when it comes to my flugelhorn as a beginner, endurance is. I can still remember the days of practicing keys or guitar when the days aren't always moving forwards as practicing is concerned. There were many a day when taking a step or two backwards one day and one forwards the next was the norm. I always compared it like climbing a long set of stairs and getting to the next level was a long way up. Sometimes ya just have to take a break and catch a breath or two before moving on.
I'm not discouraged because of it as I understand how the process works and experienced enough as a musician to go with the flow. Expecting it to happen did come to me somewhat as a surprise altho deep inside I always knew that it would happen. Yesterday practicing just went down the hill as hitting any note above C5 (3rd space C) seemed impossible. Even tho I had an off day, I did manage to work on timing playing the notes that I could hit. But even that seemed to be fruitless as focusing on the task at hand was just not in the works. It did take a lot of work on my part before I could focus a little better. Wine seemed to help in my favor. Perhaps it helped alleviate some stress due to other aspects in life which allowed me to concentrate a bit more at what I was supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to get going my chops were too tired. No it wasn't the wine that got me tired as one glass just isn't going to make it happen. There have been other days where even 3-4 glasses didn't effect me. My problem is endurance, compounded by other factors at my age and I understand that.
I'm not a young kid any longer and have many more issues, mental and physical which effect my playing but as a person that thrives on challenges, I move on. Perhaps today will be much different.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
practice using phrasing
I'm finally back tp practicing my Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn after a short break. The reason for the break was to finish a project I started earlier for Christmas. Now that it's finished and Christmas is already in the past, I can move ahead with my studies again. Before I get into phrasing, I'll give you an update on my progress.
Yesterday I did quite well as I even hit the A above the staff fairly easily. Today, I hit the high C above the staff. It was a bit thin but never the less I am at the point where I have a 2½ octave range; from the low F# below the staff to the high C second ledger line above the staff or C6. That's progress! I have several mouthpieces and I alternate between them. One is actually a trumpet mouthpiece, another a coronet and 2 are flugelhorn. The trumpet mouthpiece is a bit longer than the others and make me out of tune....no ya just can't lip this one up. LOL. But since I'm not playing along to music, right now it doesn't matter to me. When my lips get fatigued from playing one, I'll switch to another. Somehow doing this helps alleviate the fatigue. My embouchure isn't quite there yet but only playing the horn for less than a month, I'm progressing very well for an old guy.
As for reading music, I do it very well as I have been classically trained on keys and of course ya just can't go to music college unable to read music. I do not have the notes in front of me while practicing scales because I want to use my brain while playing them. Sometimes reading notes become a crutch where one depends on them and never actually learning the properties of the scale to begin with. For many years as a jazz keyboardist and guitarist, I've relied on either fingering or patterns to play scales rather than thinking of the structure. Playing without the notes in front of me makes me visualize the notes in my head thus learning much quicker.
Playing the chromatic scale helps me with the fingering. I don't try to play fast, maybe quarter notes for now until my mind is coordinated with the fingers better. The other scales are used for building my embouchure and range. I'll begin with a C major scale and then play its modes as far as I can reach and then back down. In jazz, intervals are used often so I'll play the scales in seconds ( C-D, D-E etc), thirds (C-E, D-F, E-G etc.), fourths (C-F, D-G, E-A etc.) and fifths (C-G, D-A, E-B etc.) I'll do the same for the next key and so forth. At this point in time I haven't read one lick of notes nor have I even worked on other music. This is just a warm-up. When I finally get down to working on a song, I'll pull out the sheet music which I printed out for myself and work on the fingering first. At first I played perhaps 4 bars. Once I got that done I added another to it or perhaps another 4 until I have a complete phrase.
Sometimes my phrases are long, while other times short. I'm killing two birds with one stone here. For one, I'm building up my diaphragm where I'm not running out of breath every measure/bar. Two, in jazz one plays various length phrases, not just short ones i.e 6 beats or 12. I'm used to playing anywhere up to 27 on the guitar. Yes, the phrases can be uneven. Where does it say they all have to be even and that they have to begin or end on the beat. A jazz phrase can end up on a sixteenth note on the down beat or upbeat. I've even played a phrase for 9 beats and ended it on the upbeat of 3...no biggie!
The best way to learn phrases, whether you play a horn or any other instrument is to use curse words in sentences and then try to play the notes as they sound as you speak them. Listening to oneself closely or even recording them just to see where the emphasis are will help. The dirtier the better. Don't be shocked at what you might hear coming out of your mouth LOL. This is one time where you might actually put cursing into good use. Shorter sentences teach me new licks. Each time I say a phrase, I say it differently accenting different words. The great thing about doing it this way is that one emphasizes certain words by accenting certain letters. Try saying these two words as an example, holy shit! or these words; get that mother back! Say it to yourself different ways, notice where the accents are? Now play the notes. When playing the notes, I also accent the same. See what I mean? One could do it using regular clean language but often times we don't put emphasis on certain words or the phrase itself the way we do when cursing. They wok in any key and with any chord progression. When practicing these curse word sentences/phrases you may want to do it in privacy for obvious reasons. There was a time where I would be playing a gig on guitar and when it came to my solos, I would be cussing up a storm and would speak them out loud while playing. If anyone would have heard me...oh no! Anyway, for some reason remembering these cuss sentences are easier than the actual notes or other clean phrases.
