Holiday Gift Guide for Brass Musicians: Must-Have Tools for Practice and Performance

Selecting a really memorable and practical gift for brass musicians requires time and an understanding of what these people may need. If you want to help them improve their practice and performance but don’t know where to start, check out our holiday gift guide. 

What to Select for Brass Musicians for Practice and Performance?

Here you can find the list featuring must-have tools for trumpeters, trombonists, flugelhorn players, and other brass musicians to help them make their technique better and their music more emotional.

Deflector 

This device is a real must-have for musicians who regularly play live indoor and outdoor. Sometimes the stage monitoring leaves much to improve, which can lead to the poor-quality performance since the musicians don’t hear themselves well. With the deflector or sound mirror, musicians can hear sound better as the device redirects it toward ears, improving the quality of the concert. 

Made of acrylic with polyester legs, it easily clips onto the bell of the brass instrument and doesn't take much space when folded. In addition to the standard transparent option, we also offer deflectors with the US, UK, and UA flags. Alternatively, you can buy a sound mirror with a custom design. At KGUmusic website, you can find deflectors for trumpets and trombones in two options – models clipped onto the bell and models used with microphones on stands. 

Trumpet Mouthpiece Booster

This device adds weight to the mouthpiece, helping stabilize vibrations and making the produced sound more focused and centered. Literally, it impacts the sound waves and how they travel through the instrument. 

There are several options available, aimed at musicians of various skills. Lightweight models, designed to make playing more stable, fit trumpeters who have never used boosters before. Middle-weight boosters help achieve more stable higher notes and can meet needs of players who would like to have better balance between tone and control. Finally, heavy boosters offer maximum tonal depth, which works perfectly in orchestral and concert settings. 

Mute 

These leather accessories help bring muffled effects into the performance by absorbing high overtones, altering tonal quality and lowering the volume. By experimenting with the distance between the bell and the mute, musicians can play with various colors and emotions of their music. By incorporating different angles and depths of mutes, trumpeters and trombone players adjust pitch, loudness and timbre. 

Compared to mutes made from other materials, leather options add more warmth to the sound, helping achieve a velvety tone. Mutes are especially helpful for those who play lyrical passages or want to bring more nostalgic effects into their performance. Leather mutes also feature lightweight, durable and unbreakable construction, which makes them ideal for traveling musicians. 

Lip Buzzing Tool 

This tool helps resolve an issue with weak and inconsistent embouchure or the way musicians use facial muscles to produce tones. Badly trained embouchure leads to poor-quality performance with sloppy sound and increased fatigue. However, with an embouchure trainer, musicians can effectively exercise the lips and muscles needed for a correct embouchure, by building their strength. Regular exercises with this tool help improve tone control and play with ease as the musicians target better air flow. At our website you can buy an embouchure training device made of aluminum, offering high-quality resonance and durable design.  

Adaptors for French Horn, Flugelhorn, or Cornet Mouthpieces

These devices serve as bridges between the trumpet leadpipe and mouthpieces which are not designed to fit into the trumpet receiver. Adaptors adjust the shank size and taper of the French horn, cornet or a flugelhorn mouthpiece, allowing trumpeters to change their sound and play ballads or romantic passages without switching between two or more instruments. This means your friends or loved ones don’t need to take many instruments with them. 

Cleaning Kit 3 in 1: Aquae Nozzle, Care Towel and Storage Bag

A proper condition has a direct impact on how the brass instrument sounds. If you want to make the cleaning routine for brass players easier, consider selecting a practical gift featuring three essentials necessary for maintaining the instrument from the outside and inside. An Aqua Nozzle helps to remove dirt and particles from the inside of the instrument, while a microfiber towel is necessary to maintain its shiny appearance. And finally, a storage bag, made from flannel textile, offers a reliable place to keep the instrument protected from dust, moisture, and other external impacts.

Mute Adaptor For Quiet Practices 

Open brass instruments’ sound can be very loud, which can make practice at home the reason for conflicts with neighbors. However, with this adaptor, your friends and loved ones can enjoy playing or warm up without those risks. Compatible with all jazz wah-wah mutes, the device is installed into trumpet mute’s hole and provides excellent mute sound. Musicians can also easily adjust the sound balance and resistance by inserting the adaptor deeper or shallower into the mute. 

Optimizer

The problem of excessive pressure on lips isn’t only a beginner’s problem. Sometimes even seasoned musicians struggle with this habit because of the misconception about how to produce higher notes. To do it, players often press the mouthpiece tightly to the lips, which can lead to serious damage and bloody wounds over time. These wounds not only look terrible but also become the reason why musicians can take breaks from practices. If your friends also face this issue, you should consider choosing an optimizer as a gift for them. 

Optimizer works on a magnetic system that activates when the musician applies force. It allows the air column to escape, which interrupts the buzz and signals about excessive pressure. Practicing with this device, musicians can develop the habit of playing with less pressure and improve overall technique. Atr our website, you can buy these helpful devices for trumpeters and trombonists. 

Trumpet Buzz Master

This gift idea is essential for beginners who need to improve their skills and playing techniques. Buzz master is the device, consisting of three parts, which allow musicians to simulate playing the trumpet in high registers thanks to an insert part that adjusts the airflow. This buzz master is comfortable for practicing at home, on tours, and on vacations without actually having an instrument. 

Trim Kits 

These custom-made sets featuring finger buttons, valve stems, top and bottom valve caps, can improve both how the instrument sounds and looks. By selecting trim kits of various options – lightweight or heavy, musicians can add or reduce weight and thus improve responsiveness or reduce vibrations of the instrument. Featuring raw brass, silver, gold, antique bronze or copper lacquer, these components can significantly refresh the look of the trumpet. If you want to prepare a really impressive gift, consider buying trim kits with finger buttons encrusted with natural stones or 3D patterns from our Artistic series. 

Custom Brass Instrument 

Nothing can impress a demanding musician or a person in search of unique pieces for their collection than custom-made brass instruments. Featuring unique finishes, accessories and parts, they can offer enhanced sonic characteristics that can elevate the performance to a new level. You can select famous models of Bach Stradivarius with a vintage bronze finish, custom rings and heavy trim kits, Yamaha models featuring vintage patina and finger buttons with Tiger’s eye, or eye-catching models of flugelhorns that are the result of a collaboration between Taylor Trumpets and KGUmusic, featuring Taylor bells, our custom trim kits, and unique lacquer finishes. 

Conclusion 

Although selecting gifts for brass musicians can be a challenging task, with this list of ideas you can definitely buy a product that both impresses and helps them express themselves through their art with an improved playing technique, sonically and visually impressive instruments. 

You can find all these ideas and more options in the category of brass instruments and accessories. 

If you feel unsure about selecting a gift, check out our gift cards section to offer more freedom for your friends to choose the product they need.