"soft hat over bell"

[confusedtrombonedude]

Hi,
In my youth orchestra we are playing William Grant Still's Afro-american symphony and at the beginning of the fourth movement it says "soft hat over bell" and I asked my director and he said music stores sell hat mutes but I have not seen a single hat mute anywhere.
Anything and everything helps

[Burgerbob]

There is a Humes and Berg hat mute. I'd just buy a cheap hat, maybe even use a baseball cap.

[AtomicClock]

Still wrote that in 1930, when men wore hats and women didn't play in the symphony. He probably meant a hat from a haberdasher, not a music store.

I don't know the piece, but I imagine a H&B derby mute isn't what's intended.

[AtomicClock]

I played a piece that called for hat a few years ago. We tried to fake it with plungers, but the director insisted it had to look like hats. The look was more important than the sound. So I went to Party City and found some good looking costume hats for just a few dollars.

[Posaunus]

You don't need a "hat mute." [The H&B Derby mute is not soft - quite rigid!] As Still directed, just use a soft hat. (I've used a beret, but any fabric hat that's big enough to hang loosely over the bell will do. I suppose in the 1930s, they may have used a homburg hat, as worn by all fine gentlemen in the day.)

[elmsandr]

I played a piece that called for hat a few years ago. We tried to fake it with plungers, but the director insisted it had to look like hats. The look was more important than the sound. So I went to Party City and found some good looking costume hats for just a few dollars.

If you go this route, I’d line them with felt as they are likely to be a more reflective plastic.

As the owner of several fedoras, newsboy hats, and even a couple of pork pies, I’d probably bring whichever was closest to what everybody else could have.

Good excuse to have a decent hat,
Andy

[ghmerrill]

Softone mute? Just hang it partially over the bell. Comes in several colors, wads up nicely for storage and seems to be almost indestructable. But a bit pricey for one performance.

Or go to a party supplies store and get something temporary.

[OneTon]

Goodwill or any 2nd hand thrift store may have soft hats. If you have an acrylic stocking cap, that may work as well. There isn’t much percentage in spending money for one performance.

[JohnL]

I suspect what Still had in mind was a felt hat (homburg, fedora, trilby, etc.) draped over the bell. Unfortunately, you're not likely to find a hat big enough to drape over an 8½" bell. Besides, a felt hat isn't cheap.

My suggestion would be a cloth hat or cap (no mesh!), but try to find one that's rigid enough that you can hold it up to the bell by the bill/brim without it sagging. Something in a dark solid color without any badging would be best. If your section can be equipped with matching hats, so much the better.

[bubba7753]

I played it yesterday. There are alot of mute changes. I used a black ski hat. It's very difficult to put on the bell. I am open to suggestions also.

[ithinknot]

Beret (plus added padding inside to adjust mutitude as req). Hangs on in about a second

[ssking2b]

You can use the soft tone mute and turn it inside out so it shows as black. All the soft one mutes is all sizes are black inside.