Bolero on 8 different Principal Trombonist Mouthpieces!

[@bradleybunk6463]

Your high register is wonderful! I like your sound in the larger mouthpieces, where it is woodwind-like.

[@WilliamLang]

thanks! i think i found a wonderful compromise with my LI Brass 550E mouthpiece - very very deep, but with more of a traditional rim size. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIXOZa2Khduhorc - my Bolero on that piece is at 1:05 in that video

[@BrianJohnstonTrombone]

You definitely sound the best on the GB Carl Mazzio. Nice vid!

[@WilliamLang]

Thanks Brian! Definitely the one I have the most experience on. Such a special piece, I'll have to reach out to GB and see if they have the dimensions on file.

[@slipbone]

I agree. It had good presence and clarity but not thin on the high range, full sound.@@WilliamLang

[@T-Slider]

William, I’m playing Steiner’s Willie L5x Sonata M described as medium light weight. It’s 25.9mm. I found an instant range improvement, and much cleaner articulations. Everything above the staff is easier, and I don’t need as much tongue as I normally have needed to make the horn speak. A Shires New York Vintage. This is the 1st piece I’ve tried in 68 years that instantly improved my playing.

[@WilliamLang]

I’ll keep my eyes open for one!

[@bambino100011]

I like mouthpiece #3 and #6 :). Nice sound to my ears.

[@WilliamLang]

thanks!

[@WilliamLang]

Cat cameo at 9:55

[@slipbone]

And a very pretty, well behaved cat.

[@spookety902]

the alessi 1D sounds best. it sounds like you're very comfortable on that mouthpiece and that you can get a very big sound on it. interesting that you said it was the biggest out of all the mouthpieces and yet your high range was very in control.

[@WilliamLang]

I'm a pretty big believer in the buzz controlling pitch more than the resonant chamber of the instrument/mouthpiece. The 1D has a lot of great characteristics, and it funny to see/hear how people like a lot of different mouthpieces the best. I think so far the Kitzman, Witser, Mazzio, Alessi 7F and 1D have all been the "best" to someone. which all goes to show the subjectivity of music!

[@StephenPearson-yu4vt]

Liked the last one.

[@boro977]

very interesting video. I have to admit that in my opinion you sound best with the No. 1 mouthpiece and the Griego 7F. Clearly the sound is better than on the others

[@WilliamLang]

thanks for listening! i'm probably going to use the same line up and do videos featuring Mozart's Requiem, Saint-Saens 3, and Ride of the Valkyries to get an overall impression in different registers and dynamics

[@boro977]

@@WilliamLang great idea. I'm waiting for the video. I currently testing Laskey Alessi 60 Solo while at work I play Griego Oft. I recommend checking out very interesting orchestral mouthpiece

[@WilliamLang]

My main mouthpieces is an old Laskey 59D - I tried Alessia's 55 and 60 in both SYMPH and SOLO models. Gotta say, the SYMPH models did the orchestra thing really well, but the solo models weren't as good as the basic Laskey series at articulation and color, so I sent them back. Out of the remaining principal pieces I can think of off the top of my head, an Oft, Friedman, and Rejano model would be the ones I'd have left to acquire.

[@boro977]

@@WilliamLang Thank You for sharing Your thoughts about Alessi Laskey! Firedman Bob Reeves moutpiece is deep, 3G sized, V shaped mouthpiece - sniper mouthpiece I would say. Rejano I don't even consider it because as far as I know it's a mouthpiece around the size 6 1/2 or 5G. Griego Oft It's very interesting because It's something in between Griego Alessi and Griego Bousfield (V shaped mtp).

[@rickharris8780]

Just bought a Greg Black 3G .277 backbore. I know not a Kitzman at all. I have been playing on various 5, 4 and 4.5 rims with all kinds of various depths and backbores. When I went to a 3G (really like a Back 2.5G) my low register opened up (felt very much like faking low D's and C's on a Straight horn. IE not enough cup diameter for lips and aperture) and with the smaller backbore my middle and high register didn't suffer. It is certainly not what I would play Bolero on but I love that I can get all over the whole range of the horn without difficulty. The inner cup diameter I feel is a very personal thing on a large bore tenor. Small bore I am fine with a standard 6.5AL style as I don't play Low C's and D's. Ha! May try a 3C small shank later though.

[@WilliamLang]

Try a Long Island brass 550E - super deep Mouthpiece I really responded to.

[@rickharris8780]

@@WilliamLang will do. Really enjoy your videos. I am a band director and double on Tuba for the kids. When I go back my 5G size Stork was fuzzy fuzzy in the low range. The 3G helps a lot and my high range doesn’t suffer

[@ElRinconDelTrombon]

Me gusto el sonido de las Greg Black es muy claro y lleno de armonicos, tambien la Griego 1D tiene un sonido amplio pero mas oscuro, no tiene ese brillo de la Greg Black. Actualmente yo toco con una 5G (large) de Vicente Bach , como puedo obtener una medida similar en marca Greg Black pero que no sea tan profunda como la 5G de Bach , me podrias orientar con respecto a eso. Gracias.

