14. Note Targets & LOTUS Mouthpieces
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Video #14 of 18 in the series: Up Your Mental & Emotional Game (for Trumpet Playing)
English transcript of available on: www.AdamRapa.com
You can watch the full series there, and find lots of other goodies!
Some key take-aways from this video:
"People talk about note targets as if it were hitting bull's-eye in the middle of a circular dartboard. But for me, I see notes as much more - in 2D, as a triangle, and in 3D as cones - where the fattest, juiciest, richest sound you're gonna get is at the bottom of the note."
"And as soon as you drop down to the low end of the pitch, it's like boom!, there's the note - the REAL note."
"...the posture, your general physical state of being. Just be chill, be cool, and get to the low end of the pitch; and flex your lips forward, and that's where you'll find the biggest, fattest sound.
"Very few mouthpieces actually offer equal-tempered octaves, and when you finally experience a mouthpiece that puts the harmonic series where it really belongs, then you've gotta circumvent the existing muscle memory; actively, consciously get to the lower part of every note - in the upper register especially - where you'll start to see those dividends, being paid off."
"So that's what acclimating to a Lotus mouthpiece is all about. It just makes things that much easier, as long as you commit to not doing anything more than necessary to produce that tone."
"Part of mastery means that you have to reconcile the differences between wanting to play super efficiently, and wanting to make the machine with the fewest-moving parts, but at the same time, knowing that there are things about the equipment that are holding you back.
"...in order to master those circumstances, you have to program all this extra stuff in your body, to compensate for all those things."
"And Lotus was born out of that desire for me to not just talk about efficiency on some conceptual level, and then say "Yeah sorry, your equipment won't really allow that now, will it?”
"...making it so that you and I don't need to program all of that extra stuff; all of that extra work. Put in all of those extra hours to coordinate all of those other things... all these things are just to compensate problems with the gear."
"That's what my journey into trying to provide you with better solutions is all about. It's about fixing those problems... so that you don't have to worry about it. You can just spend a lot less time than you would otherwise honing your technique, so you can spend more time thinking about the music."
Man...is interesting to listen to you. Sad, that you are not longer with Danish Radio Big Band
Hi,
If I may ask, as I can't quite get this right yet; I've watched this (and several other explanations on acclimation) many many times, I include these principles every time I pick up my LOTUS equipment and I consider myself to be a fairly accomplished player, so what is causing my upper register to sit so sharp on LOTUS equipment? To get a full and good sound, whilst feeling comfortable and relaxed, the notes from the top of the staff up to high G all go increasingly sharp. When I try to sit lower or think downwards the note will quickly crack and fall down a partial, so I can't be sitting 'too high' for the slot, plus the sound (whilst sharp) is impressively big and resonant, so its not like I can be majorly tensing up or squeezing. This also seems to be the case from deep cups through to shallow (3XL2 through to 7S). It's a real challenge as I recognise the freedom and improvement in response and resonance on the LOTUS equipment, but the intonation is so wacky I'm finding I can't use it on the job right now.
What do you advise and any suggestions (on top of my current load of soft and easy scales) to try and solve this? Is it something physical on my end or is there an equipment-based reason for this (the cup diameter feels great but maybe a bigger size like a 1 might help out the sharp high register?).
Thanks for your help, eager to sort this out and reap the full benefits of the equipment. If you are able to offer a couple of quick suggestions for me to work at immediately, I'd also be happy to book in a zoom lesson to discuss further.
Cheers
Alex
Hey Alex! What trumpet are you playing on?
@@samneufeldjazz Yamaha NY Bb, Yamaha 9636 Eb/D, Shires Piccolo, Bach Artisan Eb... etc etc
Hi Alex! You're touching upon an important philosophical topic: Is it better for the mouthpiece's intonation to require us to push high notes upward because they're inherently flat, or should the mouthpiece be configured so that we never have to push anything up at all? The complicated thing is that we all - myself included - can easily start playing sharp with just the slightest bit of extra inward pressure, especially (but not only) when we become just a little tired. It's amazing how much variation in one's pitch there can be, even in the middle of doing reps of one pattern or something, as we make micro adjustments to our physicality. The slightest flex of a bicep muscle; the slightest decrease in outward pressure by the lips; a general change in posture - particularly the angle of the head; all of these things (and many, many more) can easily send our pitch upward by 25-30 cents. In that regard, some people feel they play more in tune when their mouthpiece inherently plays flat upstairs, especially if they pretty much always do one or more of these things.