When I finally get my fingering and phrasing down, I will go ahead and put it in use or atleast try to by playing to accompaniment tracks created with Band In A Box. Now remember to use these phrases you just learned in your playing.
Yesterday I did quite well as I even hit the A above the staff fairly easily. Today, I hit the high C above the staff. It was a bit thin but never the less I am at the point where I have a 2½ octave range; from the low F# below the staff to the high C second ledger line above the staff or C6. That's progress! I have several mouthpieces and I alternate between them. One is actually a trumpet mouthpiece, another a coronet and 2 are flugelhorn. The trumpet mouthpiece is a bit longer than the others and make me out of tune....no ya just can't lip this one up. LOL. But since I'm not playing along to music, right now it doesn't matter to me. When my lips get fatigued from playing one, I'll switch to another. Somehow doing this helps alleviate the fatigue. My embouchure isn't quite there yet but only playing the horn for less than a month, I'm progressing very well for an old guy.
As for reading music, I do it very well as I have been classically trained on keys and of course ya just can't go to music college unable to read music. I do not have the notes in front of me while practicing scales because I want to use my brain while playing them. Sometimes reading notes become a crutch where one depends on them and never actually learning the properties of the scale to begin with. For many years as a jazz keyboardist and guitarist, I've relied on either fingering or patterns to play scales rather than thinking of the structure. Playing without the notes in front of me makes me visualize the notes in my head thus learning much quicker.
Playing the chromatic scale helps me with the fingering. I don't try to play fast, maybe quarter notes for now until my mind is coordinated with the fingers better. The other scales are used for building my embouchure and range. I'll begin with a C major scale and then play its modes as far as I can reach and then back down. In jazz, intervals are used often so I'll play the scales in seconds ( C-D, D-E etc), thirds (C-E, D-F, E-G etc.), fourths (C-F, D-G, E-A etc.) and fifths (C-G, D-A, E-B etc.) I'll do the same for the next key and so forth. At this point in time I haven't read one lick of notes nor have I even worked on other music. This is just a warm-up. When I finally get down to working on a song, I'll pull out the sheet music which I printed out for myself and work on the fingering first. At first I played perhaps 4 bars. Once I got that done I added another to it or perhaps another 4 until I have a complete phrase.
Sometimes my phrases are long, while other times short. I'm killing two birds with one stone here. For one, I'm building up my diaphragm where I'm not running out of breath every measure/bar. Two, in jazz one plays various length phrases, not just short ones i.e 6 beats or 12. I'm used to playing anywhere up to 27 on the guitar. Yes, the phrases can be uneven. Where does it say they all have to be even and that they have to begin or end on the beat. A jazz phrase can end up on a sixteenth note on the down beat or upbeat. I've even played a phrase for 9 beats and ended it on the upbeat of 3...no biggie!
The best way to learn phrases, whether you play a horn or any other instrument is to use curse words in sentences and then try to play the notes as they sound as you speak them. Listening to oneself closely or even recording them just to see where the emphasis are will help. The dirtier the better. Don't be shocked at what you might hear coming out of your mouth LOL. This is one time where you might actually put cursing into good use. Shorter sentences teach me new licks. Each time I say a phrase, I say it differently accenting different words. The great thing about doing it this way is that one emphasizes certain words by accenting certain letters. Try saying these two words as an example, holy shit! or these words; get that mother back! Say it to yourself different ways, notice where the accents are? Now play the notes. When playing the notes, I also accent the same. See what I mean? One could do it using regular clean language but often times we don't put emphasis on certain words or the phrase itself the way we do when cursing. They wok in any key and with any chord progression. When practicing these curse word sentences/phrases you may want to do it in privacy for obvious reasons. There was a time where I would be playing a gig on guitar and when it came to my solos, I would be cussing up a storm and would speak them out loud while playing. If anyone would have heard me...oh no! Anyway, for some reason remembering these cuss sentences are easier than the actual notes or other clean phrases.
When I finally get my fingering and phrasing down, I will go ahead and put it in use or atleast try to by playing to accompaniment tracks created with Band In A Box. Now remember to use these phrases you just learned in your playing.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
custom bird house
Bird houses are normally easy to make and anyone can make one in just a few hours. Mine may take me anywhere from a week to two depending on the complexity. When it comes to geometry and calculus forget it, I'm a total moron. I don't have a compound miter saw nor special calculators to help me figure out the angles, I use a square and figure out the angles with my eye and then cut by hand. Sometime it works out great while other times not. I try to stick with simple angles like 15°, 22.5°, 30°,45° and on occasion 35° and 40°. When it comes to any other angle, it might take me several attempts but usually I'll do it in two to three. I use scrap wood to make them.
Gable roofs are fairly easy to do and don't require much knowledge. A 45° angle can be used and the roof can be butted. The only thing one needs to know is one side of the roof needs to be a bit longer, the thickness of the wood one works with because the butted end is underneath the piece. Cut up roofs can be extremely challenging where several gables come together. Hip roofs give me the most problems but somehow I manage to muddle thru and things work out.
