Due to a recent post on triggers and their usefulness and robustness, I am curious to know how others who have horns with triggers use them.
I would surmise there are two ways to use a trigger, namely proactive or reactive. Perhaps also proactive and reactive together would be a third methodology.
The proactive trigger user would give trigger to his horn prior to playing a note he/she suspected would be sharp. The reactive trigger user would apply trigger to a note once he/she heard the note and realized it was sharp. Both trigger-meisters should know any tendencies of their horn to play sharp, and which specific notes did play sharp, in any case.
I have watched David Childs when he plays. He seems to use the trigger frequently. He also seems to apply the trigger when he starts the note, anticipating that it will be sharp and applying the correction before the note sounds.
I tend to use the trigger when I find the note is not in tune to my liking.
Given the two different methods, it would seem that applying trigger first might be the better method if you had some level of certainty about what the pitch of the note was going to be (with and without the trigger). However, I hear the pitch I am aiming for prior to playing it (once I know the piece sufficiently well). So I tend to adjust if I am not satisfied with the note once I am playing it. And then, only on notes that are sustained for a while (long enough to hear if it is in tune or not).
So, how do you use the trigger? And if you have a euphonium with a trigger and do not use it, at least show it to others to impress them.