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8 Best Trumpet Practice Mutes (Cheap to High-End)

As a trumpet player, you can naturally project notes with a loud volume.

This becomes a problem when you want to practice at home. Many trumpet players use practice mutes to play with a muted sound that won’t disturb their neighbors.

Let’s discuss the best practice mutes for trumpet players:

Here Are the Best Trumpet Practice Mutes:

When practicing at home, trumpet players often need mutes to decrease their trumpet’s volume without affecting tone or intonation. For this, the best practice mutes are the sshhmute, Nano, TrumCor, Jo-Ral, Denis Wick, Softone, ProTec, and the Yamaha Silent Brass System.

1. Sshhmute Practice Mute for Trumpet

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The sshhmute practice mute is a popular choice among trumpet players. Whenever you aren’t in a setting where playing full volume is possible, this tool can help decrease your sound output.

Some of the best professional brass players use sshhmute practice mutes. Renowned players like James Morrison, Joseph Alessi, and David Elton say that this mute is their #1 choice in practice mutes.

Trumpet players love the sshhmute because of its high-quality construction and durability. Because it is also lightweight, you can transport it very easily.

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Practice mutes are designed to cut down on volume without affecting tone or intonation. However, some practice mutes are more successful than others.

The sshhmute practice mute is highly reviewed as more free blowing than other mutes. It reduces a trumpet’s volume significantly but does not affect intonation.

Many practice mutes have the unfortunate side effect of making the upper register flat and the lower register sharp. With the sshhmute, you can avoid these problems.

At around $58, this is higher priced practice mute that is worth every penny.

2. Nano Warmup Mute

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A Nano mute is the perfect tool for players who don’t want to buy an expensive practice mute. This small device can be placed inside any Harmon mute, turning it into the ideal mute for practicing.

Most trumpet players complain that practice mutes make their sound dull and stuffy. This can lead to overblowing, which is not a good habit to develop.

A Nano mute retains the sound of a Harmon mute, making it easier to hear yourself play. It will still reduce volume significantly, but it will be more satisfying to the individual player.

All practice mutes add a great deal of resistance to airflow. However, playing with a Nano mute can feel similar to playing with a Harmon mute.

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The best part is its convenience. The Nano is a small device that easily transforms your Harmon mute into a practice mute, so you don’t have to struggle to make extra room in your case.

Nano mutes are inexpensive as well. For around $30, its price tag is significantly lower than most practice mutes.

To hear the sound comparison between the Nano mute, Harmon mute, and Yamaha silent brass system, check out this review by Chase Sanborn!

3. TrumCor Trumpet Super Stealth Mute

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TrumCor is a company that has paved the way for mute design. They have been producing mutes for all types of instruments over the last twenty years.

The TrumCor Trumpet Super Stealth Mute is well-known in the trumpet community for being one of the best practice mutes you can buy. Each of these mutes is hand-crafted in Tennessee, Maryland, and Texas using a resonant fiber material.

Because it has a fiber and wood construction, the TrumCor practice mute will provide a beautiful tone. Unlike other practice mutes that tend to dull tone and affect intonation, TrumCor solves many of these issues.

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The tone created by this practice mute is vibrant, warm, and responsive. It will preserve the timbre of your trumpet, even in the extreme levels of your register.

When trumpet players look for a practice mute, they want one that will decrease sound output without affecting tone. The TrumCor practice mute has excellent sound absorption but doesn’t tamper with the natural sound of your trumpet.

This practice mute costs around $45.

4. Jo-Ral Trumpet Practice Mute

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The Jo-Ral practice trumpet mute has a unique construction, made out of lightweight spun aluminum. This allows a specific acoustic design that maximizes tonal quality and intonation while cutting down on volume.

Jo-Ral constructed this practice mute after the classic style of a straight mute. It has a thick wall of aluminum, a black textured finish, and a rubber pad instead of a cork. This innovative design is ideal for reducing sound output without sacrificing tone.

The design of a straight mute with a cork was replaced with a rubber pad. This allows the mute to cut down more sound and last longer.

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When using a Jo-Ral practice mute, you can still practice normally without disturbing your neighbors.

