Hornfolks: The thing I wish to state first is "if it works, use it". This was one of the first things my grad school teacher told me and I have never forgotten it.
And the second thing I wish to state is "use ONE and only ONE mouthpiece". A second 'different' mouthpiece will alter and eventually destroy one's embouchure. I had it happen myself in a professional gig to boot. This was completely embarrassing. Had it not been for the kind intervention of a famous hornist (who shall not be named here), perhaps I would have suffered even longer with this problem. I even encountered a colleague who gleefully showed me his 'collection' of over 12 different mouthpieces and then proceeded to play each of them one at a time, during a professional rehearsal. I did try to gently warn him about this one or two times, but was ignored as he was 'so proud to be playing first horn'...Big DEAL...... Ok, I'd let the guy dig his own grave. And so he did; his embouchure crashed and burned big time. Oh yes, he learned his lesson and now plays only one mouthpiece. I had been playing for years on a Giardinelli C8; was 'mostly' happy with it but in later years, began experiencing some loss of high range and endurance for reasons I do not know. A happy coincidence happened at this time; we were recording a CD of Petrouchka; I was 1st horn and expected to perform (and we had just done a full rehearsal pre-recording the day previously). I was a little skeptical of my own performance but resolved to do the best I could. Now this is what happened; I somehow forgot my C8 at home and had nothing to play upon at the recording. Fortunately, my 4th hornist had a spare. It was a brand I will not name here for my own reasons. And, that mouthpiece was BETTER than the C8. It worked fantastically the first time around. That was all it took. I gave the guy 50 bucks for it and happily sold the C8 to a student (who plays on it to this day....). As far as thin rims go, I had very good luck with this one. In fact I sought out a dealer of the same brand, found the exact rim and cup; matched them perfectly and have a backup, should this one fail (and I've been playing this one since 1988). This is what is called 'serendipity'. That mouthpiece worked the first time around. I could play without pressure. I did not miss more than 2 notes in all of Petrouchka on the recording. My high range was up there. My low range as well. It was comfortable. Yes it had a thin rim but I was not discouraged as I had originally considered the thing a loaner, nothing else. But now I know that thin rims DO discourage the usage of pressure. I back this up with years of experience on the thing. Now there are folks out there who require thick rims and I wish them the best of it; but for me the thin rim was the key. I know it is always up to the individual's taste and will never give 'advice' on this subject only 'suggestions' if at all possible. best wishes Rachel Harvey _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
