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In the Forum: Musical Discussions
In the Thread: Tools, Materials and Personnel
Post Subject: Inspiration at many levelsPosted by rowuk on: 5/22/2026
The clarinet is a good example to demonstrate that "gear" does not have to be a search for the holy grail like it is in the audiophile community. In the case of a clarinet (or even more extreme oboe), manipulation of the reed is specifically done to match the playing characteristics of the instrument to what has already developed in the mind of the artist. Ease of articulation, tone, projection and even how the air flows when we exhale into the instrument are all influenced by specific cuts/shaving that the musician learns as part of the whole performance package. It is actually a very intimate and individual procedure.
The trumpet also has many facets that the artist so inclined can use. Choice of instrument and mouthpiece is of course "easy" but often the player just picks the combination that is safest instead of the one that serves the music best. This has a lot to do with the history of the trumpet where we have about 50 year cycles before the next best thing comes up.
Starting more or less in the renaissance the cycle commenced. Bendinelli and Praetorius come to mind
After 50 years we hade the early baroque period where the upper "clarino" register started to develop. Composers like Corelli and Fantini were representative.
Then came the late baroque with extreme upper register and a "wandering" away from mean tone. Intonation became more critical and the performers had to adjust - hardware and technique. Bach, Molter and Caldera would be representative here. The average tuning pitch was more or less standardised around A=416 Hz
50 years later we had keyed trumpets (think about saxophone like instruments with trumpet mouthpieces). This allowed the trumpeter to play chromatically and better in tune than with the "natural" valveless instruments. Haydn and Hummel both even composed concertos using this newly available register.
50 years later came production instruments with valves. Now it was possible to perform virtuosically in the low register as well as in all of the keys found in "romantic" music Here we had a split - the french moving to higher pitched instruments with perinet valves and the germans with lower pitched instruments with rotary valves. Tuning pitch wandered depending on country/area making the expectations for sound less clear.
50 years later, mass production became a real thing and with that, cheap instruments instruments available for the masses. There was adaptation for community bands as well as the beginning of jazz music. Think Herbert Clarke, John Philip Sousa for band music and Jazz with Jelly Roll Morton.
The following 50 years was the era of live recording to disc. Security became a critical factor and the musicians again had to adapt. Think Stravinsky or late Richard Strauss. Tuning pitch moved up to around A=438.
The 50 years following saw the symphony orchestra develop ever more acoustic output (to the end of "too fucking loud"). The instrument bore got larger to make louder easier. Also the tuning pitch rose from A=438 to A=442 causing the instruments to sound much brighter. There became more demand for players to be flexible, performers from one orchestra could sub in with other ensembles. Hollywood and the studio musician scene grew with jazz training of the players.
Today we have instruments at a level of technical refinement like never before. We have universities specialized in historic performance practices. Unfortunately we have a bunch of "idiots" (my definition) playing trumpet that have the talent and capacity to serve the music properly but instead choose to play very homogenized, very safe. There are very few players that actually use what is available. The current solo trumpet with the Berlin Philharmonic David Guerrier is a wonderful example of someone using his brain. Here is a recording with him using the keyed trumpet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxwa8szwRTw
I am convinced that the performer can get "proper" results by using their brains and a bit of common sense. These days it does not matter so much if we use a rotary or perinet valved instrument. It makes a huge difference when historical instruments are used. The palate of colors is so different, even the non trumpeters can tell.Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site