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@@gtretroworld It's weird. I should record in there more often.

Done it many times. Used to be part of my role as principal cornet with a town band.

@@arcanjogabriel8111 Thank you.

@@davidstorey2477 Thanks!

@@GordonHudson I hope you are enjoying your retirement. Best wishes

@@davidstorey2477 It's pretty good not going to work. Just really starting to enjoy it after being ill for the first month.

Thanks!

@@Setonix It took a lot of work because of the chromatics. A couple of months on and off. It still wasn't perfect.

@@edppdsc Hello. Have you followed Walt Hudson on CZcams? His callsign is K4OGO..he makes some interesting videos. I see from your QRZ page that you are a retired police officer. My eldest son is a police officer here. He works in a very rural area and also covers some of the Scottish islands. 73, GM4SVM

I haven't seen any of his videos. I will look him up. I am third generation police officer and my three sons are fourth generation. I live on part of the family beef cattle farm.

It was done in the USA, but Robinson Brass do this type of work. I think he is in Devon.

​@@GordonHudsonthanks so much for the swift response

I find that too. The V shaped mouthpiece is more efficient and easier in the upper register.

Indeed. I also felt more inconsistent on the 4B and had to work quite hard to get a sound I liked especially in hymns and slow melodies. It works out being more efficient overall to just play the 4.

I just used the vocal score (for piano and voice) and transposed it as I was playing it. Thats why you see me shuffling the piano part around my music stand. I think I got it from Sheet Music Plus or one of the other online publishers. If you do that make sure you get it in a key that works on cornet. The first two notes on the version I played were a middle concert C (a D on the fourth line for Cornet) followed by a bottom concert C (bottom D on the cornet). That kept the number fo sharps down and made the top notes not too high.

@@GordonHudson fuck that I hate transposing 😂

I was lucky, mine ended up att he bottom. These older TV's had lots of holes in the back. Current Samsung TVs only have holes for the stand, so on my new TV I covered those holes with black tape as I was fitting it to a VESA mount. Samsung told me that they couldn't;t take the screen apart as it requires a clean room and the bu was inside the layers of the screen unit itself. So they replaced the whole screen. I think I was very lucky that they did it.

It was the duty which was less, not the VAT (I think). Generally they put used instruments in the wrong duty class.

It's a funny story. I bought it in a clearance sale when Vincent Bach International were being reorganised. I got an email to say they couldn't find it and we're sending me a refund, got home to find it at my house. I took the cork off and replaced it with 2mm neoprene foam. It grips a lot better.

I had a similar thing happen with Thomann. Over the pandemic I briefly played tenor horn to make up numbers and needed a mouthpiece. I bought one but they informed me the order got lost and refunded me only for it to show up about 48 hours later. I have a Denis Wick harmon. It blew off my mute stand at a windy gig and the stem doesn't fit well anymore. I usually play it without the stem anyway but it's kind of unfortunate.

@@musicalcubes I have a Wick one too. Its actually a pretty good mute. The Harmon brand one gives a deeper sound but it doesn't cut as much and it doesn't sound as tinny with the stem in, which could be a problem for brass bands as they need it to cut through more.

The standard brass band setup for mutes in my area is Wick for straight & harmon, Humes & Berg for cup. You see some different ones here and there, but mostly everyone plays the same. Some of my bandmates have switched to the Wick adjustable cup with good results so I'm looking to get one of those soon.

I double and triple tongue differently to a lot of people. I think my way is easier. I will do a video at some point.

I have never really had any trumpet or cornet lessons. I played French horn and euphonium at school though. Then into brass bands.

I learned the trombone at school because a local brass band had just started a new training band scheme. I remember joining the main band a few months later to play 2nd trombone for Christmas carols. I moved to bass trombone not long after, when I learned bass clef. I think holding such a heavy awkward instrument at such a young age contributed to my shoulder injury. I begged and pleaded and had to do a mini-audition to prove I could read bass clef and be allowed the band's shiny Bach 50B3, but I did it. I will never forget the look on the MD's face when he handed 12 year old me nearly £6000 worth of trombone. PS: I got a chuckle out of the Maurice André thing!

I spent many years in brass bands. Most of it was on a Wick 2 mouthpiece. I don't know how I managed it. In hindsight I could have made my life a lot easier!

I'm a principal cornet player in the lower sections and it has been surprisingly hard to choose a mouthpiece. I ultimately gave up and went back to where I started with the DW 4B. I actually ordered a modern 4B and 4BFL the other day. I have a 40/50 year old 4B but I hear they have changed over time. I'm looking forward to trying the modern ones and comparing them to the old one. I may look into the trumpet 4B as as well.

@@musicalcubes The original 2 was based on a 1960s Bach 1 1/2C rim. Then it got progressively flatter. When they set up their new factory it went back to the original shape but the backbore is more cylindrical to sharpen up the upper register.

