TromboneChat

…forgotten that they had been using their DE setup with small shank and turned up to a rehearsal or gig with the small shank attached and a large shank trombone?

Managed to do this for the first time today. Whoops.

Luckily I had another mouthpiece in the case, unfortunately it was a 2G so I spent 3 hours playing light pops music on the first trombone part with a 2G.

I brought a single valve bass on accident to a jazz 10-tet once, but with my small shank pieces. Similar, I always have a large and small shank in the glovebox so I got to play it on a 1.5G. Since I was the only bone I did have a lot of stuff that was either doubling bari or was on the lower end, it actually worked pretty well. But yeah oops.

I keep my DE parts in a Dollybags "Brass Butler", and it goes in the accessory/mute bag. Don't leave home without it.

Years ago when I was in an USAF field band, our jazz band was playing a day gig in a park. We were at least an hour or so away from the base. Our bass trombonist opens his case, and realizes that he had left his mouthpiece behind. The rest of us were playing small-shank tenors, but someone had an extra mouthpiece.
So, our bass trombonist played the gig on a 7C or 6 1/2 or something similar, with a strip of paper wrapped around the shank.

I have accidentally swapped my bass and large tenor Warburton pieces (they look basically the same) after playing both horns a couple times.

One of those times, I didn't notice for about a month (!) and I thought my bass trombone playing was falling apart. I frantically practiced trying to figure it out any chance I could, because I thought it was me. Then one day I'm setting up for a recording session and the trombonist next to me asked what mouthpiece I was using. I look over and that's when I realize my large tenor piece is in there. Then the realization that I had been playing bass trombone on gigs with a tenor mouthpiece for a month!

It was a blessing in disguise though...I borrowed a mouthpiece for that day and on that mouthpiece all of the problems I'd been having with my bass trombone playing in the months prior to the mouthpiece mix-up disappeared. It was then that I realized that, for once, it really WAS the gear that was the problem! A few months later, I settled on a new bass trombone mouthpiece. So now I'm safe from that mix-up happening again.

I‘ll file mine in the could have been worse pile. I‘m putting a 5G, 1.5G and 11C in the glovebox just in case,

MrHCinDE wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2024 2:27 pm I‘ll file mine in the could have been worse pile. I‘m putting a 5G, 1.5G and 11C in the glovebox just in case,

Look in YOUR glove box.
Do you have any gloves there?

There’s been a couple of times colleagues have asked if I have a spare large shank or bass trombone mouthpiece with me and my reply has been “Well, actually, I do.”.

I’ve also shown up with a leadpipe/mpc shank mismatch.

I've gone to a gig with NO mouthpiece. Got a 6-1/2AL at a Music & Arts. Not comfortable but close enough.
I've also gone to a couple of gigs with no horn...

Gone to two rehearsals with no mouthpiece over the years. Drove home in one case but didn't end up staying at the other rehearsal. Forgot music once too, just went home.

I cannot remember it has yet happened to me to bring the wrong (or no) mouthpiece. I am so afraid of that exact situation that I check multiple times I guess Plus I very often just take the mouthpiece pouch with the 4 pieces that cover mostly everything. I think most realistic would be that I bring my Remington shank bass mouthpiece (for my 60/62h) and bring my Greenhoe bass which obviously wouldn't accept that shank.

I have never forgotten a mouthpiece (though I have forgotten glasses of the optimal diopter -- which is a real pain ). However I always have a "backup mouthpiece" in a different bag/case than the horn and the primary mouthpiece are in. If I have to use the Wick 0AL backup instead of my DE piece, it's not the end of the world. In the case of the trombone, ending up without a perfectly usable mouthpiece would require me forgetting to pack the primary one and also somehow not taking my equipment bag with my stand, mutes, mute stands, tablet, music, and seat cushion. I also manage to pack at least one (and often two) additional pairs of "music reading glasses".

I can’t remember forgetting a mouthpiece or having the wrong parts. I showed up to a gig without the music, though. At about 30 minutes to curtain, I called my wife who drove it in! I picked it up at the curb, kissed my wife, ran in, sat down in my chair, and had about 5 minutes to spare.

One of my favorites along this line, though, is when I subbed in a brass quintet. I think it was a graduation. One trumpet player was ready and warmed up when the other trumpet player came in, sat down and greeted everyone. He said he’d warmed-up at home, felt good, and was ready to play. He opened his case, looked in, closed it, turned to the other trumpet player and said, “Do you have a spare mouthpiece?”

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2024 4:53 pm I've gone to a gig with NO mouthpiece. Got a 6-1/2AL at a Music & Arts. Not comfortable but close enough.
I've also gone to a couple of gigs with no horn...

