The Arbans Complete conservatory method for trumpet
I have looked into this book for a literature review as I have been recommended this book by a trumpet tutor who had advised using this book for personal practice. This book is a method for playing the trumpet which begins with the basics and developing onto more advanced material. The book outlines essential techniques when playing the trumpet from embouchure (placing the lips on the trumpet) and studies on syncopation. Including the score of the famous piece 'Carnival in Venice' played on the trumpet, trombone etc.
This book was written by J.B Arban, from France and born in 1825 who was the most brilliant cornet player of his time. Throughout Europe, his 'astonishing tours and performance established the valve cornet as popular due to the beauty of its tone. His aims by publishing this book are to lead and inspire pupils without discouragement to the highest limits of execution, sentiment and style and destined to characterize the new school.
Trumpeters follow the book over years in order to play the trumpet professionally according to the book, called the 'trumpet bible'. It is called this because a trumpeter would use this book to refer to throughout a lifetime of playing the trumpet in order to play professionally once they have reached the end of the book as would be done with a religious bible.
Due to this book being based on classical music and classical playing techniques, I have extracted parts of the book which relate to trumpet playing techniques to relate to my music.
Due to the differences between the trumpet and the flugelhorn, a mute cannot be used for the flugelhorn in the same way as a mute can be used for a trumpet. It then outlines the different mutes used for the trumpet, contrasting in terms of the different sounds that they produce for the trumpet. The straight mute for the trumpet is described as giving a thin, nasal sound when put into the trumpet. The bucket mute gives 'fuller sounds', rather like the open (unmuted) instrument with a cold.
Triple tonguing is also mentioned in the book where it states that in this type of articulation, in order to execute it well, 'each note must be uttered with perfect equality. Together with this, the use of triplets is always 'highly effective'. It then gives guidance on learning triplets by stating that a student should 'approach the triplet slowly' to get the equal notes without attempting to play quickly. This is due to the fingers having to adapt to the regularity of the motion with triplets.
However on another page, this is contrasted by mentioning the techniques with triple tonguing rather than playing triplets which requires more importance to valve coordination.
Triple tonguing should also be played 'slowly practiced' as also mentioned with the practice into triplets. This practice ensures that the student strives for pronouncing the syllables in the triple-tongued phrase with 'perfect equality'. When playing a triplet, when pronouncing the articulations, the tongue is placed against the teeth of the upper jaw and and in retiring, pronounces the last two sounds. This mentions the functions of the teeth and jaw in order to create the syllables 'tu, tu'.
The tongue should then reascend to the roof of the mouth and obstruct the throat, dilating by the syllable of 'ku', which allows a column of air to penetrate into the mouthpiece. To ensure that this can be mastered, it should be practiced with regularity. To conclude this Arban says 'a sufficient degree of rapidity may be obtained by the method' explained above.
Rock, Jazz and Pop arranging
(Runswick, 1992)
As I will be working on putting together the parts for 'Spain', 'Caravan' and 'Polka', I have decided to write up my literature review with a book called 'Rock, jazz and pop arranging'.
In summary, this book 'Rock, jazz and pop arranging' by Daryl Runswick is directed to those wanting to become an experienced arranger, outlining techniques and methods that may need to be accessed.
way that separates instruments to ensure that the information is directed to the aims of the arranger. This book is based on experiences and recommendations when arranging music from 'using various sounds on a synth' to writing out a drum part or to learn a technique. Additionally, the problems which may arise in writing for every group of instruments are mentioned, including vocal writing.
Transposition with brass instruments is considered when creating arrangements in this book where it says 'some instruments (including most brass and reeds ) are built so that their scale of C is the easiest to play on the instrument, however it is not C on the keyboard', Therefore these between the brass and reed instruments, there is an interval of a tone between them and 'the trumpet is said to be a transposing instrument in Bb'. The process of transposition is elaborated where it says 'if an instrument transposes 'down' a tone, you must transpose 'up' a tone meaning for a trumpet player in Bb. Runswick then goes on to say 'however many semitones an instrument transposes in one direction, you must transpose the part the same number of semitones in the other'. To conclude this idea of 'grouping brass and reed instruments together' however taking into account of these instruments playing in different keys, the book says that sax players usually double up on the trumpet part which is where transposition is necessary.
