Merry (post) Christmas everyone!
The New Year is just days away. I've been having a very lovely break with my family. Hope it's been lovely for all of you!
New year turnovers are always the time for resolutions and new inspirations and motivations. Look what I've been eyeing this afternoon!
Mmm, yes. Beautiful new mouthpieces. These are Paxman mouthpieces. I used to play on a 2B that I bought off a fellow horn player (for £20, woop!) when I lived in Liverpool. Unfortunately it was lost almost year ago; I have a feeling I absentmindedly left it in one of the schools I taught in.
That 2B was a great little mouthpiece, and there was something comforting about having an all-Paxman getup. Therefore today I took the plunge and found online a 2B mouthpiece and no. 2, 3, 4 rims to experiment on.
Currently I use a Moosewood B mouthpiece (C backbore) with an M5 rim. A bit straight down the road in terms of size. It's not that this one isn't working out for me, but I'd like to spend a little time on a Paxman mouthpiece again. You'll run into horn players that are always looking for "The One" - the holy grail of metal that we stick on our faces. I don't know if such a thing exists. I'm more interested in finding my "Old Reliable." I played on a Lawson mouthpiece for 10 years. I'd like to find one I will be happy to use for the next 10 years.
I'll keep you all posted. Mouthpiece work is fascinating, and it certainly makes a difference in the sound you get out of your horn - and all brass instruments for that matter!
One final thing.....
New Year's Resolution(s)? I know one right off the top of my head: I need to start getting some videos up here. That'll be something I experiment with in 2013....
