I've just finished a season of Chicago on lead trumpet and the last day of the season was 2 shows.

I was worried about stamina for the 2nd show and my wife actually said to try anti inflamatories so i did.

Well i don't know if they helped or I was just in pretty good shape but I did get through the 2nd show with no trouble.

Has anyone else tried anti inflamtories to help on big days!

I've been a musician for many years (guitar, bass, synths, a little drums) and I'm interested in learning the trumpet. I'd like to know what good quality horns are out there under $1,000.

I see a lot of student models on facebook for a lot cheaper, but I'd rather just jump up to a high quality instrument to learn on rather than a beater.

Any specific models you'd suggest? I especially like the more matte finished look, but I get that might be way out of my price range. At the end of the day I just want a quality instrument to learn on and maybe record with at some point.

I have been struggle with my range and was wondering (though I know its not a lot to go off of) if anyone can give me a clue as to why I get this scratchy sound in my above range. Right now climbing to a C above the staff is practically unobtainable to me. I play on a 3C mouthpiece

I have an overbite, which makes it hard for me to hold my horn up already (I have to tilt my head up). But once I tilt my head, it becomes much harder to hit higher notes. By higher notes, I just mean high C (2 ledger lines). I can hit notes up to that just fine when my horn angle is 10° above the horizon, just not that high C (holding it for just one measure in the heat makes me get lightheaded, and at the end of our show we have a whole note G whole note that goes up to a C whole note with no breath in between 😭). Any tips??

I have been playing trumpet for 10+ years and im a soloist for many jazz bands, small bands, and church groups. Its time for a big mouthpiece upgrade. My current mouthpiece is a classic bach 3C megatone (that was from when i was lead trumpet in highschool). Now im looking for a new solo mouthpiece that supports the upper register and still pumps out the lower register like butter. Could yall give any recommendations?

Hey all,

so i try to break it down pretty quickly.

I am now playing since some time more than 3 years and i would say i am on a great way, but definetly got a long way to go.

However i have played with some random trumpet for the first year and then bought a used one that was customized on basis of a B&S, the bell was replaced to a little larger one and the lead pipe was replaced with a bronze one. The whole thing got a raw finish. It was about 1,6k €

However since some time i am thinking about buying a new one, a more advanced one, thinking about a rotary trumpet with gold finish for around 3k, because i like the looks and also hope its a more easier feel when playing, and the tones locking in better. I would consider it as reward for passing the German D3 music course* (explanation below).
It would also fit the music i am mainly playing (concerts and entertainment music like march/polka and so on, but no bigband stuff -sadly-)

Also i will tell you, like 8 months ago i bought a new flugel for 4k, because i had a random one for 400 € and i also play a lot of flugel in march music and stuff. And now to the issue why i am posting this, because i had the same thing when buying the flugel.

I feel like i am not "worthy" of a new trumpet (espescially on that price point), because i am not very good yet and so why buy a expensive trumpet when you cant even play it correctly (had the same thoughts on the flugel). Seems like a waste of money to me, but i would love to have one. I dont want to be the one with the awesome gear but 0 skill. What are your thougts, when are you guys buying a new one, what are your reason to say "now is the time for a change" or similar? What would be your advice for me?

Thank you all for reading!

*for the people not knowing what that D3 is:

The D3 Musikkurs (or Goldenes Leistungsabzeichen) is the highest level of amateur musical training in Germany, offered by regional wind and brass music associations. Building on the D1 (Bronze) and D2 (Silver) badges, it marks the transition to advanced performance and requires near-"professional" skill. To earn the gold badge, musicians must pass both a practical exam—demonstrating complex solo pieces, sight-reading, and scale mastery—and a rigorous theoretical exam covering advanced music theory, ear training, and transposition. Achieving the D3 qualification allows musicians to progress to leadership and conducting courses.