On Owning One Horn

Recently at Horn Insights Jeffrey Agrell noted that

Sometimes you might switch equipment to get the job done. Ever see a pro trumpet player who only owned one trumpet? A few years ago I had the good fortune to go to New York to play some gigs with some NY freelancers. I was very curious to see what they played. Here you have some of the best players anywhere, players who get to play the chart one time through if they’re lucky, and then have to be perfect when the red light went on. Did they play Kruspe wraps? Geyer wraps? Giant bell throats? Single Bbs? Descants? Triples? Something else? Answer: they played everything. Almost all of them had about six or eight horns of all different types. They had no particular allegiance to anything, but would switch to whatever they needed to get the job done, even from one movement to the next. Since much of their work was recorded or in the pit, etc. they didn’t have to worry much about people ‘listening with their eyes’. They used whatever they needed to do make sure the illusion was maintained.

It is less prevalent today than in the past but certainly there was an attitude something like “just me and my Conn 8D” out there in the horn world. I know; until I was seriously taking auditions in late grad school I was one of those players! And while that type of horn is still my home base instrument (“once an 8D player, always an 8D player?”), I play most days on a couple different horns and played my most recent recital on three instruments. It may seem like a luxury to be able to pick and choose among different instruments to suit different repertoire but there is a point in time we are pretty much at now where a professional can’t own just one horn.