I did that once. Raced halfway home before remembering that I always keep a mouthpiece in the car for buzzing. Turned around and got back just in time for the downbeat.

Once showed up at a gig with my large bore trombone and was told "We expected you to play tuba tonight." Well, I played the tuba part on my King 4B

I received a call from a local community orchestra that I`d played with off and on for years
They were doing Beethoven 5, would I play Bass trombone. We`ve done it a few times before and I was always called to play 1st because of the high F. I have a good high range.
I said sure , It would be fun to sit at the other end of the section.
Well when we got to the 1st rehearsal, The conductor had called all of us to play Bass Trombone.
Now we have 3 Bass trombones and all of us live just far enough away so we can`t go home and switch horns.
One of the guys had a bass shank 6 1/2AL in his case, so I borrowed that and played the 1st part.
When we came in on the 4th mvtmt , we tried to keep balanced as best we could. However , hen we got to the section where I have the high F, I completely buried the entire orchestra. A Bass Trombone with a smaller mouthpiece is not to dissimilar to a cannon. The brass section was laughing, the conductor was shocked and ,of course, The string section was disgusted .
Next rehearsal I had the Alto and all was well

Lindberg had a good story in an interview with Aidan, if I remember correctly, where he showed up to the gig to play a concerto with James DePriest and he forgot his mouthpiece...

He said he played the piece with a borrowed bass trombone mouthpiece from the bass player that had been reamed out. Apparently the only difference that DePriest could tell was that Lindberg sounded "a little bit bigger".

I played one gig where my friend showed up with a tenor bell section and alto slide. Luckily he was able to borrow my bass slide and it worked on his bell -- we weren't playing at the same time on anything.

I left my mouthpiece at home once doing a gig, and I sat on char infront of the audience without a mouthpiece. We couldn't start because the second trombone player was five minutes late. The second tune was "I've Got You Under My Skin" with the solo in my part. I did not know what to do and my only plan was to borrow the mouthpiece from the third player just to do the solo and then "fejk" the whole concert. Not a good plan but my only plan. I was lucky the second player had an extra mouthpiece to lend me when he arrived, a Megatone Bach 6 1/2 AL. He saved me on that gig.

/Tom

I've showed up to work, only to find out I was playing bass and not tenor (what I had with me!) and didn't have any backup mouthpieces in my locker.

Ended up playing the day on a Schilke 59. Not the worst mouthpiece on the planet, but I'd rather not do that ever again.

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 12:49 pm I've showed up to work, only to find out I was playing bass and not tenor (what I had with me!) and didn't have any backup mouthpieces in my locker.

Ended up playing the day on a Schilke 59. Not the worst mouthpiece on the planet, but I'd rather not do that ever again.

If I’m not sure what I’ll be playing I bring three horns. That has saved me more than once.

tbdana wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 1:29 pm If I’m not sure what I’ll be playing I bring three horns. That has saved me more than once.

Not a practical option if you drive a small sports car!

Posaunus wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 3:06 pm

tbdana wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 1:29 pm If I’m not sure what I’ll be playing I bring three horns. That has saved me more than once.

Not a practical option if you drive a small sports car!

Or ...

Small sports car not a practical option if you play multiple trombones.

In full disclosure, at least one car purchase in my history was in part determined by what size tuba I could easily get in and out of it. (And during the years when I was driving the wonderful 528i Sport with the M package, I was not playing -- though the trunk on that was surprisingly large.)

I often drive another trombonist to rehearsals and gigs - and I also occasionally bring two trombones. I've found that my Subaru Outback perfectly accommodates our gear - all trombones stored lengthwise in the back compartment (easy in, easy out), with plenty of additional room for stands, mute bags, etc. If I ever get another vehicle (and am still playing), it must have similar capacity.

Posaunus wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:15 pm I've found that my Subaru Outback perfectly accommodates our gear - all trombones stored lengthwise in the back compartment (easy in, easy out), with plenty of additional room for stands, mute bags, etc. If I ever get another vehicle (and am still playing), it must have similar capacity.

My son had one of those. If you must have a small car, it's a good choice. It would not be my choice for a 4/4 or larger tuba. I like the Outback. I just don't fit comfortably in it (a height issue). My son is an inch or two taller than I am and tried to avoid using the car, although his wife (who is at least a foot shorter) loved it. We've had Honda Pilots for the last few choices. They'll hold practically anything reasonable -- though not in the same class as a Suburban, which we had when we had 3 kids and a couple of large dogs.