a bit too shallow for me, and when I went slightly deeper, all of my "blowback" issues went away, and I had an easier time in the high range.

[harrisonreed]

Ah yes, the so-called “popping interval.” Supposedly, an octave or a ninth indicated a good mouthpiece, while anything less than an octave or more than a ninth was not.

Interesting. Nerver heard of that. That "popping interval" test has not made it over here.

/Tom

It's sometimes called the "Finger Pop", since you can do it by snapping your finger out of a trumpet mouthpiece cup.

I've noticed, at least with the data from Vennture, that the mouthpieces with high amplitude values on a given F-pop frequency can be played louder.