Hello,

I am the RBL bugler in my neared Royal British Legion Branch, well have been since rememberance day last year and i've been asked to play again in june for a big event happening which supposedly lots of the RBL's from around scotland are coming to, there are going to be a LOT of people there and some quite important ones too :S

This is all quite daunting as i have to play the last post, revellie and general salute all by myself. In nov when i did it for the first time i found it hard to get the g's (i know its not high at all) because when standing outside waiting for my signal to play my mouth piece got really cold and to be honest it wasnt the best performance. I dont want this to happen again and spoil all the old war veterans day, and whats worse is that its all going to be held outside this time, i know being nearly summer in june it wont be nearly as cold but it will be cold enough.

Has anyone had to do this before and can give me any advice?
or
Can anyone give me any advice for playing infront of 100's?


fae
Sheilz

Tough gig - good luck!!

Sounds like you've got two problems: the cold instrument & your nerves.

I've found the best way of keeping the instrument warm is to put my mouthpiece in my pocket until I really have to start buzzing, and keep the bell of the trumpet either under my arm or between my legs! Apparently, your pitch can change by nearly a semitone if the bell is cold, and this has really worked for me.

On the subject of nerves, I was always taught that you should practice until you can play your whole programme four times in a row perfectly. The logic behind this is that you take off one performance for nerves, one for a bad day, and that only leaves you with two good performances! It's worked for me when I've been preparing for a big blow (eg. The Trumpet Shall Sound - if you can get through that 4 times without splitting a note you're a superstar!!)

The only thing that will really help your nerves is the cast iron certainty that you can play this gig perfectly, so work towards this. Good luck!!

Ive had to do this many times now and always feel quite nervous but it does get better... one idea for you is there is a mouth piece manufacturer called Kelly who do plastic ones..ive only tried one once in the cold and found it was 1 less thing i needed to worry about so give it ago .. ohh and there only £10

Hope that helps!

Hello,

Thanks for the advice. Its getting closer, its this sunday :S:S Scary thought, anyway.. the plastic mouthpiece idea sounds great but would the sound and tone be the same? Where could i get one in scotland or on the internet in this short notice?

Thanks
fae

Sheilz