That's interesting to know. I have the Heritage 2, which is a nice mouthpiece. It seems to pair well with the Maestro. It's on the big side for me, but I love how full and rich it sounds. I don't think I could get through a brass band rehearsal on it though.

So true unfortunately.

Give it a go. Basic swing tunes like this are pretty easy to work on.

Will do. I recently got loaned a flugel as well, so even more incentive to learn new styles.

Thank you!

I have no musical qualifications at all. I learned at school , but didn't do music as a subject. Then through brass bands. In 1988 I went for a trumpet lesson toa local pro and he said "you don't need a lesson, you need a job. What are you doing on Thursday?". I spent the next five years studying for a theology degree and working as a trumpet player. Mainly touring productions of stage shows and anything else I could get. In 2006 I started to have lip problems and went for specialist help to the principal trumpet of one of the symphony orchestras. That's the closest I have come to actual lessons, but it was more about resetting my embouchure and getting more efficiency. I did have the opportunity to hear, and work with, a lot of the all time great brass band musicians. I also heard Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson play live. My advice is to listen to lots of recordings of good player. Concentrate on making a nice sound. In my experience, lots of people can play carnival of venice, but not many people can play a hymn tune well.

I really enjoy hearing these kind of stories so thank you for the reply! I stopped having lessons when they didn't really go anywhere. I wanted to work towards an ARSM in cornet but it wasn't for me. I'm currently playing principal cornet in a local non-contesting band. It's been a wonderful learning experience for me and it has arguably pushed my playing to a level I never expected I could attain. I play hymn tunes and slow melodies nearly every day along with Arban exercises. I get a real sense of satisfaction out of playing a hymn or carol well with a nice tone and I think a lot can be said for it.

I play on a Geneva Heritage cornet. Its not as loud as a sovereign, but it has a nicer sounding low register, in my experience. You can't go wrong with a sovereign though. I would try the Geneva Symphony and the Yamaha Xeno as well. Both have their plus points. I tried the symphony model but found the tone a bit dull. Hence, why I play on the Heritage model.

Thanks Gordon! I will see what's available to me when the time is right. Is the Xeno different to the Maestro? I never really felt too secure on the Maestro, especially in the upper register. I'm currently playing a York Eminence 4028 (on band loan) with a DW 2BW and it has a really colourful and big sound. I think I prefer this style of instrument.

@@musicalcubes The Maestro had problems with the A above the staff due to the position of the trigger mechanism. Surprisingly, it was possible to make this a bit better by reversing the second valve slide so the little knob was on the inside. This kept some of the vibrations down. The Xeno and Neo are very similar to each other, but different from the Maestro.

​Yes, the A was the issue exactly! It was extremely frustrating. I now want to borrow a Maestro again and try what you mentioned. The Maestro has 'the sound' if you know what I mean.

@@musicalcubes G sharp was also a problematic note. The Geneva Heritage was designed by the same person - Phillip McCann. It resolves the problems of the Maestro, but it is not cheap and you don't find them second hand. Sometimes Geneva have ex demo ones on offer.

I am mainly a cornet player these days, but its really handy if top C stops being "top" C. Less to worry about when you see it ion the next line of the piece.

A is good for tunes in the key of D. G is better for tunes that are in G or C.

@@GordonHudson * I HAVE NOT checked out low A or low F. I have a low D and am looking into buying a alto ("low") G since I already have high D, alto C, alto Bb and low D. I'm solo and have a good ear for transposition so key isn't that important to me unless I'm recording something, I'm just thinking about the feel of the pitch...and I get GAS 😂

@@whatabouttheearth The G is also easier to play, as the holes are closer together than the A.

I play an Imperial. I bought it used from £150 from an instrument repairer. Requires a couple of alternative valve fingerings but sounds great

Hi I have managed to get a Stealing soprano cornet which is great but I cannot play on the KOSIKUP mouthpiece. I am using my Yamaha 16E at the moment which seems ok. Do you know of a manufacture for a 17mm dia soprano mouthpiece. All the ones i find are 16.20 or so. Have a great Easter break. David

@@davidstorey2477 Sorry for the late reply. I played one of those cornets in Championship section back in the 1980s. I liked it. Most soprano players seem to be using trumpet type mouthpieces these days. I use an old Kosikup but its a smaller mouthpiece again. Maybe the Warburton series might be a thing to look at too.

@@GordonHudson Hi Gordon I am using a Schilke 13B which seems to work but i think it is a Bflat mouthpiece and not soprano. I have been playing Soprano for three weeks and my top register on my tenor and flugel is improving greatly. Lots of people tell me not to play different instruments but it is starting to work for me. Thanks David

@@davidstorey2477 That advice is clearly from a brass band perspective. Trumpet players in orchestras, even amateur ones, have to play Bb, Eb, D and piccolo trumpets! Its normal. I find the secret of being able to swap mid flow is having the same blowing resistance between instruments. Anyway, I am about to do a video explaining where I have been. I really need to do some more videos, but I hit a medical problem.

I own a 28A. czcams.com/video/NTa3CqSxTuU/video.html