When creating an arrangement, the composer should take into account of the length of the brass parts due to the capabilities of a brass player. "When you look at your finished arrangement, if any brass instrument is playing more that two thirds of the total length , you've over-written it".This implies that a piece written for the brass shouldn't exceed this length. The book then elaborated on this idea into the importance of writing in the 'high register' for trumpet players by saying 'no trumpet player likes to play high notes for a long period of time.' which advises arrangers to vary the note registers brass parts in the arrangement. To overcome this issue with a trumpeter playing high notes for a long period of time, a 'recording overdub' could come into use and this is defined by 'when players can record in short 'takes' with rests in between'.
There are comparisons between the trumpet and the flugelhorn in their playing registers.
In the 'high register' for the flugelhorn, 'it's difficult to play perfectly in tune' as said in the book which is a difference between the trumpet section where this isn't mentioned. This is finished with 'remember this when scoring for flugelhorn within a brass section'.
The trumpet and the flugelhorn are contrasted in this book by saying that 'The flugelhorn doesn't go as high as the trumpet' and the responsibilities of the flugelhorn is usually 'as a double to the trumpet players.
Photography literature review
Photography book: 'The Busy Girl's guide to digital photography'
This literature review focuses on a book called 'The busy girls guide to a digital photography' by Lorna Yabsley which is a book based on women improving their photography skills. The book is promoting the idea of female photographers with case studies and examples from professional and semi-pro female photographers. Becoming a professional and competent photographer is described by stages with the first stage being to understand the camera. The second step being to understand the photo shoot project and lastly, sharing and printing the photography project is the last stage where the images are used for their purpose.
The pages 125 of the book, Yabsley outlines the main types of camera used in digital photgraphy. The author of the book, who makes use of a smart phone for photography shares the advantages of this type of camera for taking photos. A smart phone with features such as zoom capability which allows you to capture an aspect of a photo in particular. Together with this the image enhancing apps combined with the ability to instantly share photos have made smart phones for digital photography convenient for photographers. Supporting the idea of using a smart phone, in the book it also mentions that 'despite there being hundreds of camera models', the author still makes use of her smartphone. 'I use mine all the time and I really enjoy it.'
In the book it says than other type of camera, a bridge camera is 'cheaper and slightly smaller than a DSLR'. The bridge camera which is a larger camera with an attached, non interchangeable zoom lens, this camera gives you complete manual control whilst being affordable.
On the other hand, the compact camera 'is the one we are all familiar with', therefore Runswick emphasises the popularity of this type of camera. The description for this camera then goes on to talk about the versatility of the camera in the way that it can be 'a camera that you will always have with you.
Furthermore, In the book it says 'Light is the main and most important ingredient in digital photography'. However, the quality of lighting and how it is controlled could have an effect on the quality of the final images. This is supported where it says that 'lighting is really what makes or breaks an image'. Therefore this is one of the first things to be considered when deciding to carry out a photo shoot as emphasised through these lines in the book.
When carrying out an outdoor photo shoot, nature 'provides us with the best and most variable lighting' due to sunlight and weather conditions. This light, also known as 'available light' includes bright sunlight to moonlight. However in contrast to this, artificial light can also be used when composing an image which can be anything other than natural sunlight. However by saying that 'sunny days are always difficult', this could be the downside of using natural light for digital photography.
Photoshop, used by the majority or professional photographers requires a high level of expertise to use and in the book it mentions that some types of Photoshop may be too complex for a photographer starting out. As oppose to using Photoshop, 'Programs such as Light room and Aperture give you a faster workflow for all the selection and editing procedures than 'Photoshop' which will allow photographers of lower abilities and beginner photographer to function with some limitations despite the adequate processing. To refine work for the end product (the print), with these industry standard image processing programs, Photoshop allows for 'beauty re-touching' and digital manipulation.
