What's in a mouthpiece?
On Friday, March 9, 2007, at 10:16 pm, Fred Burnett wrote out
to the musicians on his mailing list :-
Further to my earlier email Re: Dave Copperwaite is after a Zottola 64d mouthpiece", Eric Holroyd passed on this information which he feels may be of interest to all brass players
Dear Fred:
Dick Akright is a much respected instrument maker and repair man in Oakland (California), and a great guy too.
In addition to making the hand crafted Bel Canto trumpets (as played by Doc
Severinson) his company makes a range of trumpet and trombone mouthpieces from the ORIGINAL PATTERNS.
He manufactures Zottola and Rudy Muck mouthpieces, and I suggest that Dave Copperwaite - or any other brass player looking for one of those hard to get mouthpieces - contacts him direct by email at: Dick Akright: dakright@rcn.com. Dick also manufactures the Parduba double cup mouthpieces, as used by Harry James, and there's a special website for these at: http://www.parduba.com/parduba.html
I've seen all these mouthpieces actually being made in his workshops and can vouch for their quality and adherence to the originals.
All the best Eric Holroyd
15/03/07
From Peter Boswell
Dear Fred
I am intrigued by the whole subject of mouthpieces and would welcome any information and debate on your website about who plays what sort and what modifications they may have used. For instance I have a jazz book, which I can't find at the moment, which has a picture of one of Louis
Armstrong's mouthpieces with crude saw cuts across the rim. I would love to know what their function was. And maybe someone could tell us about the special qualities of the Zottola.
The mouthpiece is, most players would I think agree, the most significant part of the instrument offering enormous differences in tone and range. I mostly play a simple Lewington McCann designed by Phillip McCann one of our top British brass band players and I find this softens and broadens the tone of my Vincent Bach long cornet compared with the 'trumpet' sound when using the Vincent Bach 7c supplied. I keep the latter for playing with loud bands which don't use amplification as it gives much greater volume though at the expense of some tone.
After 45yrs of playing I feel very ignorant on the subject of mouthpieces and do hope for some enlightenment. Who are the makers in the UK.
15/03/07
From Eric Holroyd
Those 'saw cuts' were apparently used a lot by old time brass players who did lots of outside work. Apparently they helped the mouthpiece to 'stay put' when playing on a moving cart or truck.
I read a Bunny Berigan biography which mentioned his mouthpiece - which he'd played on for years - and it was described as being 'badly marked and pitted' on the rim. Bunny fell ill and had to go into hospital, so his manager took the opportunity to do Bunny a favour and get the mouthpiece polished and re-plated. Rather than being grateful, Bunny hit the roof and said that those marks and pits helped him centre the mouthpiece on his embouchure...
My own horns are a Vincent Bach cornet which I bought new in 1977 and which has been fully overhauled and replated three times, and a Yamaha lightweight trumpet (the one modelled on the
Schilke, with the 'inside out' tuning slide).
I only play trumpet nowadays when I get a big band gig, and the cornet is my all time favourite jazz horn.
Incidentally, the terms 'long cornet' and 'trumpet cornet' are both misleading, as ALL cornets have the same length of tubing,
i.e. fifty three and a half inches.
The so-called 'short cornet' appears shorter in length due to the 'shepherds crook' in the final tubing.
On the mouthpiece front, I started off in brass bands in Yorkshire in the
1950s and found that the Rudy Muck 17c suited me best, so played one of those for years, getting a matching trumpet mouthpiece too.
Eventually I succumbed to all the 'mouthpiece chat' common to brass players and decided it was time for a change, and eventually wound up with a Jet Tone Al Hirt model, with a trumpet mouthpiece turned down to fit the cornet shank.
I played these mouthpieces for years in Australia, then when I joined the American '10th Avenue Band' in 2000 I met up with Dan Zeilinger - their tuba player, who is a brass specialist and teacher at home in the USA.
He listened and watched during our first few gigs, then when we were rooming together in Manchester during a UK tour he told me that, in his opinion, the mouthpiece was 'choking' me and that I'd get a much better sound if I changed.
So I let him watch me blow close up, and after viewing my embouchure he suggested that I get a Schilke 12A4 - so on a day off we went to a Manchester music shop and I bought one to use with the trumpet, which I played on that tour.
It worked just fine for me, and I'm still using it. I have a big tone right through the range, and I have a nice fat low F# and a good high range, up to E and F above top C.
I later bought an identical mouthpiece for my cornet, but this time - instead of having it turned down - I had the mouthpiece reciever on my cornet changed to a trumpet receiver.
This changed the horn considerably, and I LOVE it!