Putting in doors and windows along with trim is the most time consuming. They are not painted in. I actually cut some very thin strips of wood by hand, paint them and then glue them in place. I even add sidewalks, decks and chimneys out of wood.
Each piece that I do is more challenging than the previous due to their complexity. It's as if I'm learning from one to do on the next. I like making custom bird houses simply for the challenge. It makes me think and putting it along with my playing music my mind stays sharp and even my memory has become better than ever. I can remember things a lot easier these days than I could 20 years ago.
It all started when an elderly neighbor, after seeing some of my outdoor furniture, asked me if I could build her a bird house. I told her after throwing a simple one together in a few hours that I'll make a more fancier one when I get done with my other woodworking projects. I got into doing the complex ones (miniatures) as I needed ideas to create them while waiting around to get my flugelhorn that would be in a playable state. I purchased one in late October, had to send it back, order another, send it back, order another. They were all defective. I didn't get a good one until a week before Christmas. It was just in time too as I was starting to get bored with building these miniatures. But it did keep my creativity in tact along with my memory.
I don't try to make them perfect nor are they a certain scale model. I want to keep a cartoon appearance to them.
The one below is a copy of one of my son's houses which I did from memory. It took 60+ hrs to create. I used saw dust to create a textured finish on the roof. All of the bhs has several coats of polyurethane for protection against the elements.
My final bird house (miniature) was a copy of a house I took my family on vacation to in the north woods of Michigan. I also did it from memory and it took about 80 hrs to complete. The challenge was the cut up roof and the fact that it was a 2 story house on a hill where the lower part of the house was exposed only on the back and sides.
this masterpiece birdhouse below I created for a friend, was mostly made from
both weather-beaten lumber and discarded material I found next to a
garbage can.
Whether birds actually use them may be another story as they can also be used for yard mooch (decoration).
Gable roofs are fairly easy to do and don't require much knowledge. A 45° angle can be used and the roof can be butted. The only thing one needs to know is one side of the roof needs to be a bit longer, the thickness of the wood one works with because the butted end is underneath the piece. Cut up roofs can be extremely challenging where several gables come together. Hip roofs give me the most problems but somehow I manage to muddle thru and things work out.
Putting in doors and windows along with trim is the most time consuming. They are not painted in. I actually cut some very thin strips of wood by hand, paint them and then glue them in place. I even add sidewalks, decks and chimneys out of wood.
Each piece that I do is more challenging than the previous due to their complexity. It's as if I'm learning from one to do on the next. I like making custom bird houses simply for the challenge. It makes me think and putting it along with my playing music my mind stays sharp and even my memory has become better than ever. I can remember things a lot easier these days than I could 20 years ago.
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| me holding my first custom bird house |
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| three of my recent custom bird houses |
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| the middle one from the previous pics showing the detail |
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| front side |
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| back side of the house |
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| front entrance |
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| bird entrance |
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| back entrance, deck and screen room |
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| me and the bird house |
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| front of bird house |
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| back of bird house |
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| the east side of the bird house where the entrance is for the birds |
Whether birds actually use them may be another story as they can also be used for yard mooch (decoration).
Monday, December 15, 2014
the new flugelhorn
My previous post on the Allora aafg 103f flugelhorn if you're interested.
http://thatainttoothpaste.blogspot.com/2014/12/more-on-allora-aafg-103f-flugelhorn.html
is coming along very nicely and am moving forwards with it better than I expected. After acquiring a new mouthpiece for it, Curry 40FL-M, my range increased from F# 3 to C5 (middle C being C4) to the F#5...5th line on the staff. I just need to get up to the first ledger line A and I'll be satisfied as that seems to be the range for decent tone on the flugel. But with this mouthpiece I feel that I'm getting tired still too quickly. Perhaps another may be in order altho this one has made a remarkable difference. For now, I'll keep using it to see how it works out. Maybe it's just part of the process in building endurance.
I have experienced a few difficulties while practicing which isn't anything new for me. The biggest problem however is drainage. My sinuses seem to go insane and I gag. Even the old lungs seem to be clearing up and ending up in my throat altho, most of the breathing is done with the diaphragm. I don't know whether this is a temporary thing or a new long term health problem. Time will tell.
Yesterday, I was able to play for 32 bars straight, which is a good indication that my endurance is building up. Now 64 bars to go. I even hit G5 for the first time. Trying to practice for several hours at a time right now is not in the picture because of the gagging thing and the chops just aren't ready for all that punishment all at once.
I've found a happy medium for practicing which still gets me moving ahead without too much discomfort. Practicing 15-20 minutes at a time, then resting for a while and then coming back to it later seems to be the ticket. Since I'm in no hurry nor do I need to be anywhere at my age, I can do this several times a day and get in my practice time.
