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.

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.

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