Trumpet Malfunctions: Stuffy or Airy Sounds on a Trumpet or other Brass Instrument

A band director friend of mine recently e-mailed me and asked me about a problem that one of his students was having with their trumpet. I decided to post that response to him here, because I thought that other trumpet players and band directors might also find this information helpful when trying to solve problems with trumpets, cornets, and other valved brass instruments that are not working right and are getting a bad sound.

My friend's original e-mail about this was:

One of my trumpet students came to me with a problem with her instrument. I tried it myself, and it sounds like there is something misaligned. The sound is stuffy and fuzzy-sounding. When I play it, I can hear the correct notes, but it sounds like the horn has a mute on it. I am completely mystified. All of the valves seem to be in place, and nothing seems to be broken. It almost sounds like the sound you get when you press down the valves halfway and play. Please help! I don't want to have to send this trumpet to a repair shop for something that might be an easy fix.

My reply to this e-mail was:

Assuming that you have already checked to make sure that each of the valve's valve-guide notches is locked in its place in the groove inside of its corresponding valve casing, there are five other possible causes of this problem:

1. Check the valves to make sure that none of the felts/corks/synthetic-rubber spacer-bumpers on the valves are missing. (These spacer-bumpers are made of different materials on different brands and models of trumpets and other piston-valved brass instruments.) There are two of these on each valve: One on the outside of the instrument that makes the valve quieter when the valve is pressed down, AND one on the inside of the instrument that makes the valve quieter when the valve is released and pops back up.
Check also to make sure that these felts/corks/spacer-bumpers are not worn too thin (a common problem with older instruments.) These bumpers not only make the valves quieter, but also act as spacers that make sure that the ports in the valves line up evenly with the valve slide ports. If the valve is out of alignment due to missing or worn spacer-bumpers, the result will be a stuffy, almost half-valved type of sound. This can be quickly and easily repaired by simply replacing the spacer bumpers.

2. Check for water key leaks. If a water key cork is missing or broken or otherwise not sealing well, then the result will be an airy or stuffy sound. Check also to make sure that the water key spring is not broken or missing, and check to make sure that the water key is not bent, which would also prevent it from sealing completely. At any rate, any of these water key problems are usually easily and quickly fixed.

3. Check to see if the valves have been taken out and mixed up. (Valves 1, 2, and 3 should each be inserted in the correct valve casing. The valve numbers are always stamped somewhere on the vavles, usually near the spring.) Sometimes, when the valves get mixed up and out of place, you can't blow any air through the instrument at all. Other times, you can blow air through the instrument, but it is very stuffy and half-valved sounding. (This depends on the particular valve mix-up that was made.) Valves sometimes mixed up like this after all the valves were taken out at the same time, such as when giving the instrument a bath. Also, while you are at it, make sure that none of the valve guides (the metal or plastic piece under the spring with one or two notches on it) have been taken out and turned upside down or backwards, which could also negatively effect the alignment of the valve ports.

4. Check to make sure that something isn't stuck inside the instrument, blocking the air flow. Sometimes loose items that are kept in the case work their way into the bell and then get stuck in the instrument tubing. Sometimes, younger siblings drop things down the instrument's bell or leadpipe and get these things stuck inside the instrument. To check for this, pull out all of the slides and valves and run a snake through all of the instrument's tubing to check to see if all of the tubing passageways are clear. Some things that I have found stuck inside of students instruments over the years include: valve oil bottle caps, valve oil bottles, mouthpiece brushes, small pencils, hair barrettes, rubber balls and other toys, hard candy, chewing gum........Well, those are just a few items that come quickly to mind.

5. Check to make sure that there isn't a leak somewhere in the instrument.
A broken weld that is allowing air to escape somewhere or a pinpoint-sized hole caused by corrosion on an old instrument can result in air leaks that cause an airy or stuffy sound. This problem is not very common, but can be fixed by either re-welding the instrument back together or by patching holes (Both of these will require a trip to the instrument repair shop.)

The problem that your student is experiencing is almost certain to be the result of one of the above causes, it's just a matter of investigating and solving the mystery. Luckily, most of the above problems can be easily fixed, so your trumpet student should be able to get a clear, beautiful sound again very soon, and will then be able to play "Flight of the Bumblebee" again!

