[motteatoj]

Sold one of my remaining free trumpets and converted it to a 1925 Conn silver sopranino.
Came with an original mpc and picked up some Vandoren 2 reeds for it.
Would appreciate any tips on proper embouchure etc to get the high highs, etc.
Can go all the way down to Bb but topping out at around high B, also jumping octaves a bit
I know its gonna take a lot more than a day, but figured I would ask anyone experienced on these for some things to think about while practicing.
So far though, I LOVE it (wife not a fan, but that’s ok, she hated the trumpet too, so net neutral there).

Thanks in advance...

 

[blaine hoopes]

I'm no sopranino expert ... but something you might try is the shape of your tongue to speed up the airflow. Have you ever bent a note on a harmonica when blowing? On Harmonica the bend on air intake is very easy but the bend on blowing is different and very similar tongue shape to what makes the high notes pop on soprano (also what I use for altissimo on tenor)

I'm sure a sopranino expert will be along soon .... but if you feel like experimenting, raise your tongue at the back of your throat and play around with the space between your tongue and the roof of your mouth so the air has to speed up and go over your tongue to get from your throat to the mouthpiece. raise and lower the front part of your tongue and move it a little forward and back to change the air speed and the shape of that space where the air passes between roof of mouth and tongue (a little like trying to whistle just with your tongue and roof of mouth). I may even be curling my tongue on both sides to make a little tunnel for the air.

Hope some of that makes sense and hope I'm not sending you into a rabbit hole or on a snipe hunt -- it is so difficult to describe these subtle things that we cannot see. I have to try and picture what it is that I'm doing and put it into words.

EDIT: can you play the first altissimo G on Tenor? Try the same thing you do inside your mouth for that G and see what happens with those high notes on sopranino

 

[bandmommy]

Can you play clarinet?

 

[1saxman]

Use a tuner when practicing - you can get a free one on your smart phone. Never played one of these little devils but soprano has similar tendencies. Basically don't worry about the palm keys for the first couple of weeks - gradually sneak up on it while teaching yourself not to bite to get them. Don't hold it 'down' like a clarinet - hold it out closer to horizontal and let the lower lip 'out' like on the bigger saxes. Once you can play long tones in tune, you'll probably get the upper register more easily.

 

[Jazzoetry]

Holding the horn the up and blowing with good posture helps produce a nice open unrestricted tone throughout the whole horn for many players.

 

[saxoclese]

Suck on a lemon before you play?

 

[motteatoj]

Suck on a lemon before you play?

probably the best tip so far, HAHAHAHA

 

[motteatoj]

Use a tuner when practicing - you can get a free one on your smart phone. Never played one of these little devils but soprano has similar tendencies. Basically don't worry about the palm keys for the first couple of weeks - gradually sneak up on it while teaching yourself not to bite to get them. Don't hold it 'down' like a clarinet - hold it out closer to horizontal and let the lower lip 'out' like on the bigger saxes. Once you can play long tones in tune, you'll probably get the upper register more easily.

This is excellent, thank you!
Always amazes me how quickly we forget that the basics are the keys to the Kingdom...

 

[AddictedToSax]

Sold one of my remaining free trumpets and converted it to a 1925 Conn silver sopranino.
Came with an original mpc and picked up some Vandoren 2 reeds for it.
Would appreciate any tips on proper embouchure etc to get the high highs, etc.
Can go all the way down to Bb but topping out at around high B, also jumping octaves a bit
I know its gonna take a lot more than a day, but figured I would ask anyone experienced on these for some things to think about while practicing.
So far though, I LOVE it (wife not a fan, but that's ok, she hated the trumpet too, so net neutral there).

Thanks in advance...

If you have cats they aren't going to be fans either. Mine have always hated the clarinet, especially in the altissimo range. Ha.

 

[motteatoj]

If you have cats they aren't going to be fans either. Mine have always hated the clarinet, especially in the altissimo range. Ha.

no cats but an equally unimpressed wife...

