Why do wind instruments have a note in front of the name?
The note signifies which pitch is sounded when a musician plays a written C. For example, a Bb clarinet will sound an actual Bb pitch when the musician plays a written C from his score. Instruments that sound a different pitch than th written note are called “transposing instruments.” Transposing instruments wer used to avoid too many accidents before the mechanical systems on these instruments were perfected. In the past, a clarinet player would switch among several clainets, depending on the key of the piece. With this transposing system, the player would have to learn only one set of fingerings in order to play clarinets in any key. The only exceptions to this transposing rule are low brass. Trombones, baritones, and tubas are instruments that sound Bb when playing a written Bb. They are “non-transposing” instruments.
How to setup a trumpet
Oiling and Cleaning the Valves
The first step in setting up a trumpet is to clean and oil the valves. To do this, unscrew the top cap of the first valve. Then carefully remove the piston inside and place it off to the side on a soft towel. Unscrew the bottom cap of the first valve and place it on the towel as well. Repeat with the second and third valves. Remove the main tuning slide and the tuning slides for each individual valve. Then place these slides off to th side on the towel. Rinse the trumpet body with mildly soapy distilled water (not tap water), making especially sure to thoroughly clean inside the valve casing to remove any residual metal fillings from manufacturing. Rinse away the soap with regular distilled water.
Dry the outside of the trumpet by patting it down with a a soft towel and then polish away any water marks with a soft, dry cloth. Next wash the silver pistons, bottom valve caps, and tuning slides (inside and outside) with soapy distilled water. Avoid getting th felt and/or cork on the finger buttons wet. Rinse with regular distilled water and allow the valves, tuning slides, and inside of th trumpet to completely air-dry before reassembly. When all the pars are dry, screw the bottom valve caps back on. Apply several drops of valve oil to the inside valve casing and piston valve. Return the piston to the casing by lining up the notch inside the valve casing with the plastic runner at the bottom of the spring on the piston. If necessary, loly turn the valve until it clicks into place. Replace and tighten the valve cap. Repeat these steps with the two other valves and pistons but be sue put them back in their regular places. The trumpet will not play correctly if the valve aren’t in their original positions.
Inserting the mouthpiece
Before the trumpet is ready to play the mouthpiece must first be installed. This is a simple step but make sure to GENTLY slide the mouthpiece into the receiver. Then twist it lightly to the right to make sure it is seated correctly. Do not force the mouthpiece in with a palm or fist as it will make the mouthpiece stick and very difficult to remove. You will want to take the mouthpiece out for daily cleaning as well as storing the trumpet in its case.
Tuning
Trumpets are normally built a bit sharp when it comes to tuning. To get the trumpet to be tuned correctly, pull out the largest of the three tuning slides about a 1/4 to a ½ of an inch. The trumpet can be fine tuned further by slightly pushing or pulling this same tuning slide to match other instruments in group situations.
- Information sourced from The Music Link Inc.
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