Randy

Randy Dunn
Professional Trumpet Soloist
Website: http://www.dunn2music.com
Music Video Demos: http://www.youtube.com/HoustonTrumpet

The Perfect Flugelhorn Mouthpiece (I finally found it!)

It seems as if most serious trumpet players (including cornet and flugelhorn players) spend a good part of their lives searching for new mouthpieces. Everyone is always looking for that almost mythical trumpeter’s Holy Grail: The perfect trumpet mouthpiece that facilitates high range, has a rich, beautiful tone quality in all registers, increases endurance, and feels comfortable on the lips. Until locating this seemingly unattainable mouthpiece that is perfect in every way, each trumpet player seems to be temporarily content with finding a new mouthpiece that is at least a slight improvement over their last mouthpiece. But, hope springs eternal that the perfect mouthpiece will eventually be found and that the trumpet player will eventually be able to happily settle down with a permanent mouthpiece and will be able to end his long quest, never having to search for that elusive perfect mouthpiece again.

I am fortunate to finally be at the point where I don’t buy new mouthpieces very often anymore, nor am I even exited about trying out new mouthpieces anymore. This is because I have found my perfect trumpet (and cornet and flugelhorn) mouthpieces. For many years now, I have played on basically the same mouthpieces. These are mouthpieces that I consider perfect (at least perfect for me—although many other professional players that I know who have tried them like them also.) So I haven’t changed my classical-legit/all-around mouthpiece or my piccolo trumpet/lead trumpet mouthpiece or my (rarely used) Brandenburg/extreme lead trumpet mouthpieces in several years now.

These perfect mouthpieces of mine do everything that I want them to, and I can’t imagine finding mouthpieces that I would like better for their purposes or that would be an improvement over these mouthpieces in any way. I have described these perfect mouthpieces of mine in detail in my previous Blog article, “How to Choose Trumpet Mouthpieces, Piccolo Trumpet Mouthpieces, and Lead Trumpet Mouthpieces, PART 2”.

Until very recently (December 2008), the only one of my mouthpieces that I still felt might need to be replaced and upgraded was my flugelhorn mouthpiece. Most trumpet players tend not to give their search for the perfect flugelhorn mouthpiece the same relentless attention as their search for the perfect trumpet mouthpiece since, for most trumpet players, the flugelhorn is merely a secondary doubling instrument and isn’t usually used as much as the trumpet. (Unless you’re somebody like Chuck Mangione, of course.)

I liked my old flugelhorn mouthpiece just fine. It was a Bach 10 & ¾ CW Flugelhorn mouthpiece, which had the same rim as all of my “perfect” trumpet and cornet mouthpieces that I have used for many years and have no intention of switching from. The rim of my Bach flugelhorn mouthpiece was comfortable and the tone was beautiful. The only thing that I didn’t like about this mouthpiece was that it seemed difficult to play on in the upper register, and playing for extended periods of time on it in the upper register caused fatigue and caused my endurance to suffer greatly.

I have discussed this issue of flugelhorn range and endurance problems with many other professional trumpet/flugelhorn players, and always got the same types of responses like,
“Well, you know the flugelhorn is really an alto instrument anyway, so it’s not really designed to play as high as the trumpet is.” Also, many other pro players that I have talked to about this issue have responded, “Well, if you find a great flugelhorn mouthpiece that is easy to play high notes on, yet still has a good sound—even in the low register—and also increases your endurance, well let me know, because I need one too!”

While it is true that, for section work and for most solo work the flugelhorn is an alto range instrument (and this is generally the range that the flugelhorn is used in the most and sounds best in), hearing some of those great jazz flugelhorn players (who are few in number) who have had a great command of the upper register (Freddie Hubbard is a good example that comes quickly to mind) had convinced me that there must be a better flugelhorn mouthpiece out there somewhere. Either that, or these outstanding flugelhorn players must simply be practicing about 8 hours a day in order to build up their chops and endurance to play the way that they do. Finding a better flugelhorn mouthpiece had become more important to me in recent years because I found myself using the flugelhorn more often, not only as a jazz solo and section instrument, but also as a classical solo instrument.