While resting, I'm busy building my custom bird houses. I just finished another which took me much longer than I anticipated. It was a copy of one of my son's house from memory. I'm building a copy of a vacation house on the lake where we stayed at last summer, again from memory. Between the flugelhorn and the woodworking, I've noticed that my memory is much better than before and can remember things easier. I've always had memory issues.
http://thatainttoothpaste.blogspot.com/2014/12/more-on-allora-aafg-103f-flugelhorn.html
is coming along very nicely and am moving forwards with it better than I expected. After acquiring a new mouthpiece for it, Curry 40FL-M, my range increased from F# 3 to C5 (middle C being C4) to the F#5...5th line on the staff. I just need to get up to the first ledger line A and I'll be satisfied as that seems to be the range for decent tone on the flugel. But with this mouthpiece I feel that I'm getting tired still too quickly. Perhaps another may be in order altho this one has made a remarkable difference. For now, I'll keep using it to see how it works out. Maybe it's just part of the process in building endurance.
I have experienced a few difficulties while practicing which isn't anything new for me. The biggest problem however is drainage. My sinuses seem to go insane and I gag. Even the old lungs seem to be clearing up and ending up in my throat altho, most of the breathing is done with the diaphragm. I don't know whether this is a temporary thing or a new long term health problem. Time will tell.
Yesterday, I was able to play for 32 bars straight, which is a good indication that my endurance is building up. Now 64 bars to go. I even hit G5 for the first time. Trying to practice for several hours at a time right now is not in the picture because of the gagging thing and the chops just aren't ready for all that punishment all at once.
I've found a happy medium for practicing which still gets me moving ahead without too much discomfort. Practicing 15-20 minutes at a time, then resting for a while and then coming back to it later seems to be the ticket. Since I'm in no hurry nor do I need to be anywhere at my age, I can do this several times a day and get in my practice time.
While resting, I'm busy building my custom bird houses. I just finished another which took me much longer than I anticipated. It was a copy of one of my son's house from memory. I'm building a copy of a vacation house on the lake where we stayed at last summer, again from memory. Between the flugelhorn and the woodworking, I've noticed that my memory is much better than before and can remember things easier. I've always had memory issues.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
a great start
I've had my flugelhorn now since Wednesday, practiced on it Thursday and Friday and I'm already playing notes on it ranging from the lowest F#3 to the F5 (C4 being middle C and 3rd space C being C5 on the piano keyboard) without too much effort. Buzzing on a mouthpiece for several weeks prior to getting my horn has made a huge difference I think. Buzzing on the mouthpiece helped build up my chops to where they are currently and without doing so, I doubt it if I would be as far as I am at the moment. A new mouthpiece versus the stock also makes a huge difference because I chose one with the throat being much more open without a lot of pressure. I can still remember my music college days while studying to be a music teacher, constantly hearing about playing without pressure. Each mouthpiece has so much back pressure created in them so my project was to find something where more air would pass thru it. I chose a Curry 600 Series 40FLM. It is a bit more brighter than the stock mouthpiece that came with the horn and a lot more comfortable for me to play on especially with my crooked teeth.
Amazingly after all these years, since early 1970's, and only learning to play the trumpet for about 6 weeks, I still remember most of the fingerings and only have to look up a few past C5. I'm mainly working on tone building along with the embouchure and intonation by playing scales and their modes. Modes will come in handy for improvisation later. So far the scales and their associated modes I've worked on these 2 days are: G, Ab, A, Bb, B, C, D, Eb, E, F. I haven't had enough time to get to the Gb or Db yet but will soon. I usually practice playing long notes holding them for 4 measures, then whole notes, half, quarter, eighths and sixteenths. I don't have the technique yet to play faster tempos and stick to ones between 64 to 94bpm.
While dealing with the fiasco from Musician's Friend in trying to obtain a working horn, I had created various accompaniment tracks using Band In A Box and even a couple of full tunes which are about 4 minutes in length. Along with practicing the above, I take a few minutes to work on the tunes I created thus putting what I learn into practice. Today will be my third day of practice with my new horn. As you can see, I'm quite serious and dedicated with a plan making progress. Yes I'm 65.
Amazingly after all these years, since early 1970's, and only learning to play the trumpet for about 6 weeks, I still remember most of the fingerings and only have to look up a few past C5. I'm mainly working on tone building along with the embouchure and intonation by playing scales and their modes. Modes will come in handy for improvisation later. So far the scales and their associated modes I've worked on these 2 days are: G, Ab, A, Bb, B, C, D, Eb, E, F. I haven't had enough time to get to the Gb or Db yet but will soon. I usually practice playing long notes holding them for 4 measures, then whole notes, half, quarter, eighths and sixteenths. I don't have the technique yet to play faster tempos and stick to ones between 64 to 94bpm.
While dealing with the fiasco from Musician's Friend in trying to obtain a working horn, I had created various accompaniment tracks using Band In A Box and even a couple of full tunes which are about 4 minutes in length. Along with practicing the above, I take a few minutes to work on the tunes I created thus putting what I learn into practice. Today will be my third day of practice with my new horn. As you can see, I'm quite serious and dedicated with a plan making progress. Yes I'm 65.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
More on the Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn
You can read my first post regarding the Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn here if you like.
http://thatainttoothpaste.blogspot.com/2014/12/allora-aafg-103f-flugelhorn.html
I finally received my third replacement Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn last night. There were plenty of clues showing me that this one was brand new and not a return. Apparently, MusiciansFriend.com does not check their returns well enough to determine why they were returned in the first place and re-send it to the next buyer. I always make a point of adding a note in the case telling them why it's being returned hoping that the next customer won't have to deal with all the b.s. I went thru. All of my aggravation could have been prevented if only someone at MusiciansFriend.com had done their job. But then again most of the workers in the warehouse have no clue as to what to look for in the first place and probably don't even play an instrument.
