The Future of the Trumpet

[@ggtrumpet]

Let's keep the music going! Live brass music forever!! Thanks K.O.!

[@blue_mitchell_mobile2689]

Hey K.O., I'm a first year university student getting a degree in music, and I'm really interested in trumpet design and manufacturing. How did you get into the business? How did you learn all of the stuff you know now about trumpet design/manufacturing? Did you get a degree for it, or did you study by yourself/learn from a mentor? Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just really interested in this kind of thing and don't really know where to start.

[@stomviusavideo]

My path has been quite circuitous. I was most fortunate to be friends with and study from Bill Cardwell. He is the scientist that figured out the bell stem shape of the most highly evolved modern trumpet bell can be exactly computed from scratch using only:
(1) The musical harmonic requirements
(2) Experimental geometric and acoustic measurements of the upstream parts of the air column, and
(3) A new set of equations including a phase-matching condition. If you truly want to be able to "design trumpet/mouthpiece" you will need to study/get a degree in Electrical Engineering. If you want to build different trumpets you would need to go to an instrument repair school to learn how to solder, etc. Or you could take a job as an apprentice at a trumpet manufacturer such a Bach and work outr way up. If you want to read some more and see how far you really want to go in this endeavor, you could start with acoustic references listed on the Stomvi USA website here: stomvi-usa.com/acoustic-science/ If you want to chat about this, give me a call. Hope this helps!

[@blue_mitchell_mobile2689]

@@stomviusavideo Thanks so much for responding! I was actually thinking about trying to get a job at the Conn-Selmer factory (where they make all of their student trumpets) in Eastlake, OH, as I live in the area (about half an hour from the factory), or maybe getting a job at a local music store in order to learn the basics of repairing brass instruments. I will be sure to check out the references on the Stomvi website, as well. As for the math stuff, I most likely won't understand it very well because the highest-level math class I have taken so far has only been calculus in High School. I might have to start taking some Electrical Engineering classes at my university. I'll let you know if I have any questions about the references, or things I don't understand. Thanks for all of your help!