One day, while recommending to a friend that he check out the Parduba trumpet mouthpieces (for a lead trumpet/piccolo trumpet mouthpiece that would boost his high range), I noticed that Parduba also makes flugelhorn mouthpieces. Hmmmmm……..I had never even seen a Parduba flugelhorn mouthpiece before, but I thought it might be worth a try, since I have happily used a Parduba 4 & ½ trumpet (& cornet) mouthpiece as my piccolo trumpet/lead trumpet mouthpiece for many years (although I have replaced the original Parduba rim on this mouthpiece with a Bach 10 & ¾ CW screw-rim, which is much more comfortable.

So…….I ordered a Parduba 4 & ½ flugelhorn mouthpiece. I ordered the mouthpiece directly from Dick Akright, who manufactures, distributes, and sells the Parduba mouthpieces. He made my Parduba flugelhorn mouthpiece for me very quickly and I received it in a very short time after ordering it. (Fast service is always a great thing, but is especially important when it pertains to the seemingly life-long quest for a perfect mouthpiece!)

I pessimistically figured that I would try out my new Parduba flugelhorn mouthpiece with one of three results: (A) I would not like it at all, or (B) I might “sort of like it”, but would need to try some other, nearby sizes to find one that would work a little better, or (C)—best case scenario, I thought—I might possibly like it a little better than my Bach 10 & ¾ CW flugelhorn mouthpiece, but would need to replace the original Parduba rim with the Bach rim, for the sake of comfort and slightly better endurance.

To my surprise and delight, none of the above expected scenarios proved to be true. The Parduba 4 & ½ flugelhorn mouthpiece turned out to be my once elusive perfect flugelhorn mouthpiece. It has a beautiful sound and it instantly kicked my flugelhorn range up into extreme lead trumpet territory and almost infinitely increased my endurance. And yet, this mouthpiece also sounds great in the low register, even on pedal tone notes and on low alto and tenor register notes that use the fourth valve (I play a Getzen Eterna 4-valve flugelhorn.) And, the rim on the Parduba flugelhorn mouthpiece is very comfortable; even more comfortable than the rim on my old Bach 10 & ¾ CW flugelhorn mouthpiece.


The Parduba flugelhorn mouthpiece sounds slightly brighter (and richer) than my old Bach flugelhorn mouthpiece, yet still gets that dark, velvety sound that is characteristic of the flugelhorn. The slightly brighter sound is actually a plus for solo work, because if the sound is too dark, it is harder to hear the flugelhorn over the other instruments in the ensemble that it is playing with. The Parduba flugelhorn mouthpiece also increases the player’s high range due to the fact that it, like the Parduba trumpet and cornet mouthpieces, has a double cup. There is a shallow, bowl-shaped first cup, with a very deep, V-shaped (flugelhorn-style) second cup that sits inside of and at the bottom of the first cup. The shallow first cup facilitates notes in the high register, while the deep second cup allows for a big and beautiful tone quality. I don’t know what the specifications of the bore (throat) and backbore of the Parduba flugelhorn mouthpiece are, but I am guessing that they are both tighter (smaller) than the Bach flugelhorn mouthpiece. At any rate, they seem to be perfect in size and shape.

I have finally found the perfect flugelhorn mouthpiece and would encourage anyone who is looking for a similar flugelhorn mouthpiece solution to try some Parduba flugelhorn mouthpieces. It might be the best move you’ve ever made, and hopefully the last such mouthpiece move for you.

By the way—I also occasionally double on trombone, and when I do, I play on a Parduba 3-Star trombone mouthpiece (not to be confused with the Parduba #3 trombone mouthpiece). It’s a great mouthpiece for trumpet players who double on trombone, because the inner rim diameter of this mouthpiece is about the same as that of the largest trumpet mouthpieces. And yet, because of the double cup, the rich sound and range (both high and low) are incredible. And it is much easier for trumpet players to switch back and forth between trombone and trumpet when using this mouthpiece than it is when using a more standard, larger-diameter rim trombone mouthpiece.

Randy

Randy Dunn
Professional Trumpet soloist
Website: http://www.dunn2music.com
Music Video Demos: http://www.youtube.com/HoustonTrumpet