Design Hound Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 Just another little tidbit, I don't ever use the megatone mouthpiece (i feel like I'm explaining myself for why I have a my little pony on my shelf or soemthing...) it was just the only mouthpiece I had in my case that day... my questions not so much about the mouthpiece, but what the "purpose" of the g bugle is. I definitely agree with you Dave, that time and care should be taken to find the right mouthpiece. Everyone's mouth, lips etc. are different, and I don't necessarily think that the mouthpiece has a big of an effect on sound as the way the player uses the mouthpiece (though they definitely lend themselves to be played in different ways, it still comes down to the individual player) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Design Hound Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 And no, I don't have an actual My Little Pony on my shelf.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-horns Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Just another little tidbit, I don't ever use the megatone mouthpiece (i feel like I'm explaining myself for why I have a my little pony on my shelf or soemthing...) it was just the only mouthpiece I had in my case that day... my questions not so much about the mouthpiece, but what the "purpose" of the g bugle is. Oh, boy. Here we go again. I will offer up this and then back away from the debate (yeah, right). The G bugle as opposed to Bb and F instruments was originally due to the fact that veterans organizations were the first drum and bugle corps. The bugles were valveless "straight" bugles. They were pitched in G. Then someone got the idea to add straight bugles pitched in D. Then someone got the idea that you could combine the two and use a horizontal piston to change from G to D, making inventory a little simpler. Then someone got the idea that if we added a slip-slide or rotor valve to the horn we could have some chromatics. Then someone said "Hey, if we convert the D tubing to F and keep the F# rotor, we'll have essentially the same thing as the first and second valves on a trumpet, except in a different key." Then someone figured out that the rotors were a pain in the ### from a maintenance perspective, and suggested that the bugles have 2 vertical piston valves - "To make it easier for trumpet players to adapt." Then everybody thought about it and said "We can make bugles with 3 valves that look just like trumpets". Then somebody said..... FWIW, I would love to see a survey of how many Bb/F lines are playing music arrangements in D, A and E (concert C, G and D) (i.e. "sharp" keys). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomnoise Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 We moved our 2nds and 3rds to megatones, and I have been pleased with the results. Darker sound and easy tuning (but that's due to all on same m'piece) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martybucs Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 We moved our 2nds and 3rds to megatones, and I have been pleased with the results. Darker sound and easy tuning (but that's due to all on same m'piece) May be some truth to this, given the relative ease in playing in the lower register, but... I don't see where having everyone playing on the same mouthpiece could make a huge difference. Everyone plays a little different and has a different sound. (I just recently converted a vinyl record of the West Chester State Teacher's College jazz band from 1977 and picked out my friend playing in an ensemble with other trumpets just by his sound and I've only ever heard him in the last few years.) Some people are down stream players, some upstream, mouthpiece position differs, teeth, the inside of the mouth, the tongue, etc., etc. all affect the sound of an individual. When I started in drum corps in 1964, our whole soprano line played on PEAK 7C mouthpieces and everyone sounded different on them. The ones that hardly practiced sounded horrible and the ones that practiced sounded better. Now, in a corps where everyone is fairly decent, maybe it does works out to be an advantage to have them all on the same mpc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Design Hound Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 There's definitely a difference from player to player no matter what... but I think that as many elements you can have from player to player that are the same, the better; especially at the end of 3 months playing together every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumno5 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Just trying to resolve something for my own sake, from a conversation I had a few days ago.Just a question to all of you who marched G bugles: does a megatone mouthpiece defeat the purpose of playing on a g bugle? I won't elaborate on what I mean, seeing what people interpret that as meaning is part of the resolution I'm after. And, discuss After the 2000 season I talked to one of the Cadets' lead baritone players, who had used a megatone during the season. the conversation went something like this: Me: "So what about the megatone - does it add weight to the tone?" Cadets LB: "I think it just added weight to the horn." Fred O. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Design Hound Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 Cadets LB: "I think it just added weight to the horn." Hahaha, so true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 I think that as many elements you can have from player to player that are the same, the better That's like saying that everyone could benefit from wearing the same size shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Design Hound Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 That's like saying that everyone could benefit from wearing the same size shoes. I didn't say same cup size, which would be the most equivalent to shoe size... I'm talking about the same models of horns, the same type (not necessarily cup size) of mouthpiece... Just going off what I've experienced in corps, is all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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