Digital music literature review
The ultimate digital music guide
This literature review focuses on a book called 'The ultimate digital music guide' which outlines the best way to store organise and play digital music by Michael Miller. (Miller, 2012)
In summary, this book is about understanding digital music and contains all of the information to create and maintain a digital library. The book is designed to educate about how digital music works by informing about the various options that are available in terms of hardware and software. There are a lot of 'how-to's' in this book in ripping and burning CDs, different types of equipment and editing file information. Also, the author of the book believes that music is a fun topic to write about, therefore, he uses entertainment in this book. Lastly, despite the book being about digital music, the songs and artists within mean something to us.
In this book, there are comparisons between using physical CDs and listening to music digitally. Digital music is... Some examples of digital music are...
There are advantages outlined in the book about digital music and this ranges from the quality of the music to the organization. In terms of the quality "digital recording don't deteriorate'. Howver with a physical CD the book reminds us about 'the LPs used to his and crackle after several playings?' However, this is 'not so with digital media'. This is supported where it says that digital recordings 'sound exactly the same after a thousand playing as it did first out o the jewel case'.
The idea that the storage of digital media is easier is reflected where it says 'you don't have to deal with physical storage' and 'you can conserve on electronic storage space by intelligently compressing your digital music files'. This means that the music can be stored on a hard drive or flash memory, which is cheap.
'Digital music has not only changed the way we listen to music, it has revolutionized the way music is recorded.' The idea that 'CD sales are going downhill' due to a number of factors including the availability of online streaming,
Therefore, this will impact the way I will choose to present my product.
Research from literature reviews:
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The idea of my project is called an 'Escape' which is where I am playing outside of the classical styles for the trumpet and creating a fusion album. Together with this, I will be portraying the idea that the trumpet/flugelhorn are not only male instruments due to the volume of male brass players in the industry. By having a photoshoot, I will be creating an artist image with myself(female) and my flugelhorn in order to present the idea of female brass players as I aspire to continue my playing throughout and after university, playing and touring in a fusion band. This literature review has allowed me to look into photography further for my photo shoot with my project as I will now be researching further into parts I have extracted from the book which could impact my project.
I have generated a new idea of relating my photo shoot to nature as oppose to 'artificial lighting' and 'professional Photoshop' as mentioned in the book.(author)
Despite the idea of Photoshop being essential to photos as it mentions in the book, I will be maintaining the idea of having natural sunlight in my outdoor photo shoot without using Photoshop to edit my photos because this gives a sense of 'change' within myself to be a confident female flugelhornist. This links back to an article which I linked my case study to which has stated that 'the confidence required to play the trumpet is usually associated with male figures' rather than females (Barbara Speed, 2017) written by female trumpeter. This linked to my experiences of being 'surrounded' by males in the trumpet section of an orchestra.
The idea that 'sunny days are difficult' is something I will experiment with when beginning my photoshoot as having an outside photoshoot relates to the idea of being 'natural' in my photoshoot due to the nature and natural sunlight.starting point for new ideas
There may be areas of controversy for using Photoshop due to the professionalism it gives to photos. I have linked this to an article which says 'Photoshop is the king of the jungle'. This is due to the
So much of design is a combination of all these elements coming together, so it suits designers best to be able to work within Photoshop to execute their designs. I have noticed that a design done in Photoshop versus the other two programs tends to reach the next level and becomes substantially more intuitive and creative in its execution.
In the topic of embouchure, Arban has written into the way that the trumpet should be positioned on the lips. "The mouthpiece should be placed in the middle of the lips, two thirds on the lower lip and one third on the upper lip" At any rate, this is the position which he has adopted and he believes to be the correct way, according to being the best position for him. What does this do for Arban?
