This is the song that made me want to learn trumpet, so I’ve been trying to learn it in between scales. I didn’t get to practice yesterday but I got to buzz a little.

Thought I'd post about a trumpet I've had for a while, but know very little about. Thought I'd post about it here in case anyone else knows more, or is looking to learn about these.

This is my Boosey and Hawkes 607, made in England in the '70s or '80s. It was also released as a Besson Concord (exactly the same trumpet), and is the step up from the B&H 606 / Besson Crescendo. It's a step down from the even rarer Sovereign 906 and 907 trumpets. The difference between the 606 and 607 seems to mainly be the thumb hook and ring style pinky hook. Note, not to be confused with the Besson 600, a middle-of-the-road student horn.

It seems the 606/607 line was the product of a parts bin exercise by Denis Wick and George Reynolds of the LSO. B&H wanted a trumpet that could compete with the best models of the likes of Bach and Conn, etc in the USA, so they set about building the best trumpet possible out of parts that B&H already manufactured. The result was the 606, intended to be named "Sovereign", but they felt it fell slightly short of being as good as the best the USA could put out. Source: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=496446977195480&id=496446977195480

I'm unsure where this officially places in the student/intermediate/professional hierarchy, but my impression is as follows.

This is probably the most compliant trumpet I've ever tried. It's effortless to play, and the Microbor valves are like butter - a real highlight of the design - probably some of the nicest valves I've played. The valve block is set further backward than usual, but it feels pretty balanced in the hand with a standard Bach mouthpiece. It feels extremely robust and well made. The sound is lively with a solid core, possibly a little darker than something like a Strad, but opens up when pushed and it feels like a medium-large bore. It's often the horn I reach for simply because it takes very little effort to play. In my opinion the sound isn't as refined as my Strad, or my newly acquired Arioso Super, but its responsiveness makes it easy to play very expressively.

Would love to hear from anyone else who owns or who has played a 606, 607 or Sovereign trumpet, and your thoughts. It cost me a princely £30 on Gumtree about 8 years ago. A nice condition 606 recently sold on eBay for £485.

There should be a subreddit for people new to the trumpet, or getting back into it, where all the answers are "Practice!!!"

hi! some years ago I studied a trumpet book, but I cant remember which one it was and i couldnt find it. I memorized part of my favorite exercise (without dynamics or articulation tho) and maybe someone will recognize it and help me find this book or a similar one, pleassse

edit: Found it! 38 Recreational Studies for the Progressing Trumpeter by Sigmund Hering, #2

hi i wanna switch from French horn to trumpet (I suck at the horn as well even tho ive been playing for like 4 years). Any tips on how to improve?

Hi,

I'm a horn player trying the trumpet out, I started today

I can play from low c to c well, but i cant play between c to high c, but i can play high c pretty consistently. pls help :(

Just used some bubble wrap, an old Milo tin, and a lot of duct tape to try and prevent scratching on the bell. The sound is surprisingly all right, but I need to figure out a way to attach it to the trumpet. Any recommendations for that?

Hey y’all’s!

I just recently found this trumpet not to far from me on market place and had some questions on it! First off this may be dumb but like what is the rotor for on the front tuning slide I’ve never seen it before and haven’t found much on it as the listing doesn’t give info on it. It’s about $55 and I have had some experience working on horns before so I have some confidence I can get it working. Just wanted some thoughts and literally any information y’all’s may have! Thank you! I also added the picture of it!

Everybody says that in order to stop tightening your neck and face, you have to compensate by flexing your core. In my experience, though, this does nothing. I can flex all I want my pitch will be exactly the same - even if my tone fluctuates a bit.

Another question is about tongue arching. Many people say tounge arching is a sort of cheat code to increasing range, but in my experience the position of my tongue has 0 effect on my playing.

How do I fix this?? What am I doing wrong??

Hi all. I currently play Bb on a Bach Artisan 3C. I’m very happy with it and use it in all around playing. My main Bb horns are a strad (ML) and a Selmer Radial (L).

I’m struggling a bit with my C horn, a 229 in large bore. Range is a bit clipped and playing the horn feels a bit forced.

Looking to get into a Stork model, definitely for the C and perhaps with the Bb horns as well.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

I recently got my hands on a Selmer 19A. It's got a gorgeous sound and I love the Art Deco styling. It plays with good intonation and response, but not necessarily better than my Xeno. What advantage does the "balanced" layout achieve by moving the valve block closer to the bell?

The Selmer Site says

This model was distinguished by its improved balance and better ergonomics, making it easier to hold and play. The balanced design was achieved through optimized distribution of weight and mass throughout the instrument, which improved handling and reduced fatigue during prolonged performances.

Improved ergonomics: the valve block was moved slightly forward to allow a smoother action and reduce the effort required for handling.

And like I guess? I don't know that either the balanced or non-balanced layout is particularly difficult to hold compared to the other. Were there reasons for changing the layout of the horn besides ergonomics?

I played the trumpet for years growing up and music was a huge part of my life until university. I recently graduated and am looking to get back into playing trumpet in an ensemble, wondering if anyone in Toronto might have advice on where to start?

It was a gift I swear

3-piece French horn mouthpieces (shank, cup, & rim) have been commonplace for decades.

