I have to use mine to practice due to schedule as well. Not my favorite way to play, but sometimes its necessary. I also have one of those old bucket mutes with the cloth in it that muffles the sound but is open on the sides; I play that when it’s not too late/early as it keeps the sound from carrying but doesn’t stifle the air as much.

I do feel a need to play open more now with WindWOrks as my sound is kind of my guide to make sure I feel / sound open. Hard to tell how resonant I am with the mute in.

I honestly don’t think I’ve done the singing C exercises on the silent brass, but I have had success playing the WindWorks methods on it.

Interesting about overblowing, Bo–I recall a video I saw on YouTube from Lynn Nicolson regarding the opposite–using a practice mute to help overcome overblowing: