Mouthpiece Update for 2008

Readers seem to always be curious about mouthpieces, so an update is in order. I have several concerts coming in the next month [Feb, 2008], and for them I have settled into the following.

Horn: While I still play double horn in lessons often, in reality I am mostly playing my triple. I was using a Laskey 80J very recently. Over break however I tried several options again and came back to a mouthpiece that I had not seriously used in some time, a Lawson F660 cup with a B705 rim. The inner diameter is just a hair bigger than that of the 18mm of the Laskey. This is a rim I had last used as a Doctoral student, the largest inner diameter ever for me. I have played Lawson mouthpieces off and on for years, and I had students try this rim a few times over the years but they always felt it to be too big. I am glad I still have it–I will for sure use this on the upcoming Faculty Woodwind Quintet concert. I should note however there is a slight mismatch between rim and cup, and I need to invest in a new version of the next size bigger cup (and I also would like to try this rim in gold). Also I should note that on a smaller double horn this particular mouthpiece seems just a bit harsh and some find Lawson mouthpieces to feel rather “stiff” in slurs.

Mellophonium: I play solo horn in a brass band, the Salt River Brass, which annually presents a jazz concert. For the concert this year I am really stepping out of the box from anything I have done before and I will be a soloist, playing “Misty” on, believe it or not, Mellophonium. I had been trying to use a Bach 12 mellophone mouthpiece on the instrument (this mouthpiece is for “classic” mellophone, not a marching mellophone, the shank is smaller). I tried to adjust to this rim over break, which has an inner diameter of more than 18.5 mm. But after one rehearsal with the band I am throwing in the towel. I will be using a Laskey 80G horn mouthpiece with an adapter. It works well on the instrument and fits my chops better. (The Lawson gets a bit harsh on this instrument, or I would use it).

Mellophone: There are not a lot of jazz charts for brass band that are good. Much of what we play is adapted locally from standard big band charts. Any parts in E-flat I play on my normal triple horn, but some of the charts have parts written out in F that are basically the second alto saxophone parts. For these I am playing my King mellophone to better match the Flugelhorns (the group uses a pair to double the alto sax I part). I am not using a “standard” mellophone mouthpiece, most makes the inner diamater is too small and the sound is way too bright. I had hoped to use the Bach 12 alto horn mouthpiece on the instrument but again my chops are not happy about the larger inner diameter and anyway it seemed a little bright in the context, more of a trumpet/trombone tone than what I wanted. I did not like the results on a horn mouthpiece either. So, for this concert, I will be using a Blessing 5 mellophone mouthpiece, the largest on the market, a mouthpiece very similar to a Dennis Wick 5 tenor horn mouthpiece. This puts out a sound that is in the right place in brass band, in between the Flugelhorns and the Euphoniums, and the inner diameter is very close to what I use on horn so it fits my face OK.

In short, the moral of the story is if in doubt, buy mouthpieces and try them, and never sell anything unless you are very sure you will never use it again. The right mouthpiece makes a great difference.