FHB wrote
They said I have a good sound, they could tell I can sing because my ability to hear pitches (trying to steer clear of perfect pitch threads), they said I have good hair pressure and a professional sound.....
The issue of hair pressure has not been raised on the list recently. Since the horn is a naturally curly instrument, it is important to avoid too much hair pressure. It is important that we middle aged males not evercompensate for increased hair loss by increasing the pressure on the (few) remaining follicles.
When I studied with Fillipo Farkas at the Oberlin Beauty College of Music, he showed me an effective way to reduce hair pressure. You put a wig on a shelf, and then push against it with your embouchure. You should be able to play all the way through Kopprasch No. 32 without flipping your wig. Not only will this reduce the number of split attacks, but it is dynamite against split ends, too.
Gotta go,
Cabbage