Yamaha Xeno 8335 Trumpet Review

I have just purchased a new Yamaha Xeno trumpet - something I have been wanting for a very long time.
I LOVE it.
Firstly, it looks the part with contrasting yellow brass and silver.
The valves are very well constructed (no plastic parts like other models!).
It comes with a custom 16c4-GP mouthpiece with gold on the inside.. The case can hold two trumpets and two mouthpieces. It is also lockable and comes with two keys. The only thing I don't like about the case is that there is nowhere specific to put valve oil etc. Yes you can put it in the send trumpet compartment (and this is what I have ended up doing) however it frequently ends up on top of my trumpet when I am carrying the case.
Yamaha also include a polishing cloth, valve oil and a tiny slide grease (a bit stingy for the amount of money I spent!).
Over all this is a beautiful, well constructed instrument with a lovely tone. It is perfect for any experienced player.
I also have an overview of the trumpet on my YouTube channel : http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plcp&v=l3IEpYsBmSU

How to Practise

Whether we like it or not, pactice is something that is necessary if we want to be good at playing the trumpet. We need to train the muscles in our lips, just like a runner would do with their legs, in order to increase our range and to be able play for longer.

How long should I practise for?
This depends on how much time you have. If your lips hurt and you are struggling to play, stop practicing. I recommend spliting your practice into two sessions, morning and evening. This will mean that your lips have time to rest. If you have the time, try and practice for at least 1 hour every day.

How/ what should I practise?
I recommend buying an Arban: Cornet Method. It is a brilliant book with lots of exercises aiming to improve your technique. Warm up with a few different exercises from there or if you don't own an arban practice long tones, lip slurs, scales, double and triple tounging etc. These exercises may be boring but they are essential if you want to improve your technique! Warm up for 10-20 minutes and then rest for 10-20 minutes. Another thing to practice is sight reading and transposition. You don't need to go out and buy a specific sight reading book for this - use music books that you already have, there must be lots of small tunes that you can sight read and transpose (even if they are grade 2 level!).

When working on solo pieces don't play the whole piece from beginning to end several times, practice small sections that you find most difficult. As a music professor once told me "Don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong".

Download a free practise schedule here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/112609709/Trumpet-Practise

Cleaning your tumpet

You will need:

• 2x towels
• A bath
• A snake
• A mouthpiece brush
• Valve brush
• Dettol (or similar)
• Slide grease
• Valve oil
• Soft polishing cloth



Mouthpiece Brush





Snake Brush



Valve Casing Brush

1. Place a towel in the bottom of your bath (this prevents your trumpet from getting scratched). Fill the bath with lukewarm water (NOT HOT) and at a little Dettol (or similar). Make sure there is enough water to cover your trumpet.

2. Take out all the slides and place them in the bath. Then using your snake clean the inside of each of the slides. Finally place them back in the bath.

3. Remove the valves and place them in the bath. Using a valve brush, clean the holes in the valves (to remove any green gunk!). Finally place them back in the bath.

5. Place the mouthpiece in the bath and clean with the mouthpiece brush.

4. Place the valve and slideless trumpet in the bath to run water through the pipes. Clean the valve casing with the valve brush and use the snake to the clean the lead pipe. Hold the trumpet under the tap and run water through the valve casing.

5. Place the trumpet back into the bath to soak for 15 minutes.

6 Take the trumpet, slides and valves out of the bath and dry off with a towel.

7. Apply slide grease to all of the slides and place back inside the trumpet.
8. Apply valve oil to the valves and place them back in the valve casing, numbers facing to the mouthpiece. (1 closest to the mouthpiece, 3 closest to the bell)

9. Use a soft polishing cloth to shine up your trumpet! 

Valve Oil:

http://www.musicroom.com/se/id_no/011674/details.html

Slide Grease:

http://www.musicroom.com/se/id_no/0421416/details.html

Snake Brush:

http://www.musicroom.com/se/id_no/0340152/details.html

Mouthpiece Brush:

http://www.musicroom.com/se/id_no/0404752/details.html

A Recommended Read...

Sound The Trumpet - How to Blow Your Own Horn by Jonathan Harnum is an excellent book for any trumpet player, beginner or advanced.

The book not only explains how to play the trumpet, it includes exercises, recommended music, recommended reading, a history of the trumpet and much, much more!

The book has a friendly layout with diagrams and pictures, which would make it attractive to younger players.The book has much recommended repetoire for beginner to advanced players and includes both classical and jazz. It also has suggested audition pieces, perfect for anyone auditioning for a band or music college. It includes useful information on practising and cleaning the trumpet which is easy to understand. The exercises are similar to some found in the arban, but simplified.

The book is avaliable for £13.40 on Amazon and is even avaliable on Kindle for £6.32

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sound-Trumpet-Blow-Your-Horn/dp/1450590187/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349719315&sr=1-1

John Packer Cornet Review - Excellent Value for Money!

I recently purchased the John Packer JP271SW cornet in lacquer. I wanted a cheap cornet to use for a brass band I was joining. John Packer was a brand that I had never previously heard of (I usually go for yamaha) however I was attracted to this cornet in my local music shop as it was the only one with triggers (a feature which you see on much more expensive models) and because of the low price tag. Overall I am impressed, the cornet itself looks a lot more expensive that it is, the triggers work well and has a lovely sound.

 One thing I would say is that the valves could be a little better - they aren't as smooth as some of the yamaha models I tried and feel a bit cheap, however they do the job. The mouthpiece that it comes with is perfectly adequate. 

The case that it comes with has a pocket for music on the front, backpack straps, a shoulder strap, space inside for mutes etc and a space for one mouthpiece. The only problem with the case is that while the backpack straps can be tucked into the pocket on the back for storage, the big plastic clips they attach to remain on the bottom of the case. This means that the case does not lie flat, but this really isn't a big problem.

Clips which mean the case doesn't lie flat

Currently on the John Packer website this cornet is priced at £349. 

 http://www.johnpacker.co.uk/Catalogue/Brass/Cornet/Bb-Cornet/Midrange-Professional/JP271SW-Cornet---Lacquer-or-Silverplate

I would defiantely recommend this cornet if you want to save a bit of money!

Video Review on my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyZCveGILtk&feature=youtu.be