 

[Paul Cohen]

The quickest solution is to try a strength 3 reed with that mouthpiece. #2 is too soft and if you are not used to the smaller proportions can cause problems. On my Conn sopranino and original mouthpiece I play between a 3 and a 4, and now also use Legere sopranino reeds, which allows one to find the most appropriate strength. Once the mouthpiece is not compromised by a too-soft reed, other embouchure and range extension will follow.
Paul Cohen

 

[motteatoj]

The quickest solution is to try a strength 3 reed with that mouthpiece. #2 is too soft and if you are not used to the smaller proportions can cause problems. On my Conn sopranino and original mouthpiece I play between a 3 and a 4, and now also use Legere sopranino reeds, which allows one to find the most appropriate strength. Once the mouthpiece is not compromised by a too-soft reed, other embouchure and range extension will follow.
Paul Cohen

Thank you Paul, I bought both 2 and 3 strength reeds, just in case, and had thought 3s would maybe be too hard to start out but, turns out the 3 reeds really helped!
Thank you so much!
Much better control, still a lot to work on though, but that is the fun of it!

 

[whamptoncourt]

Good advice from Paul, and he is most certainly an expert. I'd just add that unless you wish to annoy, try to always be playing with a subtone mouth/tongue/throat configuration. The sopranino can be a beautiful lyric instrument, but not if it's played in a "honking" style. You may also wish to get a mouthpiece that's a little more open. As Paul says you need a very stiff reed for those older closed style mouthpieces, which restricts important factors like bending the pitch to play in tune.

Best of luck.

 

[motteatoj]

Good advice from Paul, and he is most certainly an expert. I'd just add that unless you wish to annoy try to always be playing with a subtone mouth/tongue/throat configuration. The sopranino can be a beautiful lyric instrument, but not if it's played in a "honking" style. You may also wish to get a mouthpiece that's a little more open. As Paul says you need a very stiff reed for those older closed style mouthpieces, which restricts important factors like bending the pitch to play in tune.

Best of luck.

What are the 'good' options for nino mpcs?

 

[whamptoncourt]

Selmer sells a hard rubber sopranino mouthpiece that's not terribly expensive and very good. More expensive is the Vandoren or a custom. Do a web search for Selmer sopranino mouthpieces. the Selmer should be around $150.00.

 

[Lambros]

Selmer sells a hard rubber sopranino mouthpiece that's not terribly expensive and very good. More expensive is the Vandoren or a custom. Do a web search for Selmer sopranino mouthpieces. Should be around $150.00.

Yes, either C* or D shouldn't be too difficult; the ligatures that match them might be a bit more challenging to find. Yanagisawa HR mouthpieces are quite good, too.

 

[turf3]

I've never played a nino, but something from my experience as a baritone specialist who occasionally plays soprano may be helpful: Don't try to put as much air through the little horn as you're used to with (say) tenor. My C soprano especially, I need to dial back the airstream and play more delicately or I just overpower the thing.

 

[Grumps]

I had a VI sopranino back in the day. It came to me with a Selmer C*, but I never really got the best out of it until I found another Selmer mouthpiece (current) with an F tip opening. So a more open tip might make those notes easier for you.

 

[Paul Cohen]

The Van Doren sopranino mouthpiece is a bit darker and smoother than the Selmer, but both are too bright and penetrating for my sopranino use. I have had several Selmer mouthpieces refaced, with great success, for my use (some brilliant work by Sopranoplanet). I use these in conjunction with my Caravan sopranino mouthpieces on my modern sopraninos. I use Buescher/Conn sopranino mouthpieces on my vintage horns.
Paul Cohen

 

[whamptoncourt]

Here's what a Selmer C* can sound like, but I'm using subtone technique to emphasize the lower fundamentals and cut the high harmonics.
https://www.wikiloops.com/backingtrack-jam-190119.php