Most trumpet mouthpieces seem to stop at 2-piece shanks and cups. If screw rims are offered, there are often very limited compatible rim options.

For my Houser French horn mouthpiece, I had a choice of 17 different stock rim designs copied from many different manufacturers, made in one of two globally common and standardized thread types.

https://housermouthpiece.net/wp-content/uploads/HouserHORNSpecSheetv4.pdf

I wish my Sparx 3 or DW4 cornet mouthpieces were screw rim. But even if you convert an existing mouthpiece to screw-rim, which involves sending your mouthpiece off, there are such limited rim options.

You’d think with all the trumpet player gadgetry, we could get commonplace screw rims.

I have yet to convince Houser to make brass band cornet mouthpieces. :(

Dear Santa, I’d like a Sparx 3 copy with plethora of screw-rim options and titanium nitride rim coating. One can dream.

My 6 yo boy started learning trumpet about 3 months ago on a Jupiter JTR516. The pocket trumpet was bought long long time ago and we sent it to a reputable shop to get it cleaned, oiled and maintained around 6 months ago.

His lesson and practice schedule increased since Sep 26 from once a week (1 x 45 min one on one) to 6 times a week (1 x 60 min group lesson at achool with other 3 kids, 1 x 45 min one on one, 4 x 30 min practice at home with me playing a flute using the Essential Elements).

So far, he could play simple songs like merry had a little lamb, London Bridge is falling down, etc. But he is still a bit confused on how to tongue properly and obviously cannot hold a note steady for long.

The group lesson teacher told us that the school wind band requires a standard trumpet not a pocket trumpet. The audition will be in Apr 27 and the first band practice will be in Jun 27. He also said that the JTR516 has some structural tuning issues. He recommend us getting a Yamaha. The school's recommended model is 2330 which i believe the other 3 kids are using. The 1x1 teacher said the JTR516 is fine (she plays a xeno) after testing it.

I originally budgeted to get him a 4335 long before the teacher claims that there are something wrong with the JTR516. But I'm a bit confused as to which one will be the best for his progression.

Just got my solo for 8th grade, after sight reading through it I decided on doing movements 2 and three. I personally love the 6/8 rhythm in movements three and in movement two all the contrast and overall tone of the piece is one of my more favorite slow pieces. Anyone else who has played it have any tips? The hardest part for me is just not panicking during the faster parts of movement three.

How good is an early 70’s olds studio horn?

Hello!!

My boyfriend loves jazz and plays the piano and has mentioned how he’d love to learn how to play the trumpet.

I’d love to get him one for his birthday but I know nothing about them at all. I’m based in Glasgow in the UK and would like buy one second hand or brand new but I don’t know what to look for.

Does anyone have any recommendations of make and model? My budget is up to £200 which I know isn’t a lot but hopefully there will be something.

Thank you in advance :)

First day holding a trumpet. I like it very much.

Hallo,
Habt ihr Tipps, wie man den Stimmzug des ersten Ventils besser zum laufen bekommt?
Bei meinen Perinet Trompeten läuft meist der erste Zug nicht so gut wie der des dritten Ventils.
Oft gibt es ganz am Anfang des rausziehens einen kleine Wiederstand. Auch sonst fühlt sich das bewegen nicht so smooth an.
Habt ihr eine Idee wie man den Zug vielleicht etwas abschleifen oder ähnliches kann?
Ich habe schon mit vielen verschiedenen Ölen und fetten experimentiert, aber das löst das Problem nicht ganz.
Bin gespannt auf eure Antworten!

https://youtu.be/PaV7XwyW0Zk

Picked this up for £75. Everything was seized and it needed a hell of a clean and service, but all fixed up now after soaking overnight in a bucket of soapy water then scrubbing through everything thoroughly. Loads of crusty black crap came out of it! Previous owner had 3 felt washers on each valve stem (sending the valve alignment way out), valve 2 and 3 switched around, and a tenor horn mouthpiece! Surprisingly there's not a single dent on it, and the lacquer wear around the valves suggests it's been heavily used but taken care of at some point in it's life. Serial # is 710665 which by my reckoning dates it late '70s early '80s (?).

From what I can ascertain from what little info there is online, these were Czechoslovakian, designed by Josef Lidl, used standard Amati valve blocks with quality hand-built tubing, leadpipe and seamless bells. Has some neat features like 1st and 3rd slide triggers, nickel slides, a reverse leadpipe and an unusual bell rim that's folded over the wire further than usual. Feels very solid and well made. The valves are a little finicky but now they're working they feel good, if a little clunky. I think they'll be quite oil-hungry. Compression seems decent enough for a well-used instrument this age.

Haven't had a chance to give it a proper toot, will report back with how it plays.

Anyone know anything about these?

UPDATE: Gave this a blow with my trusty Warburton 3M, and I'm very impressed. This definitely plays like a pro horn, with a bright, fat and focussed sound with a little sizzle when you want it. Good intonation, and easy to dial in with the triggers. Feels like a large bore, needs lots of support up to top end but plays with a nice open tone up there - lots of power on tap. Tone is quite Strad-like, but a little brighter. I really like it. The valves have quite a long travel compared to my other horns, which takes a bit of getting used to but useful for slides/gliss. Pleasantly surprised, and definitely a keeper.

I used to own an Olds Super, and I reckon this plays better than that.

Now to find a suitable case for it.