[@WilliamLang]

the Great Black that I played on might be of interest to you - it was originally styled for Carl Mazzio, and has his name on it. The Greg Black people hopefully still have his specs on file. It might be a little wider than a 5G, but with the swallower cup, it provides a nice ballast.

[@ElRinconDelTrombon]

​@@WilliamLanggracias por el dato

[@markuswil-fart1901]

I wished I could just play Bolero ONCE without embarrassingly cracking notes all the time OR being able to hit the high C# Never mind trying to play it 8 times in row 😅 Thanks for this demonstration!

[@WilliamLang]

You're welcome! I have a part 2 coming in a few minutes, and as far as the endurance and such, work on arpeggios and scales into the high range step by step each day, focusing on coming back down with a good sound. Over time, your range will grow, and Bolero will get easier!

[@juliankerrell7281]

Laskey and the Greigo for me, fuller sound throughout the range.

[@Overlycomplicatedswede]

the 2nd mouthpiece felt a bit to sharp and bright for me personally the 2nd and 3rd position defenitly were kinda hard and obnoxious to listen too for me but 3 and 6 sounded best to me for sure i use a hammond 11M personally! been a trombonist for 10 years now (i have a f attachment for people curious bach 42B specifically) currently finishing up high school! love from sweden

[@WilliamLang]

thanks for the thoughts and listening! the 2nd mouthpiece was by far the most different feeling - I actually went out to the company, LI Brass, and got another mouthpiece from them that works a ton better for me. if you're interested check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIXOZa2Khduhorc Hammond 11 is a great choice - i like the Hammond that I'm playing in this video a lot, it gets a really classical trombone sound that reminds me of old LA and Chicago recordings from Ralph Sauer and Jay Friedman. hope your studies go well! there's a ton of great players and teachers in Sweden.

[@juanchavez7564]

I don't even play trombone or know about it but im just here learning I guess

[@thejils1669]

Why did you go through the mouthpiece descriptions of the entire lineup first. Wouldn't it have been better if you described ONE mouthpiece first, THEN played on it. We, the listener, could've written the mouthpiece description and commented on how it played. Logically, it is a better choice for this type of video display.

[@WilliamLang]

ok. real answer is since we're musicians we listen with our ears first. i wanted people to have a chance to draw their own conclusions before adding my comments - this isn't a video about proving what's best. if you want to go back the chapters are easy enough to use. thanks for listening!

[@explodingsausage6576]

Lol, get a grip you nonce.

[@thomaswinter1179]

Alesia 60 sounded best throughout all the registers.

[@philosophicallyspeaking6463]

In the mix...this kind of naval gazing over tonal nuance makes no difference. Tone, at least as individual instrumentalists 'sweat it' on 'their' respective instruments is irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. Every orchestral trombonists sounds 'like' an orchestral trombonist, just as every oboist, flautist, and clarinetist sounds for all intents and purposes indistinguishable 'tonally' from every other capable instrumental sibling. Its how one approaches, leaves, and connects notes in a phrase that the players signature resides. I can tell the difference between great tenors, cellists or violinists when heard being played in the background by a cheap audio system over a phone conversation, and their is no preservation or reproduction of tonal nuance over that delivery system. Forget about tone, and develop a signature of 'play' that has nothing to do with sound! Joseph Alessi is a great example of someone with good generic sound, but I never like the way he connects notes. Many of his students play in a style that I much prefer, like James Markey. THAT...not his play, gives testament to Alessi's significance: his students are not subsumed by his teaching. His students emerge musically independent of him and his...stylistic nuance, where as Remington overwrote individuality to the trombones enduring detriment.

[@WilliamLang]

I find myself disagreeing with several things here, and the combative stance that you take (calling it naval gazing is a little pejorative) made me think about just deleting this and moving on. But let's engage on good faith! The orchestral trombone job is one about fitting in, not standing out as a great soloist. The orchestra itself is a collective, which is why there can be great differences between Hilary Hahn, for example, and a top-5 concertmaster. So every orchestral trombonist does indeed sound like a trombonist, but they had to find the right training, instrument, and mouthpiece to achieve that sound for themselves, and for every orchestral trombonist with a full time job, there are 200 that didn't get there. As far as teachers and students go - when I was studying in NYC the term Joebots was tossed around a lot to describe the similarities of Alessi's students. While I thought this was a bit unfair and not really true, a lot of the industry saw a uniformity in his students sound the same way you are describing Remington students. I think it has to do with the dominant results over the course of a generation rather than any in depth study of sound, as both Emory and Joe were/are fantastic teachers who know the style of their time in and out. In the end, I am a big old trombone nerd! I love playing the instrument and looking at the nuances of detail and phrasing, I love seeing where I can push myself technically and range wise for my own sense of fun and play. I also like learning the differences in equipment and mouthpieces - helping people find "their" sound to go along with "their" phrasing is my job as a teacher, and I don't want to leave any stones unturned in my quest to help others.