After doing a lot of research on Allora, I find that they have no web site. The original Allora label had been made in Germany by a company called B&S. There is a stamp under the name showing the country of origin. Today it's made in China and has no label of origin anywhere on the horn and does not even compare with the original German made horn. Apparently, Allora does not want you to know that it's just another piece of crap coming out of China.
The Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn is a good entry level horn due to price but, as for a long term flugelhorn, It's not worth the money. Why not? The valve guides are made out of cheap plastic supposedly for quiet action. What's a valve guide? The valve guide is the clip or retainer that holds the pistons (valves) in the casing and lock them in position. Otherwise the valves would rotate and the holes would not align with the tubes making the horn unplayable. So what happens to cheap plastic? They wear out or break. Try to find a replacement. Go ahead and google it, see if you can find any replacement parts for the horn. For better horns that have a lacquer finish, the wearing down of the lacquer finish actually makes the thing sound better but does not effect the tuning. With the Allora I've been told and have also read it that losing the lacquer finish will effect the horn considerably for some reason. The lacquer finish on the Allora aafg 103f will scratch easily. If you ever have to take your horn to a repair guy and a torch is involved, you better believe that it's going to effect the lacquer finish. Even using their cleaning rag creates these tiny scratches after wiping it down. The horn comes with a pair of white gloves which apparently one is supposed to use when playing to prevent body acids from eating away the lacquer. Who the hell is going to wear white gloves while playing the horn unless you are in a marching band and in uniform?
The flugelhorn comes with a stock mouthpiece which for many is useless unless you are planning one just playing in the low register. I went to Large Morse Taper Mouthpieces : Mouthpiece Express and purchased one suitable for me, a Curry 600 series 40FLM. It's a bit brighter than most. Preferably a Bach 7c or 8c would have done the job for me. I have an old Bach 7c for coronet. The shank is a standard large morse taper and is just a little too long for the flugelhorn making it play flat but I can hit the a above the staff easily enough without struggling. Bach makes a large morse taper but only for trumpet and coronet...odd. I went with Curry 600 series after comparing it with a Bach 8c. The Bach 8c would have been comfortable since my teeth are crooked and made playing in the upper register a bit easier but since it was a small Morse taper mouthpiece, I had to find something close to it. I spent many an hour researching and comparing different mouthpieces since going out and trying them out was not in the cards. I picked out the right one for now but later I may need to upgrade. Mouthpiece Express has just about anything you need and more for your horn and a good source with decent pricing. There are other fees added to your order which you need to be aware of i.e. shipping and insurance which can bring up the cost but it's still worth it. You can order as many mouthpieces as you like, try them out and then send the ones unsuitable for you back. However, there are restocking and sterilizing fees involved.
The case for the horn is pure garbage and is just meant to be a temporary protection for the horn. Mine came with a couple of dents already even tho the box it came with was well protected. I already knew that I will need to replace the case so I'm not that concerned with the dents. I will need to add a gig bag to my arsenal from somewhere. Couple of other items I will look into is a stand under $40 and perhaps a mute. A mute for under $50 comes in handy for practicing especially if someone in the house gets annoyed with your practicing and are driving them nuts. It's also good if you live in an apartment, you won't annoy your neighbors.
So why did I buy an Allora aafg 103f flugelhorn? As I stated on my previous post, I'm a keyboardist and guitarist and wanted to get into playing a horn. I had learned to play all brass, woodwinds, strings and percussion instruments back in music college in the early 1970's and I want to see if it's possible for me to get serious about playing a horn at this stage of my life. I'm 65. It would have been a waste of money for me to spend over a thousand dollars, closer to two for a good horn and renting one was in the plans but unavailable. The price I ended up getting the horn for was better than I hoped for after MusicianFriends.com made amends to all of the aggravation I went thru in purchasing the horn. It's the perfect horn for me as an introductory horn.
June 27, 2015
Update on the horn.
I've had my Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn now for 6 months and beginning to notice some pitting in the finish already even in areas I've not even touched. I try to wipe it off with the cloth they include with it. Unfortunately, as cheap as the finish is on the horn, I can see plenty of scratch marks caused by the cleaning cloth, so it's pretty useless and damaging, as stated earlier.
I've seen prices on this horn up to $650.00. If you pay that much for it, you are a fool. It's not even worth $400.00, which is close to the price most places will charge you for it when supposedly on sale. It's like any other musical instrument you might see on the internet, the retail price is jacked up much higher than the actual worth so you'd think that you are actually getting a deal. You might get it cheaper during the Christmas sale rush but don't count on getting a good one on your first try. That's the time you can actually get a good picture of how much the horn is really worth. These places selling the horn are still getting a decent profit which makes me wonder what are they actually purchasing them for? Frankly, the horn is a good beginner horn but actually the value of it is only worth about $200.00. I paid $199.00 for mine. The case, I've never replaced yet, since I don't move my horn from one place to another often, so for now even with a slight dent (the way I got it) is adequate. Keep in mind that "you get what you pay for" and rarely get quality for less.