You can achieve near-perfect intonation with this practice mute, unlike some other versions. In all registers, your sound will perform evenly without any muffling or intonation issues.

On Woodwind and Brasswind, the Jo-Ral trumpet practice mute is around $50.

5. Denis Wick Trumpet Practice Mute

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Although many practice mutes create a pitch, intonation, and resistance issues, the Denis Wick trumpet practice mute can allow you to play your normal practicing routine, just at a less audible level.

The Denis Wick practice mute looks very similar to a straight mute. The only difference is that it was designed to block nearly all sound rather than change its tone.

By using this mute, nearly all of your trumpet’s sound will be reduced. This is great for players who live in apartments or are staying at a hotel.

By simply placing the mute inside your bell, you can feel as if you are playing normally, but your neighbors won’t file a noise complaint.

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Even though the sound output is significantly reduced, you won’t notice any trouble sustaining a stable pitch. Because of this, intonation is also consistent in all registers.

The Denis Wick trumpet practice mute costs $50, and many reviewers claim its value is worth the price.

6. Softone Mute for Brass

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The Softone Mute for Brass is the perfect on-the-go practicing tool for trumpet players of all levels. It is lightweight, easy to use, and efficient in decreasing your sound.

This practice mute slides quickly and easily over the trumpet bell, creating a barrier that effectively decreases volume. It is used similarly to a bucket mute.

Inside the mute, there are four center inserts and sponge rings. You can remove any of the center inserts to specify the resistance level you prefer.

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With a Softone mute, you can achieve a soft, mellow sound. The soft neoprene material won’t block as much sound as the other options on this list, but it will decrease your volume while practicing.

Trumpet players who use Softone practice mutes mention that it offers little resistance, so you can feel like you are playing normally. Whenever you need to practice quietly, the Softone mute can help.

Priced at around $50, the Softone mute is in a similar price range to a standard practice mute.

7. ProTec ML203 Compact Practice Mute

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The ProTec ML203 Compact Practice Mute is a cheaper option for practicing quietly at home. Even though it has a lower price tag, this practice mute is constructed with high-quality materials and performs well.

ProTec constructed this practice mute with high-quality spun aluminum and a long-lasting cork. Its simple materials allow this tool to be value-priced.

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When trumpet players use a ProTec practice mute, they find that it is surprisingly free-blowing and well-balanced. In both their upper and lower registers, tone and intonation aren’t severely impacted.

With high-quality materials, craftsmanship, and playability, the ProTec ML203 Compact Practice Mute has great value for its low price. For only $40, this is an excellent tool for trumpet players,

8. Yamaha Silent Brass System

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The Yamaha Silent Brass System is the most expensive practice mute on this list, but for a good reason. This uses innovative technology to silence your trumpet, allowing you to practice anywhere and anytime.

Yamaha created this tool with a small, lightweight pickup mute that fits inside your trumpet bell. The pickup mute combines a great silencing practice mute with a microphone that picks up your sound.

The second part is the personal studio interface. There is a microphone in the mute that sends signals from your bell to the interface.

Your sound will be significantly reduced through this system, but you can use headphones to hear yourself playing.

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The interface also has different amounts of reverberation that it can add to your sound. The first setting simulates a concert hall, and the second is similar to a large room.

You can connect your phone to the interface, which you can use to listen to backing tracks. Using the Yamaha Silent Brass System allows you to practice along to music without disrupting your neighbor’s quiet home.

Although this is a very useful tool for practicing quietly at home, it is expensive. It costs around $180 on Woodwind and Brasswind.

Final Thoughts

Trumpets are known for their ability to be very loud. Although this is a great quality to have when playing in concerts, jazz bands, and marching bands, trumpet players often find it difficult to practice at home.

Practice mutes can solve this issue. These are designed to decrease sound output without creating issues in tone or intonation.

If your neighbors complain about the noise from your practice time, consider getting a practice mute like the sshhmute or the Yamaha Brass System. Other brands with high-quality mutes like Nano, TrumCor, Jo-Ral, Denis Wick, Softone, and ProTec.

Sources

What is the Best Trumpet Practice Mute? 

Buying Guide: Practice Mutes

Everything You Need to Know About Trumpet Mutes