My Three Tenors - an Instrument and Mouthpiece History

[@harleyzeth]

That long Island mouthpiece you describe sounds like it could be almost their equivalent of the schilke 51D. I made all state in highschool playing a 51D, despite everyone telling me that was a euphonium mouthpiece. It's so easy to play and has such a dark sound on a large bore tenor trombone. So many people would compliment my sound with it, yet when people asked what I played with they would suddenly act like "that mouthpiece doesn't sound right on a trombone" lol. So many people have what I call "mouthpiece dysphoria" where they let the numbers dictate what they play. Or where they constantly think "just one more slight change to my mouthpiece and I will be perfect" lol it's almost like a person addicted to plastic surgery

[@WilliamLang]

i pretty much completely agree with you! i played a 51D in high school as well, and found that deep mouthpieces just work well for me. I have a studio of about 10 musicians now, and i'd say 4-5 of them sound great on deep, euphonium style mouthpieces, 4-5 of them work well with more conventional depth, and 1 really vibes with a V-shaped mouthpiece. everyone's different, and the numbers by themselves don't make a difference

[@harleyzeth]

@@WilliamLang I think many players would love the 51D if you called it something like "5G symphony series" lol I feel the same way about deep cups. My motto was always "deeper, not wider" but I had to change my way of thinking when Bass Trombone became my main love lol

[@WilliamLang]

bass is a different beast altogether! i just found a Momo 60 from a japan atelier that works really well for me on the instrument though! blew my GP6 out of the water

[@harleyzeth]

@@WilliamLang What on Earth is a Momo? I need to get back into buying mouthpieces I don't need. I've been buying a bunch of novelty brass instruments lately. I live in Conway, where you got your trombone. Lots of old unique horns come through here in Arkansas for some odd reason. I got an old 5 valve saxhorn in a flea market in Hot Springs, AR this year. It needs major work to be playable but I'm gonna post a video of it when it works. Mouthpiece addiction is cheaper than weird instrument addiction lol I need to go back

[@WilliamLang]

so momo is this atelier in japan - i never heard of them but bought a mouthpiece blind second hand from someone. Conway is great! also the hottest temperatures i've ever felt in the US during ITF 2022

[@fredschaffner4118]

Wow! I love tha sound on that last mouthpiece! You sound like the Boss with a classic Conn Remington mp on an Elkhart 88H from over a half-century ago. The Yamaha sounded like a great Yamaha throughout. All the other horn and mouth combinations sounded Bach-ish to me.

[@russtrombone]

Wow thanks William. I'm 67 and from the UK. Back in my day we didn't seem to have anywhere near as much choice. The real go to trombone was a Conn 88h all of the London orchestra:s tenor trombone sections used them. I was very lucky to be able to get an 'Elkhart' 88H from 1968 when I went to music college in 1974.. All the advice of the day was to play a Vincent Bach 4G paired with an 88h and none of the top trombone teachers of the day really mentioned any other.. I still have the same trombone along with my original 4G and they're still in beautiful condition and get played every day ❤ not to the level I was playing at in the 70s and 80s but at a fairly decent Brass Band level... I really love your videos, they are so honest and unassuming. 😇

[@WilliamLang]

thanks so much for the thoughtful comment!

[@paperclipbike]

What a lovely video, thanks so much! Your comments right at the end, about wanting the instrument to feel more like a voice or a stringed instrument, really resonated with me. A keen amateur, I still have my first "real" trombone, a 1970s Conn 88H from my first teacher (ex BBC Symphony, and both he and the horn were pretty old by then!), and still love its warmth and lyricism. My current Yamaha is just as you described, too: it feels cold, but it's great for when we're playing Russian symphonies. What I really wanted to mention, though, was when a friend of mine gave me a go on his little collection of sackbuts. It was a revelation: a total feeling of "singing", of being song-adjacent, which is what they were made for, I guess. I was tempted, but haven't dived into that world yet - but it's what keeps me going back to that old Conn. The world of mouthpieces, though:... too big (but equally fascinating!).

[@WilliamLang]

i spent a long time working on myself before searching through mouthpieces. really trying to make sure i was as figured out as possible made a big difference when i finally started to document and compare what the hardware changes!

[@tboorer]

Just subscribed. Great videos lovely playing and wonderful information:-) thanks 🙏

[@WilliamLang]

Thank you for watching!

[@jg2977]

You really sound smooth on that new LI Brass mouthpiece. The articulations are crystal clear on the Elliott though. Both mouthpieces have good uses.

[@WilliamLang]

thanks! and definitely - I'm keeping both in my case at all times

[@tomnormannnilsen2770]

Wow! Very interesting analysis. Thank you very much for sharing this!

[@WilliamLang]

thanks so much for listening!

[@mustafa1name]

Interesting reasoning and decisions. Cat unimpressed

[@WilliamLang]

the cats have had enough let me tell you - keeps me humble