I have looked into the score for Allen Vizzuti's 'Polka' due to the importance put on the process of 'triple tonguing' and 'triplets' in this book written by Arban.
This literature review has been a start for new ideas within my project as I have previously experienced difficulty with playing every one of the triplets correctly in the piece, therefore 'The Arban's complete conservatory method for trumpet's specific method of how this works in terms of the coordination between the lips and the fingerings of the instrument will allow me to experiment with this to find a way to overcome my difficulty with the triples in the piece.
Embouchure
Where Arban has talked about embouchure with the lips on the trumpet, there may be some controversy with this as from when I used to take private trumpet lessons, the corners of the mouth should be kept tight and drawn down, which supports the lips and enables a freer, more open tone production. Therefore the embouchure on the trumpet affects the sound which links back to the book where it mentions'.
Also contrasting views may argue against this and say that from playing the trumpet from a young age, trumpeters usually develop their own embouchure over time as to what suits them, however it is not always the correct position.
http://www.brasstutorials.com/embouchure-examples3.html
To
contrast Arban's views on embouchure when playing the trumpet, I have
read an Instagram post posted by @trumpetplanet who I have been
following due to my interest in his embouchure being to tongue
controlled. In Arban's book, the embouchure is on the lips only which is
one way of having an embouchurehttp://tonguecontrolled.info/index.php/what-is-tce/
This is a page which is run by a trumpeter from Bristol who is also The UK's leading proponent of the tongue-controlled embouchure, superchops an Trumpet yoga. He has recently released an E-book called 'The Seven Bulges' which is a guide to developing the fundamentals of a tongue controlled embouchure. He has worked with professional and amateur trumpeters all over the world to improve their playing and knowledge them of the 'correct function of a brass player's embouchure'. (tongue controlled)
In this video which I found on YouTube where Chris Davis does a lesson on sound and doodle tongue when playing jazz which shows how to get a 'smoky jazz sound'.
In this video, the embouchure for classical music which is mentioned in the Arbans Conservatory method for trumpet is contrasted here as the way the lips are placed on the mouthpiece (embouchure) is altered to for the sound when it comes to playing jazz.
In the description of the video, this video addresses two trumpet techniques that jazz trumpet players use and is a response to a YouTuber comment from a previous video.
Experimenting with the plunger mute due to the Arban's book mentioning the rest
Polka is marked with triple tongued phrases, different articulations, dynamic changes and octave registers. I can identify this on the first line of the score where there is a tie above a group of three notes with a small number 3 at the bottom as evident on the score below.
The last triplet in the image with a tie above the note is the one which is frequently used in 'Polka' as I have identified in the piece.
In my 'reflections blog' in my practice with the triplets will be practicing the process of triple notes which was explained 'The Arbans Complete Conservatory method for trumpet'
Playing Polka to the markings on the piece relate to the assessment criteria of my grade 8 exam where I will have to demonstrate 'An excellent level of stylistic understanding with keen attention to performance details.' within my playing. I know this because performance detail are what is written on the piece. It says in an article that musical notation is a 'visual record of sound' and 'visual instructions for the piece'.(Bent, 2017) Therefore, the piece is written how it is supposed to sound.
Also, In Allen Vizzuti's version of playing 'Polka', he is playing the piece exactly how he is written it with all of the triplets clearly established
Soundcloud link to Allen Vizzuti's version - https://soundcloud.com/omega-m-w/polka-allen-vizzuti-recording/s-u7Pgk
Therefore, from this I can infer that to be able to play the piece well and achieve high marks in the assessment criteria for the exam.
This idea of the book relating to classical trumpet practice can be contradicted which I will look into later on in this literature review.
