BRASS
Stuart Retallack is the trumpet player , keyboardist , and vocalist in the indie-folk-rock group Sun K . The band is currently working on their sophomore album with producer Cone McCaslin ( Sum 41 ), the follow up to their well-received debut , Northern Lies .
For more information , visit www . sunkofficial . com .
By Stuart Retallack
Electrify Your Horn
How often do you go to a rock and roll show and hear trumpet ?
If a rock band does have horns , they are usually in a supporting role . But why should the guitar players get all the glory ? My goal as a rock and roll trumpet player is to use my jazz and neosoul roots to be just as versatile and attention-grabbing as a lead guitarist . And it works ! With my band Sun K , I pick up my horn and the audience instantly goes crazy . To get those sounds that make the crowd respond , I use effects pedals to “ electrify ” my trumpet .
Influence I started playing trumpet when I was 12 . Early on , I got into jazz and great players like Freddie Hubbard , Kenny Dorham , Art Farmer , and especially Miles Davis . One of my first trumpet teachers was Brownman Ali , who is an absolute monster on the horn and an innovator of the electric trumpet . Brown studied with Randy Brecker in New York , applying wild filter , wah , and octave effects to his trumpet sound while playing in many styles . For example , he toured with Guru ’ s Jazzmatazz , Paul Simon , Nas , Beyoncé , and Missy Elliott , as well as writing for and fronting a ridiculous number of his own projects that range from traditional jazz to latin to freestyle-rap jungle jazz and jazzfunk fusion . Brown ’ s music has been a huge influence on my trumpet playing and use of trumpet effects in particular .
I ’ ve also been obsessed with Roy Hargrove ’ s RH Factor for years . Roy ’ s use of envelope filters and delay effects on his trumpet is central to his neo-soul sound , and his recent work on Kendrick Lamar ’ s To Pimp A Butterfly is a great example of electrified trumpet in creative and innovative settings . So when I started playing with Sun K , it felt natural to bring my effects
30 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN rig into songwriting sessions and find a way to fit electric trumpet into Sun K ’ s rock sound .
Going Electric These days , the term “ rock music ” covers a wide variety of styles and sounds . Whether the song demands Rolling Stones-style horn section shots or a Beirutesque lead melody on flugelhorn , versatility is a key skill of rock trumpet . With my pedal board , I ’ ve tried to give myself the tools to craft authentic , great-sounding tones that fit into the “ sonic concept ” of a wide range of songs . For example , on an average night playing with Sun K , I ’ ll have trumpet parts in songs that sound like Neil Young country , Strokes-y lo-fi rock , and our own weird take on folk , vintage , and modern rock .
Ultimately , a horn player is only as good as the parts she or he writes . Listening to trumpet in lots of different genres , and then stealing , blending , and applying those diverse approaches has helped me write music that feels relevant to my life and the contemporary Canadian music scene . That ’ s the biggest reason I admire Miles . He was never content to play in an established style – even a style that he helped to create – and instead he brought together old and new musical ideas to create something fresh and innovative . That ’ s my aim when I play electric trumpet with rock bands ; I want to find sounds and parts that have never been heard before , but still make sense within the song .
Stuart ’ s Set-Up To get these sounds , I use a combination of vocal and guitar effects pedals . I play a Jerry Callet Sima trumpet with an Audio-Technica ATM350 clip-on condenser mic . That runs into a TC-Helicon Vocal Harmony-M pedal , which I use to generate harmonies , “ double ” my horn , provide phantom power and a high-quality preamp for the condenser mic , and add a quick slap echo . The harmonizer is manually controlled via MIDI with a small keyboard controller attached to my trumpet that I play with my left hand . That way I can go beyond set intervals and play more complex harmony parts .
From there , the signal runs into a tube preamp that adds warmth and boosts the level to work better with guitar pedals . Then the signal chain goes Wounded Paw Battering Ram Overdrive / Fuzz to MXR Blue Box Octave Fuzz ( used by Mike “ Maz ” Maher of Snarky Puppy ) to Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Wah to Source Audio Lunar Phaser to Boss RC20XL Looper to Ernie Ball Stereo Volume / Pan ( converts mono into stereo and I use it to pan left / right , which is an audience-pleaser at bigger venues ) to TC Electronic Flashback Delay ( using the tape echo ) to TC Electronic Hall Of Fame Reverb to Radial PRO2 Stereo DI .
The danger of having so many tones and effects is the temptation to overuse them . If I could give one piece of advice on playing electric horns in a rock band , it would be to use effects tastefully . A natural-sounding trumpet is often the best choice , with just some reverb and delay . Putting lots of effects on the sound gets muddy fast when there are distorted guitars and loud drums on stage .
And while the control of doing my own effects is great , it limits the amount of trumpet I can get in the monitors before feeding back because the monitor signal is so wet . Getting all the gain stages and effects settings right takes experimentation , practice , and lots of playing ( and messing up ) live .
So get out there , borrow or steal some pedals from your guitarist friends , and find your electric trumpet sound !