Mouthpiece
13 articles available online
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Understanding the mouthpiece
A brass player's limitations may have less to do with technique than equipment, as subtle changes in mouthpiece design can transform comfort, response and performance.
By John Stork
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My Experiences with Colleagues and Pupils
in 50 Years as trumpet player and trumpet teacher
Across five decades, Heinz Burum links trumpet embouchure, mouthpiece design and teaching practice to concrete cases from orchestras, pupils and colleagues.
By Heinz Burum
Member
James Stamp, subtle teaching
Intonation, held notes and mouthpiece work shape James Stamp's subtle approach to trumpet playing, where listening and physical economy guide technique.
By Alfred Willener
Free
Inventor's corner
Shaping Your Own Mouthpiece
A tiny alteration to the mouthpiece rim challenges conventional design, seeking greater upper-lip endurance without sacrificing flexibility, attack or control.
By Ninck Blok
Member
Part 4
The Trumpet in the USA
Gadgets II
Mouthpiece backbores for piccolo and C trumpet are compared through practical performer testing, linking equipment choices to sound, volume and intonation.
By Thomas Stevens
Member
Five generations of mouthpiece specialists
From Höchstädt to Markneukirchen and beyond, five generations of Schmidts shaped brass mouthpiece design through craft, anatomy and evolving orchestral demands.
By Werner Christoph Schmidt
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The Measurement of Mouthpiece Pressure
Objective measurements on trumpet players challenge common beliefs about mouthpiece pressure, showing stable individual patterns across pitch, dynamics and playing level.
By P. Kenny, John Davies
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Science in the service of music
Interview with René Périnelli
Where trumpet teaching once relied on intuition, René Périnelli and Jean-Jacques Greffin brought physiology, medical imaging and science into daily practice.
By Jean-Pierre Mathez
Member
Mouthpiece pressure in Horn Playing
Graduation project in technical method
Long before sensors entered the practice room, one horn student measured embouchure pressure by hand, challenging assumptions that still shape brass pedagogy.
By Edgar Bürger
Member
The contrabass sackbut
a modern copy
A reconstructed 17th-century contrabass sackbut revives forgotten low brass practice, from Venetian polychoral music to modern performance challenges.
By Richard Lister
The lead trumpet player
A survey of training, practice and equipment
Article on lead trumpet playing, covering training, practice methods and equipment for achieving accuracy, endurance and style.
By John Harding
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Thoughts on the Bass Trombone
Long before modern standards took hold, bass trombones existed in many forms, raising questions that still shape orchestral writing and performance today.
By Jean Gotthold
Member
Some thoughts on the euphonium and euphonium technique
The euphonium revealed: Barrie Perrins explores its history, technique, and expressive power—making a compelling case for its place as one of brass’s most versatile solo voices.
By Barrie Perrins