What's Up with the Mute?

JoeCool

Member
Just caught his show last night at the Paramount in Austin Texas. It was wonderful. Although a muted trumpet can be tasteful in certain settings, he played with it in the whole show. I was hoping he'd pull the dang thing off. I always loved his sound. Does anyone know if there is a reason for this or is that just the way he's rolling these days live.
 
Probably just a phase, and the type of music he's playing. I would think he likes to change up his sound every so often.
 
Just caught his show last night at the Paramount in Austin Texas. It was wonderful. Although a muted trumpet can be tasteful in certain settings, he played with it in the whole show. I was hoping he'd pull the dang thing off. I always loved his sound. Does anyone know if there is a reason for this or is that just the way he's rolling these days live.
...And this is why, despite my lifelong love of his music, I haven't gone to see him live.
 
Miles Davis played with a mute later in his career, almost exclusively. I just chalk it up to a horn player wanting a specific sound. Herb at 84 plays better than quite a few out there who are decades younger...mute or no mute! 😁
 
BTW, that reminds me of the trumpet I saw Herb play once, that had two bells. Using a valve, he could instantly switch from mute to open. I think if I were playing trumpet, my laziness would win out and I would need to find one of those!

1571509310396.png
 
Better do your arm curls to hold the thing up for a long gig...lol

I found this regarding the Soulo Bucket mute that Herb was using: "You'll find that with both the open and closed settings, you will actually feel less tired than playing with the horn open. This is thanks to the patented design that allows for part a simulated "surround sound" effect. "

I just bought it off Amazon. Apparently you can use it for practice. My wife will love it more than me most likely.
 
I'm wondering if the mute use is perhaps helpful due to some hearing loss. Let's face it, at 84, most men will have lost a portion of their hearing range, and maybe by muting his trumpet, he's able to better hear the musicians around him. Just a thought. I live in an over 55 community and there's no shortage of guys asking, "What?" "Huh?"
 
Actually, it is harder to play an instrument (or sing, for that matter) if you can't hear yourself. The trumpet projects outward to the audience, but the mute might keep the sound closer, if that makes sense.

It's interesting, though, the number of different styles of mutes you can get for a trumpet. I forget all the names though. There are a lot of different sounds and yes, there are even practice mutes that let you keep things quiet.
 
I like that! It might come in handy if I ever pick up a trumpet! 😁

But I might be tempted to pick up a bug sprayer instead...

1571671641251.png

 
He used the mute in the show we saw in Seattle last March. I was bummed out by it because I prefer his non-muted sound. He only pulled it out for one song at the end. I’d still go see another show though!
 
Back
Top Bottom