Denis Wick: 4 Foolproof Steps for Testing Your New Mouthpiece
Mouthpiece trials can be a dangerous sport! While Denis Wick don’t suggest wearing a helmet, there are some steps you can take that will protect the sensitive area of your lips and muscles from damage. Follow the steps below and you should be able to walk out of your trial session unscathed and hopefully with a new mouthpiece!
Always begin your mouthpiece trial with the question: What is the best sound I have ever heard – the one I want to sound like? Does the mouthpiece require you work or adjust to get that sound? Or does the mouthpiece automatically create your best sound? A mouthpiece that immediately creates the right sound is going to be your best option.
Determine what diameter works best for you, and choose a selection of 3-4 different mouthpieces that use or are very similar to this diameter. Need a good suggestion? Click here.
Using a familiar scale, start in the middle register and then explore your range, both high and low, loud and soft. Do you have to adjust anything to get your best sound?
Using the same scales, tests the articulation in all registers both loud and soft, legato, staccato, etc. Do you have to adjust to get your best sound?
Use lip intervallic slurs to focus on the tuning of the mouthpiece. Do you have to adjust to maintain your best sound?