Screaming or Playing?

[KungFuCharlie]

Smoke 'em if you got 'em. B) The thing is, make sure you actually got 'em.

[Robbie Ellis]

I do both but you do your corps no good if you can't play the book in the proper register. My GGs and AAs are done as solos so I lay out before and after playing them for a couple of measures. The important thing is how your line blends and then blends with the other brass. When I'm screaming, it is strictly for glitz that the horn instructor has requested. You must be able to hit the screamer notes in tune and for me, playing from the diaphragm helps as well as practice. So..........it is essential to be a solid player.

I will add that after I play the screamer stuff, it is nice to see the audience's reaction.

[DCAPresidentsSoprano]

I too agree. The darker and more rich the sound the better. I like to hear it full and crisp, but then, screaming always adds to the music in various ways. I particularly find hot latin pieces such as Malaguena, and BD's La Suerte to be much hotter with more screaming. Just an opinion, though.

[tzbridgemen]

I can scream when needed and I can "play the tar" out of a part, too. My philosophy is: "The high notes mean nothing if the notes around them are not played correctly. " A scream that comes from "nowhere" is just a scream that comes from nowhere. Play a lead in and (preferably the melody) and hit me with a climax and I'm impressed. Sand-bag it and only hit the high note... um... ok.

Just my .02 cents.

[johnbw2]

My preference (as a writer) is to hear the normal lead part NAILED. Nothing fancy, not a lot of "gee, think how good this would sound up an octave" (bass trombonists who say "...down an octave" are just as guilty!).

My favorite trumpet players are those who can absolutely nail the part, which makes sense with the other parts. One of my absolutely favorite players out there is Jerry Hey, for that reason. If you listen to his playing on the following cuts you will hear phrase after phrase of amazing lead playing, with an occasionly zinger, but those are few and far between, which is why they're special when he does play them.

On Dave Weckl's "Master Plan" CD:

Tower of Inspiration

Festical de Ritmo

On Chaka Khan's "What Cha Gonna Do For Me" CD:

We Can Work it Out

I Know You, I Love You (<---amazing in the chorus phrases)

And Jerry, Chuck Findley and Gary Grant pretty much give a clinic on

Al Jarreau's "Jarreau" CD, particularly:

Boogie Down

Step by Step

Save Me

Black and Blues

Love is Waiting

and Jarreau's "High Crime":

Imagination

High Crime

(One amazing thing to hear on the Jarreau CDs is to turn up the volume just as each cut is ending--some of the most amazing playing is as the board fade is happening. Make sure to turn the volume back down before the next cut starts!).

In live playing some of the most impressive playing is that which shows the same restraint and taste that goes into recording; for some reason we can as players let our emotions get the best of us during live performance (and the crowd may be dazzled), and yet listening to a recording the next morning we often don't end up being that impressed with what we did the night before. :)

<steps down off of soapbox>

john

Edited June 24, 2004 by johnbw2

[stylites]

Smoke 'em if you got 'em. B) The thing is, make sure you actually got 'em.

Absolutely. The problem is that everyone thinks that they got 'em!

The whole argument, IMHO, can be summed up with 2 words: tasteful playing. Sometimes the music calls for screaming, sometimes it does not. Sometimes it adds a lot, sometimes it is just an annoyance. I think the toughest job for a lead sop/trumpet player is to find this level of taste and leave the ego of being able to squeak out some high notes at the door.

Of course, I'm a low brass guy, so my opinion may differ from all you smaller bore people.

But I think that we can all agree that musicality should never be sacrificed in your playing.

[SoonerMellophone]

Both. A true lead player needs to be able to scream and play the rest of the lines.

Of course if you look at professional jazz bands the lead player is not expected to play unison lines, just the top harmony and lead stuff.

There is also no such thing as a cheater mouthpiece. If you can't play a high G in tune a 6a4a isn't going to get you there. A lead mouthpiece only helps you with range you already have.

[RCRchartersop]

On a completely legitimate note, there are many great lead players that use that type of equipment setup. 

Bill Chase - Schilke B6 (Bore expands from .450 to .463) and the Schilke 6A4a, which was developed specifically for him.

George Graham, while playing a large bore horn, plays a NY Bach 7C.

Jon Faddis - Schilke S42 (medium bore).  Jon's mpc's were custom made by Scott Laskey at Schilke for years, it had a 13B rim, 6A4a cup depth, 27 throat & 39L backbore, since Laskey now owns his own company, Faddis uses custom Heavy Laskey models.

Roger Ingram - Schilke S42. In the past he played on a Yamaha 6310Z, 636B

For real! For those of you who rip on the mouthpiece one uses, you are oblivious to the concept that practice makes perfect. Almost every trumpet player out there generally begins on a 7C... called a beginner mouthpiece. I started on one, and over the course of 6 years moved from 5C, to 3C to 1 1/2 C my senior year of H.S. SCREAMING double G licks on trumpet using that 1 1/2 C. It is all in how much you practice. You want chops you have to start on big mouthpieces. In high school I practiced PLAYING everyday for at least an hour a day. The year after graduating I switched to a 6A4A. I get the same range on just about all mouthpieces. I just so happen to be most comfortable on my Bill Chase for lead playing.

Range does not come over night. I don't care who you are, if you pick up a Schilke 6A4A and you are not used to it, yah you might play high...for about 3 minutes!!! Then you might just throw it across the room because you bottom out. Then you'll call it a cheater...I've done it. As I listened to Chase, Maynard, Faddis(all of which play on lead pieces) I started trying to play like them. That's the style I like. So I picked up the 6A4A again and realized after time, that it is the exact opposite of "cheater". It took me over a year to get used this mouthpiece before I could get to double C's on trumpet. It takes a great deal of patience and you have to stay away from pressure playing. I've built my chops on big mouthpieces, so now when I play lead I PLAY all day. My chops tire out depending on how intensely I play. Personally, I play ALL my parts. Every note. With a 17 man horline having only 3 lead sops , there is NO laying out. Why be a b*t*h and bag on someone elses musical ability? Is it because you can't scream?

Here's an ego check... Are you better than Faddis? Sandoval? Dizzy? Miles?

Didn't think so. Go practice.

Edited June 29, 2004 by RCRchartersop

[VanguardDevil2569]

Here's an ego check... Are you better than Faddis? Sandoval? Dizzy? Miles?

Didn't think so. Go practice.

Haha, I wanna put that on a T-shirt

[jlhiatt]

Playing