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  4. Muted trumpet

  • Muted trumpet

    B
    B

    I'm looking for a muted trumpet sound. Does anyone know if it exists. I bought the Pro Edition of VSL in 2002.

    Steve
  • J
    J

    It's in the Special Edition and bigger libraries.
  • B
    B

    Thanks.
  • D
    D

    Only Harmon mutes are available in VSL, no straight mutes. Harmon mutes are of course identified mainly with Jazz. Straight mutes with Classical. VSL obviously made this decision as their emphasis has always been on Jazz primarily with an occasional instrument intended for the orchestra ; )
  • C
    C

    Brass I has a muted trumpet in C. and a tenor trombone with a mute. 'Trumpet in C' will be pretty classical I think.

    Warp IV (Jeff Steinman) has some really good muted trumpets, harmon stem, cups, everything. Some of them have a very usable legato for solos.

    They sound fantastic. I've been using these alongside the Bb trumpet and flugelhorn of VSL to get a best of both worlds. The VSL Bb trumpet uses a very classical embouchere and attack, Warp IV does the other thing. Flugelhorn straddles the border some.
  • J
    J

    A little muted confusion here. If I have my names correct, it’s the straight mutes used by VSL, which are those used in classical orchestral setups. For harmons (think Miles Davis), you’d want to look elsewhere..... [D]
  • D
    D

    No they are harmon mutes.I asked Herb a long time ago. If they had straight mutes I would be using them all the time.
  • C
    C

    Harmon makes a straight mute, as well as what is usually thought of, which has a stem [which can change the effect dramatically] which can be removed. And a convertible 'triple play'. Steinman's product gives you 'cup', 'Harmon', 'Harmon stem' and 'straight'.
  • J
    J

    Maybe a trumpet play could bring some clarification. Here’s some text from an orchestration book by Kent Kennan, "To the symphony player, "mute" means the straight mute unless another kind is indicated. The straight mute, made of wood, fiber, plastic or metal, produces a cutting, nasal quality....
  • D
    D

    Here is clarification: When a brass player sees "mutes" in his score he will will always apply straight mutes unless specified otherwise with directions like "harmon" or "bucket" or "plunger" etc. The default in the classical literature is a straight mute. In fact use of other mutes are rare when compared to the straight mute particularly in the first half of the 20th century.
  • C
    C

    thanks, good to know. I had no idea about classical orch. practice. I began with trumpet, my father's idea [Maynard Ferguson] was behind that.

    So 'con sordino' indicates a straight mute when you see it on a score. I would've guessed a classical mute would be a softer effect than a straight mute.
  • J
    J

    I can confirm what Dave wrote. To a trumpet player the term mute means straight mute by default. Any other mute should be specified.