As a recovering Prana addict, I can say that my goal/expectation is no longer to actively push down on every note above the staff in order to play in tune, but I also DO NOT want to push anything up either. That, to me, is the greater of the two evils. In that regard, we've set the intonation of our mouthpieces so that under truly neutral conditions, the intonation should be such that you won't have any problem sitting down nice 'n comfy on high notes. When we released our Gen2 mouthpieces (with the pretty milling vs. flat angles on the bod) we configured the intonation to be a little more compressed than it was with our 1st Gen "Plus" mouthpieces, which were much more aimed at providing a good alternative for other recovering Prana addicts. ;-)
We recently made some "firmware" updates to some of our mouthpiece models to compress the harmonics a little bit further as well, in order to meet even more folks where they are, regarding those aforementioned technical pitfalls. If you bought your mouthpieces more than 5-6 months ago, chances are good that yours are slightly less compressed than they are now - especially the XL2, M & S cups.
I appreciate your taking the time to write your experience in such an eloquent and respectful manner (which is hardly par for the course these days) so I'm happy to test that possibility out. Write to Charley on our website, and he'll arrange to send you a replacement for the mouthpiece that's most important for your work. Then we'll see if the minor tweak we've recently made is enough to make your upper register feel "right", and go from there. Thanks lot for your interest and support. We're here for you!
@@adamrapa1 Hi and wow; what an awesome response! Thank you very much for taking the time to write that, and I think I'll have to get these words laminated up and placed in my case for every time I practice.
I think I own about 10 or 12 Lotus mouthpieces, and most of them should fall within the updated firmware batch (interestingly, I had noticed a slight improvement (for me) on the most recent ones although I'd previously assumed that was just in my head), so I shall take the time to focus on your words and advice before making any (further) contact with Charley.
It'll continue to be a long journey of experimentation and reflection; but one I am eager (with the available spare time I have) to pursue, as I recognise there are clear benefits to the equipment- just so long as I can start to get a handle and understanding on when, what and why causes my intonation to push so sharp.
Thanks again for your time, big kudos to you for your reply!
Alex
@@trumpetbrain7302 Sounds like a plan! Also, one further data point to add for your exploration: I used to tune my middle C in such a way that I really needed to press down (or open up) into the bottom of that slot in order to be in tune. While the phrase "Better sharp than out of tune" does contain some wisdom (from the listener's perspective) it's also a slippery slope from there to constantly being sharp. In more recent times, I've started setting my tuning slide so that it's possible to play flat on my middle C unless my air is moving fast enough ("supported" enough) which is significantly lower in pitch than before. That also helps a LOT in terms of avoiding being sharp above the staff. As it is, your trumpet makes it inevitable that the G on top of the staff WILL be sharp. Better to minimize the amount by tuning the middle C to a place where lazy air is maybe 10 cents flat, and well-supported air is spot on, so that a high G - which even under those conditions can still easily be 10 cents sharp - won't turn out to be 25 cents sharp. Ya dig?
Hello, I am looking something close to Bach 1 1/2C and my question is: do you recommend 3L or 3L2 cup? (the cup is important in this question. I play mainly orchestra, classical music.) Thank you very kind.
Hi Mike, the closest rim to a 1 ½ C would really be our #2 rim, so we're really taking about a 2L vs 2L2. For orchestral playing, either one can be appropriate for different reasons. The 2L has a slightly broader sound, so if you're going for the richest tone possible, that's the pick. The 2L2 adds a little more pop to the articulations, which can be great when the repertoire calls for lots of crisp, staccato notes, but the sound isn't quite as as wide. (There's aaaalways a trade-off.)
I'd personally recommend you start with the 2L. In most orchestral settings, the broader sound tends to be more desirable. In the future, if you ever find yourself in need of even more punchy articulations, or even more fire when you step on the gas, then pick up a 2L2.
And honestly, don't hesitate to try the XL & XL2 cups as well, which are ideal for orchestral musicians especially. The XL2 has more tone color variation than the L cup, which I enjoy very much. I use the XL2 a LOT, including anything/everything I play in the Classical realm. It still lets you crush on a high F, so there'll be no problems like you'd expect from deep cups. I've recently heard Miroslav Petkov in the Concertgebouw play both Mahler 5 & Shostakovitch 12 on the 2XL, so no issues there either. ;-)
Here you were looking for me to simplify your decision... Sorry, that's not how I roll. :-)
And thanks for asking. Have fun with your exciting new toy(s)!
teacher I come from a Bach 10c, what do you recommend? I played a genre called popular, I have had problems with the register and resistance
Perhaps you can try our 7L2. That is a reasonable alternative. If you find it too wide, write to Charley on our website (www.lotustrumpets.com) and he can help send you the appropriate replacement.
As someone who recently just got off the conventional mouthpieces, I recently bought a monette mouthpiece so how hard would it be to transfer from monette to lotus?
Certainly shouldn't be an issue at all. Of course, there are many, many factors that are hard to say without being with you in person, but for the vast majority of players, easier is simply easier. And easier is definitely our design goal.
hello mr rapa i ve a 7 M
mouthpiece i come from 3 c or 165 donat should i need a 7 flugel mouthpiece
Hey Jean-Luc, If you like the feel of the 7L for trumpet, then you'll also like the 7 rim for flugelhorn. They have the same inner diameter. 👍