As I will be using different type of mutes during my project to get different sounds, I will be researching into these types of mutes and using them according to the sound they will bring out when I play. In the book it states that mutes cannot be used for the flugelhorn in the same way as they can be used for the trumpet. Therefore I will be looking into using other mutes on the flugelhorn as I will playing this instrument in 'Spain', 'Caravan' and 'Polka. Mutes are an alteration of sound on the flugelhorn which can be a way I can alter the sound of my instrument in jazz.
Mutes that are commonly used in jazz - link to Miles Davis's research
The video for the 'Carnival of Venice' by Jean Baptiste Arban played by a cornetist (Musician 1 class John Armstrong), is attached below. 'Carnival of Venice' was arranged by Donald Hunsberger, the conductor is Capt. Brian Walden. The video to the right shows a cornetist soloing over this song with the orchestra.
This piece was mentioned in the book 'The Arban's complete conservatory method for trumpet', however, I will not be referring to this due to the concept of my project to play outside of the genre of classical music. This is a reason I have chosen Polka for my project, as this piece combines dance and some classical aspects. The book which 'Polka' is from called '20 Dances for trumpet' tells me that the book consists of dances for the trumpet. However there are also classical aspects in the piece, due to the way it is written.
Despite the idea of Photoshop being essential to photos as it mentions in the book, I will be maintaining the idea of having natural sunlight in my outdoor photo shoot without using Photoshop to edit my photos because this gives a sense of 'change' within myself to be a confident female flugelhornist. This links back to an article which I linked my case study to which has stated that 'the confidence required to play the trumpet is usually associated with male figures' rather than females (Barbara Speed, 2017) written by female trumpeter. This linked to my experiences of being 'surrounded' by males in the trumpet section of an orchestra.
The idea that 'sunny days are difficult' is something I will experiment with when beginning my photoshoot as having an outside photoshoot relates to the idea of being 'natural' in my photoshoot due to the nature and natural sunlight.starting point for new ideas
There may be areas of controversy for using Photoshop due to the professionalism it gives to photos. I have linked this to an article which says 'Photoshop is the king of the jungle'. This is due to the
So much of design is a combination of all these elements coming together, so it suits designers best to be able to work within Photoshop to execute their designs. I have noticed that a design done in Photoshop versus the other two programs tends to reach the next level and becomes substantially more intuitive and creative in its execution.
In the topic of embouchure, Arban has written into the way that the trumpet should be positioned on the lips. "The mouthpiece should be placed in the middle of the lips, two thirds on the lower lip and one third on the upper lip" At any rate, this is the position which he has adopted and he believes to be the correct way, according to being the best position for him. What does this do for Arban?
I have looked into the score for Allen Vizzuti's 'Polka' due to the importance put on the process of 'triple tonguing' and 'triplets' in this book written by Arban.
This literature review has been a start for new ideas within my project as I have previously experienced difficulty with playing every one of the triplets correctly in the piece, therefore 'The Arban's complete conservatory method for trumpet's specific method of how this works in terms of the coordination between the lips and the fingerings of the instrument will allow me to experiment with this to find a way to overcome my difficulty with the triples in the piece.
Embouchure
Where Arban has talked about embouchure with the lips on the trumpet, there may be some controversy with this as from when I used to take private trumpet lessons, the corners of the mouth should be kept tight and drawn down, which supports the lips and enables a freer, more open tone production. Therefore the embouchure on the trumpet affects the sound which links back to the book where it mentions'.
Also contrasting views may argue against this and say that from playing the trumpet from a young age, trumpeters usually develop their own embouchure over time as to what suits them, however it is not always the correct position.
http://www.brasstutorials.com/embouchure-examples3.html
To
contrast Arban's views on embouchure when playing the trumpet, I have
read an Instagram post posted by @trumpetplanet who I have been
following due to my interest in his embouchure being to tongue
controlled. In Arban's book, the embouchure is on the lips only which is
one way of having an embouchurehttp://tonguecontrolled.info/index.php/what-is-tce/This is a page which is run by a trumpeter from Bristol who is also The UK's leading proponent of the tongue-controlled embouchure, superchops an Trumpet yoga. He has recently released an E-book called 'The Seven Bulges' which is a guide to developing the fundamentals of a tongue controlled embouchure. He has worked with professional and amateur trumpeters all over the world to improve their playing and knowledge them of the 'correct function of a brass player's embouchure'. (tongue controlled)
In this video which I found on YouTube where Chris Davis does a lesson on sound and doodle tongue when playing jazz which shows how to get a 'smoky jazz sound'.
