The “Slammer” Problem
Brass musicians, notably trumpet players, can be introduced to large amounts of pressure in the head and eyes when playing their instruments. These stresses are often amplified when the posture is changed from a neutral setting, such as with marching band. Many novice to intermediate players experience intense pressure headaches, often called “Slammers” that can cause disorientation, extreme pain, blurry vision, and even blacking out.
Brass musicians who continually experience these pains are at risk of injury, and are far less likely to continue playing their instruments. Without a solution to reduce “Slammers”, many musicians will continue to endure extreme and disorienting pain when making music, and/or reach a breaking point.
Our Solution!
Marchy is a device that aims to reduce certain stresses in brass players during performance: a flexible and compliant adapter between the mouthpiece and the shank of the instrument.
Marchy allows the mouthpiece and the horn to sit at different angles; the player’s head and neck remains neutral, while the horn sits 10° above parallel, or wherever specified.
This innovation does not require any expensive or risky instrument modification whatsoever, just place between mouthpiece and shank, tune in for added length, go play!
Marchy Showcase Video
Performance Demonstration
Myself and two local pro trumpet players demonstrate the ability to play a technical excerpt using Marchy after only 5 minutes of acclimation
Torture Testing: See how Marchy was tested!
Click Here!
FAQs/Concerns:
How will this affect the sound?
Marchy will have a small but measurable impact on the tone quality of the instrument, as it introduces a soft joint in between the mouthpiece and the leadpipe; where the majority of an instrument’s tonality comes from. This impact, however, will seldom be noticeable in an environment where power, projection, and consistently loud dynamics are necessary, such as marching band or pep band.
Why not make it out of brass?
Brass is a very workable and pliable metal, but it has very low fatigue resistance and relatively low strength. Similar to unfolding a paperclip, brass can bend once or twice, but bend it more than that, and it will break apart. The purpose of a compliant joint is to be able to withstand thousands of bends, something brass is unable to do. Despite the instruments and mouthpieces being made of brass, they are quite fragile, and require servicing to maintain functionality.
Will this work for all brass instruments?
Marchy will come in a variety of sizes to fit the following instruments: trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, mellophone, mellophone w/horn mouthpiece, small-shank trombone/baritone, large-shank trombone/euphonium, and tuba/contrabass.
Can I use any mouthpiece that fits my horn?
Marchy is sized to fit most instruments and mouthpiece shanks, but the use of heavy-weighted mouthpieces, such as Bach’s Megatone mouthpieces is discouraged. These heavyweight mouthpieces can cause Marchy to wear down and exhibit excess fatigue on the product.
Will I play out of tune?
Marchy adds a small amount of tube length to an instrument, which requires the tuning slide to be pushed in a small distance. Most horns have excess wiggle-room built into the tuning slide making this adjustment possible. It is always imperative to tune the instrument with a tuner or with the ensemble prior to use.