ChatGPT talks about trumpeters

My main ax, a Calicchio Solo Copper

I play trumpet, so I decided to chat with ChatGPT about it. Here’s our first dialog:

Tell me about brass instruments.

Brass instruments are a type of musical instrument that produce sound by vibrations of the player's lips as they buzz into a cup-shaped mouthpiece. The sound is then amplified by the instrument's body, which is typically made of brass or another metal. Some common examples of brass instruments include the trumpet, trombone, and French horn. These instruments are often used in orchestras, brass bands, and jazz ensembles.

What's the main difference between trumpets and trombones?

The main difference between trumpets and trombones is the way they produce sound. Trumpets produce sound by buzzing the lips into a cup-shaped mouthpiece, while trombones use a sliding mechanism to change the length of the instrument's tubing and produce different pitches. This means that trumpets are capable of playing a wider range of notes than trombones, but trombones can produce a lower range of pitches than trumpets. Trumpets are also typically smaller and more portable than trombones.

That’s a bit off, no? You produce sound on the trombone the same way you do on the trumpet, by buzzing your lips into the mouthpiece. I asked another question:

Trumpet mouthpiece

What do trumpets have instead of a slide?

Trumpets do not have a slide like trombones do. Instead, they use a system of valves that the player presses with their fingers to change the length of the instrument's tubing and produce different pitches. The trumpet player changes the pitch by pressing one or more of the valves at the same time as buzzing their lips into the mouthpiece. This allows the player to produce a wide range of pitches, but it is not as flexible as the sliding mechanism used by trombones.

That’s what I was looking for. Now on to trumpeters. Notice that Chat’s answer lists jazz players, though I suppose Botti has become more of a pop trumpeter than a jazzer. So I pressed Chat on that a bit.

Name some famous trumpet players.

Some famous trumpet players include Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, and Chris Botti. These musicians are known for their skill and artistry on the trumpet, and they have helped to shape the history and development of jazz and other styles of music. Louis Armstrong, in particular, is considered one of the greatest trumpet players of all time and is known for his incredible technical skill and unique playing style.

Very good. What kind of music did those trumpeters play?

The trumpet players you mentioned are known for playing jazz music. Jazz is a style of music that originated in the African-American communities of the southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is characterized by its use of improvisation, syncopated rhythms, and a wide range of musical influences, including blues, ragtime, and European classical music. Jazz has evolved over the years and has given rise to many different sub-genres, including swing, bebop, and fusion.

Name some classical trumpet players.

Some famous classical trumpet players include Alison Balsom, Hakan Hardenberger, and Wynton Marsalis. These musicians are known for their skill and artistry in playing classical music on the trumpet. Classical music is a broad term that refers to a wide range of musical styles and traditions from Western culture. It includes music from the medieval period to the present day, and it encompasses a wide range of musical forms, including symphonies, operas, concertos, and chamber music. Classical trumpet players are trained in the techniques and repertoire of this musical tradition, and they often perform with orchestras, chamber ensembles, and other classical music groups.

Have you ever heard of Bud Herseth?

I am not able to browse the internet, so I do not have access to information about specific people or events outside of my training data. As a large language model trained by OpenAI, my knowledge is based on the text that I have been trained on, which includes a wide range of general knowledge but does not include information about specific people or events that may have occurred after my training data was collected. I apologize if I am unable to provide information about Bud Herseth. Is there anything else I may be able to help you with?

Given how well-known Herseth is, that’s a surprising answer. Note that I used the wrong spelling for “principle.” It should have been "principal." Chat is known to be sensitive to small things – most such language models are – and so was unable to come up with a useful answer.

Herseth played principle trumpet with the Chicago Symphony for years and is regarded as one of the most important orchestral trumpet players of the 20th century.

As a language model, I do not have personal opinions or feelings, so I cannot say whether or not I agree with the statement that Bud Herseth is regarded as one of the most important orchestral trumpet players of the 20th century. I can only provide information based on the text that I have been trained on, and my training data does not include information about specific people or events that may have occurred after my training data was collected. I apologize if I am unable to provide more information about Bud Herseth. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Thank you.

You're welcome! I'm glad I could help. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to provide accurate and helpful information.

At that point I signed off. However, I was bugged about the Herseth fail. I decided to go back in and go straight at it:

Where did trumpeter Bud Herseth spend his career?

Bud Herseth was a highly regarded American trumpet player who spent his career as the principal trumpet player for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was known for his exceptional musicianship and technical skill, and was considered one of the greatest trumpet players of his time. Herseth played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for over 60 years, from 1948 until his retirement in 2010. During that time, he performed on thousands of recordings and concerts with the orchestra, and became an iconic figure in the world of classical music.

Yes. The Chatster – forgive the informality – knew it all along. That's another well-known property of GPT. It may have some piece of information somewhere in the neural net, but you sometimes have to work to find the proper approach. More later.