In this video, the embouchure for classical music which is mentioned in the Arbans Conservatory method for trumpet is contrasted here as the way the lips are placed on the mouthpiece (embouchure) is altered to for the sound when it comes to playing jazz.
In the description of the video, this video addresses two trumpet techniques that jazz trumpet players use and is a response to a YouTuber comment from a previous video.
Experimenting with the plunger mute due to the Arban's book mentioning the rest
Polka is marked with triple tongued phrases, different articulations, dynamic changes and octave registers. I can identify this on the first line of the score where there is a tie above a group of three notes with a small number 3 at the bottom as evident on the score below.
The last triplet in the image with a tie above the note is the one which is frequently used in 'Polka' as I have identified in the piece.
In my 'reflections blog' in my practice with the triplets will be practicing the process of triple notes which was explained 'The Arbans Complete Conservatory method for trumpet'
Playing Polka to the markings on the piece relate to the assessment criteria of my grade 8 exam where I will have to demonstrate 'An excellent level of stylistic understanding with keen attention to performance details.' within my playing. I know this because performance detail are what is written on the piece. It says in an article that musical notation is a 'visual record of sound' and 'visual instructions for the piece'.(Bent, 2017) Therefore, the piece is written how it is supposed to sound.
Also, In Allen Vizzuti's version of playing 'Polka', he is playing the piece exactly how he is written it with all of the triplets clearly established
Soundcloud link to Allen Vizzuti's version - https://soundcloud.com/omega-m-w/polka-allen-vizzuti-recording/s-u7Pgk
Therefore, from this I can infer that to be able to play the piece well and achieve high marks in the assessment criteria for the exam.
This idea of the book relating to classical trumpet practice can be contradicted which I will look into later on in this literature review.
As I will be using different type of mutes during my project to get different sounds, I will be researching into these types of mutes and using them according to the sound they will bring out when I play. In the book it states that mutes cannot be used for the flugelhorn in the same way as they can be used for the trumpet. Therefore I will be looking into using other mutes on the flugelhorn as I will playing this instrument in 'Spain', 'Caravan' and 'Polka. Mutes are an alteration of sound on the flugelhorn which can be a way I can alter the sound of my instrument in jazz.
Mutes that are commonly used in jazz - link to Miles Davis's research
The video for the 'Carnival of Venice' by Jean Baptiste Arban played by a cornetist (Musician 1 class John Armstrong), is attached below. 'Carnival of Venice' was arranged by Donald Hunsberger, the conductor is Capt. Brian Walden. The video to the right shows a cornetist soloing over this song with the orchestra.
This piece was mentioned in the book 'The Arban's complete conservatory method for trumpet', however, I will not be referring to this due to the concept of my project to play outside of the genre of classical music. This is a reason I have chosen Polka for my project, as this piece combines dance and some classical aspects. The book which 'Polka' is from called '20 Dances for trumpet' tells me that the book consists of dances for the trumpet. However there are also classical aspects in the piece, due to the way it is written.
When having instruments double up with my instrument in the future when I attend Middlesex University where I plan to play in bands, there may be other instrumentalists which play in a key contrasting to my instrument other than Bb. Therefore practicing my transposition skills now and how many steps there are between notes could help me in the future when performing in a band. Also, this will ensure that I don't get 'shocked' when playing in a full band of C instruments and then start playing being in a totally different key.
The part of the book called with the heading 'Brass and reeds' relates to where transposition is mentioned. As my instrument is in Bb my instrument is a transposing instrument as the notes are not the same as the piano in C. If I played a phrase on the trumpet, this would be played on the piano with all of the notes moved down a tone.