I'll keep you informed as time moves forward on the conditions of the horn and case so you may want to check back before going out and purchasing your cheap Allora, unless you're hot to trot for one and end up getting ripped off.
http://thatainttoothpaste.blogspot.com/2014/12/allora-aafg-103f-flugelhorn.html
I finally received my third replacement Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn last night. There were plenty of clues showing me that this one was brand new and not a return. Apparently, MusiciansFriend.com does not check their returns well enough to determine why they were returned in the first place and re-send it to the next buyer. I always make a point of adding a note in the case telling them why it's being returned hoping that the next customer won't have to deal with all the b.s. I went thru. All of my aggravation could have been prevented if only someone at MusiciansFriend.com had done their job. But then again most of the workers in the warehouse have no clue as to what to look for in the first place and probably don't even play an instrument.
After doing a lot of research on Allora, I find that they have no web site. The original Allora label had been made in Germany by a company called B&S. There is a stamp under the name showing the country of origin. Today it's made in China and has no label of origin anywhere on the horn and does not even compare with the original German made horn. Apparently, Allora does not want you to know that it's just another piece of crap coming out of China.
The Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn is a good entry level horn due to price but, as for a long term flugelhorn, It's not worth the money. Why not? The valve guides are made out of cheap plastic supposedly for quiet action. What's a valve guide? The valve guide is the clip or retainer that holds the pistons (valves) in the casing and lock them in position. Otherwise the valves would rotate and the holes would not align with the tubes making the horn unplayable. So what happens to cheap plastic? They wear out or break. Try to find a replacement. Go ahead and google it, see if you can find any replacement parts for the horn. For better horns that have a lacquer finish, the wearing down of the lacquer finish actually makes the thing sound better but does not effect the tuning. With the Allora I've been told and have also read it that losing the lacquer finish will effect the horn considerably for some reason. The lacquer finish on the Allora aafg 103f will scratch easily. If you ever have to take your horn to a repair guy and a torch is involved, you better believe that it's going to effect the lacquer finish. Even using their cleaning rag creates these tiny scratches after wiping it down. The horn comes with a pair of white gloves which apparently one is supposed to use when playing to prevent body acids from eating away the lacquer. Who the hell is going to wear white gloves while playing the horn unless you are in a marching band and in uniform?
The flugelhorn comes with a stock mouthpiece which for many is useless unless you are planning one just playing in the low register. I went to Large Morse Taper Mouthpieces : Mouthpiece Express and purchased one suitable for me, a Curry 600 series 40FLM. It's a bit brighter than most. Preferably a Bach 7c or 8c would have done the job for me. I have an old Bach 7c for coronet. The shank is a standard large morse taper and is just a little too long for the flugelhorn making it play flat but I can hit the a above the staff easily enough without struggling. Bach makes a large morse taper but only for trumpet and coronet...odd. I went with Curry 600 series after comparing it with a Bach 8c. The Bach 8c would have been comfortable since my teeth are crooked and made playing in the upper register a bit easier but since it was a small Morse taper mouthpiece, I had to find something close to it. I spent many an hour researching and comparing different mouthpieces since going out and trying them out was not in the cards. I picked out the right one for now but later I may need to upgrade. Mouthpiece Express has just about anything you need and more for your horn and a good source with decent pricing. There are other fees added to your order which you need to be aware of i.e. shipping and insurance which can bring up the cost but it's still worth it. You can order as many mouthpieces as you like, try them out and then send the ones unsuitable for you back. However, there are restocking and sterilizing fees involved.
The case for the horn is pure garbage and is just meant to be a temporary protection for the horn. Mine came with a couple of dents already even tho the box it came with was well protected. I already knew that I will need to replace the case so I'm not that concerned with the dents. I will need to add a gig bag to my arsenal from somewhere. Couple of other items I will look into is a stand under $40 and perhaps a mute. A mute for under $50 comes in handy for practicing especially if someone in the house gets annoyed with your practicing and are driving them nuts. It's also good if you live in an apartment, you won't annoy your neighbors.
So why did I buy an Allora aafg 103f flugelhorn? As I stated on my previous post, I'm a keyboardist and guitarist and wanted to get into playing a horn. I had learned to play all brass, woodwinds, strings and percussion instruments back in music college in the early 1970's and I want to see if it's possible for me to get serious about playing a horn at this stage of my life. I'm 65. It would have been a waste of money for me to spend over a thousand dollars, closer to two for a good horn and renting one was in the plans but unavailable. The price I ended up getting the horn for was better than I hoped for after MusicianFriends.com made amends to all of the aggravation I went thru in purchasing the horn. It's the perfect horn for me as an introductory horn.
June 27, 2015
Update on the horn.
I've had my Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn now for 6 months and beginning to notice some pitting in the finish already even in areas I've not even touched. I try to wipe it off with the cloth they include with it. Unfortunately, as cheap as the finish is on the horn, I can see plenty of scratch marks caused by the cleaning cloth, so it's pretty useless and damaging, as stated earlier.
