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Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2023-09-04 04:17

Roxann wrote:

> Is it possible for older adult trumpet players to play anything
> but loud? Our trumpet section consistently plays so loudly
> that many folks in the band don't like it. Our last conductor
> tried for years to convince them to play softer, to no affect.

Well, as Paul says, this *is* part of the conductor's job. But at the point where it's causing physical pain, the players sitting in front of the trumpets taking the brunt of the volume can try a couple of things.
-Noise attenuating earplugs (they only reduce the ambient sound levels - by measured amounts) are one possibility, but they tend to make a mess of the player's perception of his own sound and pitch.
-Getting your orchestra or band to buy Plexiglass baffles to place just behind your chairs will cut some of the edge off the trumpet sound and maybe wake them up to the pain they're causing.
-There may be a way by moving the seating around a little to put the trumpets a little farther back and over to one side or the other of the clarinets.

This isn't a geriatric problem - I've had painful experiences playing in front of trumpet players of all ages. It's a question of their control and their concept of their place in the texture. A trumpet section that thinks of themselves as "the natural leaders of the band" were badly educated. If the conductor can't change their minds by re-orienting their textural understanding, just telling (or asking) them to play softer probably won't change things.

Karl

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Date

what to do about loud trumpets

Roxann

2023-09-04 02:57

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

pukalo

2023-09-04 03:15

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Paul Aviles

2023-09-04 03:58

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

kdk

2023-09-04 04:17

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

SunnyDaze

2023-09-04 06:58

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

NOLA Ken

2023-09-04 18:04

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

gwie

2023-09-04 19:41

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Julian ibiza

2023-09-04 20:12

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

marcia

2023-09-04 20:31

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Connor1700

2023-09-04 20:41

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Fuzzy

2023-09-05 01:16

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

LFabian

2023-09-05 06:59

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

SunnyDaze

2023-09-05 09:37

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

graham

2023-09-05 13:37

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

ruben

2023-09-05 15:59

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Philip Caron

2023-09-05 17:47

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Paul Aviles

2023-09-05 18:47

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

kdk

2023-09-05 19:10

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

JTJC

2023-09-06 18:24

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

kdk

2023-09-07 17:50

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Paul Aviles

2023-09-05 20:27

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Philip Caron

2023-09-07 20:19

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

stevesklar

2023-09-08 01:34

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

kurth83

2023-09-08 10:00

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

graham

2023-09-08 15:50

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Roxann

2023-09-09 02:59

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Slowoldman

2023-09-10 15:52

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

SunnyDaze

2023-09-10 16:46

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Slowoldman

2023-09-10 21:34

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

SunnyDaze

2023-09-11 15:15

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

marcia

2023-09-12 21:50

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

kdk

2023-09-13 00:10

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

moma4faith

2023-09-22 08:58

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

marcia

2023-09-23 00:48

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

davidjsc

2023-11-04 00:46

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

hans

2023-11-04 02:15

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

Tony F

2023-11-04 09:32

Re: what to do about loud trumpets

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2023-11-05 04:09

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