New Addition to the Family
Hello, all,
I am pleased to report that my exams are FINISHED. My grading is not, but my coursework is. This has put me in a happy mood, which is fortunate because I’m also exhausted, having been up writing a paper much later than I anticipated before an 8am exam.
I am celebrating by updating the website and breaking in a new C trumpet, which I bought about three weeks ago. I’ve played three major performances on this horn already, but it’s funny what a bout of bronchitis and finals week will do to your muscle memory. I don’t feel like I’ve missed that much practice, but everything sounds like it’s underwater because my ears are clogged, and I can tell that not having wind ensemble has created a need for lots of loud and high playing in my practice sessions, because my chops miss it. I can see that it will need to be a heavy summer of playing to stay in shape for the fall.
So anyway, the new horn is a Bach 229 (25H lead pipe), which is basically the exact same C I already owned, except that this one has been made more recently and the design has been updated somewhat. I like it a LOT. It has a lot of core in the sound, a lot of resonance, and a killer low register, and most people who have heard it so far seem to approve. But this particular one is also a very stiff horn (the two others I tried were less so, which just goes to show that it really is worth playing multiple trumpets of the same model), with a fair amount of resistance. Most of the time I am very happy about this feature. The horn slots well, which means the notes are easy to find, and I get more feedback from the instrument when I’m playing. I like it especially at high volumes, which is the main thing I found lacking in my original C. But what I don’t like right now is Longionotti etude no. 3. I can only hope that none of my students is passing by outside the office, because right now the resistance is working against me! It’s actually a perfect etude to use to discover the ins and outs of a newly purchased horn, because it jumps all over the place in a weird key, but unfortunately half the jumps are to A-flat and B-flat, both of which feel entirely different on this instrument and neither of which I’ve had to use much yet. I’ve started elongating all the syncopated notes to hear where they fit, and it makes me feel like I’m playing some weird version of “The Entertainer” that would be ideally suited to an ice cream truck. :)
So thus starts my summer. Or at least, thus starts my summer in the student sense of things, because there are miles yet to go before I can submit my grades. We do have a wind ensemble recording session next week, which is another reason to get familiar with the new C–I need to determine which of the two Cs I’ll be using for those sessions.
Mark your calendars for September 12, 6:00pm, which is the official date of my second doctoral recital, in the main concert hall here on campus. Please come if you live nearby!
As always, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for what ought to be more frequent updates. Best wishes to all, and stay inside where it’s cool!
All the best,
-Brittany :)
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