I've seen prices on this horn up to $650.00. If you pay that much for it, you are a fool. It's not even worth $400.00, which is close to the price most places will charge you for it when supposedly on sale. It's like any other musical instrument you might see on the internet, the retail price is jacked up much higher than the actual worth so you'd think that you are actually getting a deal. You might get it cheaper during the Christmas sale rush but don't count on getting a good one on your first try. That's the time you can actually get a good picture of how much the horn is really worth. These places selling the horn are still getting a decent profit which makes me wonder what are they actually purchasing them for? Frankly, the horn is a good beginner horn but actually the value of it is only worth about $200.00. I paid $199.00 for mine. The case, I've never replaced yet, since I don't move my horn from one place to another often, so for now even with a slight dent (the way I got it) is adequate. Keep in mind that "you get what you pay for" and rarely get quality for less.
I'll keep you informed as time moves forward on the conditions of the horn and case so you may want to check back before going out and purchasing your cheap Allora, unless you're hot to trot for one and end up getting ripped off.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn
I had been kicking around the idea of learning to play some sort of a horn for sometime now. I'm known for my guitar and keyboard artistry. I began playing keys somewhere around 1958. The guitar, I taught myself in the mid to late 1960's. After graduating from music college, I ended up putting the guitar on hold and in storage as I was too busy doing my teaching thing and gigging on the keys. It wasn't until late 2005 that I decided to get back to my guitar.
After pulling it out from storage and doing some serious restoring to it, I practiced on it from 6-8 hours a day. I pretty much ate, shit and slept with guitar in hand. It took me 9 months to become a proficient jazz guitarist. I used many of the current technology during my practice sessions to get to where I needed to be. Programs like Band In A Box and recording myself using Cakewalk's Sonar allowed me to play along to sound tracks and then listen and critique myself after recording my performances.
My keyboard and guitar playing has become limited these days due to arthritis, so serious thought was needed to choose an instrument where I didn't have to use all of my fingers. My choices were narrowed down to trombone or trumpet. I didn't want to wear out my arm using the slide on the trombone and considered valve trombone but, it was just too expensive for me to spend that kind of money on something I didn't know whether I could handle playing at my age, or how long I would be interested in playing anymore. After spending plenty of time on the internet researching, I decided to go with the flugelhorn, a cousin of the trumpet. I found a couple of flugelhorns that fit into my budget and if I didn't last, my loss would only be under $500 rather than a few thousand. I did consider renting a flugelhorn, however no one had one available in my area.
My choice was the Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn. It has a nice mellow tone and stays in tune quite well. It's a nice looking horn which came with a cheap case and a stock mouth piece. I first ordered it thru MusiciansFriend on October 27, 2014 and received it November 2, 2014. I was pretty excited and had been anticipating the short wait. Prior to my order, I had been practicing buzzing on a trumpet mouthpiece which was given to me many years ago in music college.
After taking the horn out of the box and case, I began blowing on it and to my surprise, a nice tone came out of it for the first time use. Earlier I had been relearning some fingerings for the horn and began playing a scale...the C scale. To my surprise, I was able to play a whole octave without too much difficulty. Going beyond that was a bit more challenging but I've never turned down a challenge before so I'm not about to now.
In the next few days, after going out to get some valve oil and grease, oiling the valves and greasing up the tuning slides, I noticed that the third valve tuning slide wasn't working properly. I notified Musician's Friend and after several e-mails later they had me take it to a repair shop for analysis. The horn was defective. The tubes were not aligned properly which made the valve stick rather than sliding back to the original position as it was supposed to after releasing the trigger. I got back to Musician's Friend and told them that because it has a lacquer finish, trying to repair the tubes would damage it. I was told to send it back and did. I didn't get too much hassle from them but rather than just sending me a new horn, I had to re-purchase one.
It took about a week before I was refunded my money. Since black Friday was just around the corner, I decided to wait to see if I could save a few more $$$ in case there was going to be a discount on the item. During the Thanksgiving week I kept my eyes open on a couple of sites and decided that the first one with a decent sale was going to get my business. WoodwindsBrass.com came out with a coupon for 15% off on the item so I tried purchasing it. Unfortunately, they were having problems and I just couldn't make the purchase. Thanksgiving day, I noticed that MusiciansFriend.com also had a 15% discount for the Thursday and Friday for the item and decided to give them another try. I saved another $75 on the horn which I will put towards a decent mouthpiece. Getting any information regarding a mouthpiece for the horn from Musician'sFriend or even WoodwindBrass.com was futile as even the supposed experts had no clue. The Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn uses a flugelhorn mouthpiece with the large Morse taper. The way I found that out was when I took the horn to the repair shop. The shop had several Bach mouthpieces on site and since I was looking to purchase one, I thought that I'd see if one fit the horn. Unfortunately, the Bach mouthpieces uses the small Morse taper so it was way too loose. Tomorrow, I will receive my replacement horn....it'll be interesting to see if everything works considering no one there bothers to check to see if the horn actually works by moving the slides, trigger valve and the tuning valves.
Update: Dec. 2, 2014
Received my replacement flugelhorn about 2 hours ago. Haven't had a chance to play it yet but things seem to be working fine, even the trigger however, I won't know for sure until I actually play it. This one had a cleaning rag and white gloves which my original didn't have. It came with the same stock mouthpiece which is somewhat useless in the upper register. The case is very cheaply made with plastic...bendable plastic. But the horn is surrounded with foam which is covered by some cheap black cloth. There is one slot for mouthpiece, no storage of any kind, nor was there any valve oil or grease for the tuning valves. A decent gig bag or a wooden case is a must in the near future.