Later, Dick Akright in San Francisco told me that he had done many such conversions for Mariachi players in Mexico as many prefer to play cornet but want a little more projection.
I'm still playing the Schilke mouthpiece and can't ever imagine changing from it.
As I youth in Yorkshire I well remember one of my brass band mates (who wasn't at all strict about practising) telling the band master that his lips got sore when the band played an engagement, and was there anything he could put on them to solve this problem.
The band master said, "Yes. Your mouthpiece!"
I just had a look at the Ken Colyer You Tube video, which is linked on the News page here, and saw that he was playing a Jet Tone mouthpiece with his 'long' cornet.
Finally, I read a quote from Louis Armstrong many years ago who replied when asked what mouthpiece he used, said, "The one that comes with the horn".
Eric Holroyd, Sydney, Australia
16/03/07
From Roy Freeman
Hi Fred.
If Peter Boswell wants to learn more about mouthpieces I suggest he has a look at the GR website: http://www.grmouthpieces.com/ and goes to the tutorial page, it is most interesting and enlightening.
16/03/07
From Martyn Sharp
Dear Fred,
I would like to suggest that anyone seriously interested in trumpet mouthpieces should take a look at
www.schilkemusic.com where there is a section on their mouthpieces, plus an in depth review of the various factors to be taken into account in designing and building mouthpieces.
I have two Schilke trumpets, and have been very satisfied with them for a number of years, but I follow Schilke's advice and use just the mouthpieces supplied by them.
(The thought of saw marks on a trumpet mouthpiece is too horrible to contemplate!!!!)
16/03/07
From Roy Swift
Fred,
The man who knows all about mouthpieces, I believe, is Ian Darrington, who leads
the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra.
He wrote a thesis on the subject, and is now a Ph.D !!!
Maybe of some help to Peter
16/03/07
From Richard Knock.
Interesting subject, but it must be totally a question of personal preference, I would suggest. Personally I use a Bach 10 1/2 C with the Strad, which I find gives me a full tone and good range, but I've never been one for 'Screamers'. I tried them once and yes, high notes were easier but what a thin tone! The two 'novelty' Jupiters (pocket and slide trumpets) both came with Jupiter 7C which I shun in favour of my Bach mouthpiece. The B&H 'Sovereign' cornet which I use for Brass Band works well with an ancient Thomas Reynolds simply marked with the letter 'B' It has two marks on the rim (not put there by me) and if I put the outer one at the 2 o'clock position I can convince myself that it's a perfect match. It's probably imagination but whatever turns you on . . . . . . .(Louis was known to be a bit superstitious!)
02/04/07
From Ian Royle,
d, Re: Dave Copperwaite and the Zottola 64D mouthpiece. I've played a Zottola 64B for the best part of thirty years and have found it perfect for all-round trumpet playing. I tried my son Tony's 64D just recently. Tony plays with a show band and whacks out double 'G's with no problem. He also blows pretty fair Chet Baker stuff as well. I was happy with the 'rim' of the 64D but because I have fairly thick lips, no doubt due to over 50 years of smashing lip against brass, my lip comes into contact with the bottom of the mouthpiece cup which is uncomfortable and not helpful when getting the lips to 'buzz'. I don't know Dave but I have e-mailed Dick Akright for advice and will pass any info on to Dave.
Regards, Ian
02/04/07
From Ian Darrington
Many thanks for your message. I appreciate being known as an authority on trumpet mouthpieces though I would be much wealthier if I was an authority on football tennis, golf or formula 1 cars.
Great to hear that the discussions on mouthpieces are creating so much interest for without doubt the mouthpiece is the most important part of the trumpet. Given that there are over 5 million possible variations on mouthpiece design it is no wonder there is much confusion. I am happy to chat with anyone who wants in-depth advice on mouthpieces - I often give private consultancy session for players experiencing mouthpiece problems. Often the problem is in the mind !
Several makes of mouthpiece have been mentioned on your site and yes the Zottola, Parduba and Rudy Muck are all terrific mouthpieces that have been played by some of the top players. However, since we are all built differently our requirements in terms of mouthpiece size and shape differ too. Also much depends of the type of trumpet playing we do. A good analogy is the fact that some people need size 9 shoes, some need size 14 while others only need size 5.
Anyone who is seriously interested in mouthpieces can order and read my thesis from their local library - from inter library loans. There is a small fee payable to the library services The title is Trumpet Mouthpieces - An In - Depth Study by Dr Ian Darrington University of Liverpool. Be warned its well over 400 pages long and 85000 words. For those not into trumpet mouthpieces it works well as an alternative treatment to insomnia.
With best wishes
Ian