Page 14 - BUZZ Magazine - Issue No. 3 - Summer 2022 | University of Rochester

FAVORITE SPACES

A box of mutes. Made of brass, metal, fiber, or cardboard, mutes come in a variety of shapes
to elicit different musical sounds. Straight mutes have a distinctively nasal sound and are used
in both classical and jazz. Harmon mutes—also called wah-wah mutes—were a favorite of Miles
Davis (a favorite of Smith's). Plunger mutes make a similar wah-wah sound and can be easily
sourced. Go into any hardware store, purchase a standard rubber sink plunger, and just put a
hole in the center of it to complete your mute.

The mouthpiece
graveyard. Overseen
by a blue-haired troll,
these mouthpieces
rest on a musical altar
of sorts atop Smith’s
classic rolltop desk.
The mouthpieces either
were left behind by
students or just
lost their luster over
the years.

TUNE IN

Smith hears music everywhere: in the hum of a car engine, in the
drizzling rain, and even in the thoughts that play over and over in his
head—like when he misplaced a friend’s book and kept thinking to
himself: “Dammit Walpole, I ain’t got your book.” That phrase inspired
a tune that he and the Freedom Trio recorded a few years ago. Give
it a listen and see if you can hear the words beneath the notes.

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY
uofr.us/listen-FreedomTrio