What should I do about intonation problems with my Bach Stradivarius trumpet?
Yes, I go with the previous answer, it could be your technique. From the physics point of view, if the intonation is correct for each of the three valves in the low register, then the upper notes, being harmonics of those notes, are guaranteed to be “true”. And that’s where a physics explanation stops – it “can’t happen”. But it does! And it’s not necessarily technique. When my son was learning the Tenor Horn, he bought a cheap starter model where the low notes were sharp. It looked identical to a more expensive model in size and shape, and that one was fine. How can this be? Well his brass teacher solved it in seconds – tried a different mouthpiece. We swapped to a Denis Wick mouthpiece and the problem went away.