I have decided to continue on with my research into transposition with brass instruments as I will be playing the tracks within my EP with a band for Caravan. The instruments in Caravan consist of the bass, drums and piano which are all instruments in C. Therefore, to be able to explain a part to one of the other players in the band, I will need to transpose in order for the whole band to play in the same key.
Therefore, due to the flugelhorn/trumpet being in the key of Bb, I will have to use transposition when arranging what I will play with the bass, drums and piano players in order to play in the same key as those instruments are in C.
The flugelhorn doesn't play perfectly in tune in the higher octave?http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/how-to-play-a-flugel-horn/
In the book, Runswick mentions about the flugelhorn being difficult to play in tune in the higher registers. I have decided to do further research into this as when I had began playing the flugelhorn, having played the trumpet for a long period of time prior, I had transferred the same blowing and embouchure techniques to play the flugelhorn. Therefore I had expected that the high register would work in the same way as it does for the trumpet to the flugelhorn.
The research source I used was a trumpet blog written by Bruce Chidester who supports the statement in the book by saying approaching the flugelhorn in the same way as the trumpet 'it might not be the best way to get the most out of your instrument'.
(Chidester 2011)
There is a contrast between the range of the trumpet and flugelhorn in this blog compared to the book. In the blog Chidester mentions that 'the range of the trumpet and flugel is the same but I will add that I can play higher than I can on my trumpets'. However, this statement didn't mean that the tuning of the notes in the upper register were the same as the trumpet's. In the blog, Chidester also mentions that the notes in the upper range are 'harder to tune'. This links back to the book where it says that the flugelhorn is difficult to play as in tune as the trumpet.
An alternative to dealing with a flugelhorn which is out of tune in the upper register would be to get a flugelhorn with 'four valves' which is said to improve the intonation on flugelhorns. This is also mentioned on Chidester's trumpet blog. With four valves rather than three valves, this allows you to set alternative fingerings rather than those you would use with three valves. If I played an A above the stave on the flugelhorn, the fingerings for this note are the first and second valves. However, on a four valved instrument, the same fingerings as a three valved instrument could be used, therefore using the first and second on a four-valved for an A. The functions of a four valved instrument as it allows you to increase the number of valve combinations there are could help with the flugelhorn's notes in the upper register sound more in tune.
However a disadvantage of using an instrument with four valves is the weight of the instrument as there is an extra length of tubing in the instrument, together with the added cost. This could create difficulty when holding the instrument as the player will not be used to holding a heavy instrument in oppose to a lightweight trumpet or flugelhorn.
When I have recorded I will look into the tuning part for the notes to see where they are out of tune. However, I will make sure to use my tuning slide prior to the recording to make sure that my instrument is in tune according to the tuning slides. Without the tuning slides properly adjusted, this could make the instrument sound more out tune. I have to play in tune with the rest of the instruments in C therefore, I will be doing this to ensure that I understand what affects the tuning, as I plan to play as part of bands in the future where having my instrument in tune with the rest of the band will allow me to play to be comfortable in my sound.
https://www.normans.co.uk/blog/2016/02/caring-for-your-flugelhorn/
(O'Callaghan 2016)
To conclude today's experiment, I will be looking into ways I could prevent the negative impact of having an out of tune flugelhorn in my recordings and look into procedures I will put into place according to my research.
I have researched further into the tuning of the flugelhorn as when I record, I will ensure that the flugelhorn parts are in tune with the instruments of the rest of the track.
On my instrument, there is a tuning slide which is near the mouthpiece as shown in the image. If my recording of the three-valved flugelhorn is not in tune.
On logic there is an plug-in for tuning which is what I could use if my parts end up being out of tune. Therefore my parts will be in tune within my EP, ensuring the quality of my recordings. With an out of tune instrument, this could be seen as a poor arrangement.