Update December 3, 2014
Finally had a chance to blow into my flugelhorn only to find out that it didn't play. After some investigation, I find that the valves are stamped 1-3-3 instead of 1-2-3. Once again no quality control at Allora. I'm having to send it back to Musician's Friend. This horn is proving to be a piece of junk and not worth the money I spent on it.
After pulling it out from storage and doing some serious restoring to it, I practiced on it from 6-8 hours a day. I pretty much ate, shit and slept with guitar in hand. It took me 9 months to become a proficient jazz guitarist. I used many of the current technology during my practice sessions to get to where I needed to be. Programs like Band In A Box and recording myself using Cakewalk's Sonar allowed me to play along to sound tracks and then listen and critique myself after recording my performances.
My keyboard and guitar playing has become limited these days due to arthritis, so serious thought was needed to choose an instrument where I didn't have to use all of my fingers. My choices were narrowed down to trombone or trumpet. I didn't want to wear out my arm using the slide on the trombone and considered valve trombone but, it was just too expensive for me to spend that kind of money on something I didn't know whether I could handle playing at my age, or how long I would be interested in playing anymore. After spending plenty of time on the internet researching, I decided to go with the flugelhorn, a cousin of the trumpet. I found a couple of flugelhorns that fit into my budget and if I didn't last, my loss would only be under $500 rather than a few thousand. I did consider renting a flugelhorn, however no one had one available in my area.
My choice was the Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn. It has a nice mellow tone and stays in tune quite well. It's a nice looking horn which came with a cheap case and a stock mouth piece. I first ordered it thru MusiciansFriend on October 27, 2014 and received it November 2, 2014. I was pretty excited and had been anticipating the short wait. Prior to my order, I had been practicing buzzing on a trumpet mouthpiece which was given to me many years ago in music college.
After taking the horn out of the box and case, I began blowing on it and to my surprise, a nice tone came out of it for the first time use. Earlier I had been relearning some fingerings for the horn and began playing a scale...the C scale. To my surprise, I was able to play a whole octave without too much difficulty. Going beyond that was a bit more challenging but I've never turned down a challenge before so I'm not about to now.
In the next few days, after going out to get some valve oil and grease, oiling the valves and greasing up the tuning slides, I noticed that the third valve tuning slide wasn't working properly. I notified Musician's Friend and after several e-mails later they had me take it to a repair shop for analysis. The horn was defective. The tubes were not aligned properly which made the valve stick rather than sliding back to the original position as it was supposed to after releasing the trigger. I got back to Musician's Friend and told them that because it has a lacquer finish, trying to repair the tubes would damage it. I was told to send it back and did. I didn't get too much hassle from them but rather than just sending me a new horn, I had to re-purchase one.
It took about a week before I was refunded my money. Since black Friday was just around the corner, I decided to wait to see if I could save a few more $$$ in case there was going to be a discount on the item. During the Thanksgiving week I kept my eyes open on a couple of sites and decided that the first one with a decent sale was going to get my business. WoodwindsBrass.com came out with a coupon for 15% off on the item so I tried purchasing it. Unfortunately, they were having problems and I just couldn't make the purchase. Thanksgiving day, I noticed that MusiciansFriend.com also had a 15% discount for the Thursday and Friday for the item and decided to give them another try. I saved another $75 on the horn which I will put towards a decent mouthpiece. Getting any information regarding a mouthpiece for the horn from Musician'sFriend or even WoodwindBrass.com was futile as even the supposed experts had no clue. The Allora AAFG 103F flugelhorn uses a flugelhorn mouthpiece with the large Morse taper. The way I found that out was when I took the horn to the repair shop. The shop had several Bach mouthpieces on site and since I was looking to purchase one, I thought that I'd see if one fit the horn. Unfortunately, the Bach mouthpieces uses the small Morse taper so it was way too loose. Tomorrow, I will receive my replacement horn....it'll be interesting to see if everything works considering no one there bothers to check to see if the horn actually works by moving the slides, trigger valve and the tuning valves.
Update: Dec. 2, 2014
Received my replacement flugelhorn about 2 hours ago. Haven't had a chance to play it yet but things seem to be working fine, even the trigger however, I won't know for sure until I actually play it. This one had a cleaning rag and white gloves which my original didn't have. It came with the same stock mouthpiece which is somewhat useless in the upper register. The case is very cheaply made with plastic...bendable plastic. But the horn is surrounded with foam which is covered by some cheap black cloth. There is one slot for mouthpiece, no storage of any kind, nor was there any valve oil or grease for the tuning valves. A decent gig bag or a wooden case is a must in the near future.
Update December 3, 2014
Finally had a chance to blow into my flugelhorn only to find out that it didn't play. After some investigation, I find that the valves are stamped 1-3-3 instead of 1-2-3. Once again no quality control at Allora. I'm having to send it back to Musician's Friend. This horn is proving to be a piece of junk and not worth the money I spent on it.
More on the Allora AAFG 103F Flugelhorn
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