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I just need some people to reassure me that they are insane.

http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/view ... p?p=957673" target="_blank

bloke wrote:They (typically the mediocre-to-poor of them...probably more of the "mediocre" than the "poor") convince themselves that all sorts of couldn't-possibly-be-perceptible changes to their equipment make them play like the "big boys". The better they play, the fewer gimmicks they tend to have done to their instruments.

Down the thread, it is said of the OP that he "advanced to the final round for the Boston Symphony Orchestra job last year."

Nevertheless, you are right. It's hard to imagine that change making a difference. Maybe on something the size of a trumpet?

The shorthand comment for that used to be to mention "The Emperor's New Clothes".

The thread referenced is from 2009. I think that even among trumpet players this topic doesn't come up very often.

Hup

It is universal, players of every instrument will be persuaded of the efficacy of some improbable gimmick or irrelevant factor. If you call one of them insane, the rest may as well be.

Would you believe that part of the issue is something referred to as "evolutional psychology?" It goes back to 'caveman' days when individuals and even groups and subcultures brought various things back to their home situation that set them apart from others.(Tools, weapons, skills, arts, songs, ideas etc) Societies and sub societies evolved into distinctive sub cultures and behaved and thought somewhat differently from others. Theory has it that over thousands of years the brains of the members of the various sub groups actually developed along different lines. It might explain a lot about certain sub cultures of brass players in particular. It certainly explains the difference between Minnesotans and Iowans. Just sayin'

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd bet trumpet players have gotten down to this level of nitty-gritty because of all the free time they save by not arguing about shipping companies.