View Poll Results: What Instrument (not including the Recorder) did you start your musical career with?

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  • Trumpet or a variation (Including Cornet)

    78 32.23%
  • French Horn/ Mellophone

    7 2.89%
  • Trombone (including Bass, and Tenor ones)

    27 11.16%
  • Baritone/Euphonium

    78 32.23%
  • Sousaphone/Tuba

    7 2.89%
  • Anyother Brass instrument

    2 0.83%
  • Flute or a variation (Including Piccolo)

    7 2.89%
  • Oboe or a variation (including Bassoon)

    0 0%
  • Clarinet or a variation (including basset horn)

    12 4.96%
  • Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone (Bari) Saxophones

    6 2.48%
  • Anyother Woodwind instruments

    0 0%
  • Percussion instruments

    4 1.65%
  • String Instruments (including guitar and the orchestral strings)

    14 5.79%
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Thread: What instrument did you start your musical career on?

  1. #61
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Near Bonn, Germany
    Posts
    6
    Thanks John, for your good wishes.
    I don't play the trombone that much right now, with the recital in view. But as soon as that is done, I'll have more lessons to get more used to the positions. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 are sort of OK, the others are difficult and high g on 2- doesn't speak well.
    The recital is the yearly student recital of my teacher's trumpet and euph students, in a small concert hall which has 200-300 seats. So the audience will be co-students, parents and grand-parents, or in case of the adult students partners and kids. Maybe 50-70. I used to suffer from stage fright with my guitar, but I am fairly optimistic about this recital.
    Liuto

    P.S. As you will haved noticed, the euphonium is almost unheard of in Germany, or it was. We traditionally use the baritone horn, with a much narrower bore. It can sing, but is not nearly as mellow as the euph. This has changed a bit in the past decade. My teacher has three euphonium students, no baritone horn.
    Last edited by Liuto; 10-11-2019 at 12:13 PM.

  2. I find it very interesting how I started on trumpet/cornet way back when (early 70s) and converted to "baritone" whereas my youngest daughter started on euphonium in 5th grade.
    Weril H980 euph
    Besson 4v comp euph 314xxx
    Besson 3v comp euph 455xxx
    King 3v bari. 20xxx
    King 4v double-bell euph 50xxx
    Conn 5v double-bell euph 355xxx
    Buescher 3+1 double-bell euph 285xxx
    Olds bell-front 3v bari
    Holton alto horn
    Holton 3v tuba
    Belleville Helicon
    Some of the performances of the Mid-Shore Community Band:
    http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...ty%20band&sm=3

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Intermountain West in USA
    Posts
    141
    It might be a bit of an exaggeration to refer to "my musical career", but anyway, I started on piano while in grade school, quitting after a year and a half, but actually it was a good foundation. In junior high I started baritone horn (i.e. American-style euphonium) and played for a year and a half, then switched to cornet for a year and a half, then back to baritone for one year of high school. Years later I picked up the recorder and played that a bit, and then violin, neither of which I was very good at, but it was fun. Later I played a little banjo (clawhammer style, and then a bit of four-string banjo.) Now I am going back to euphonium, which was probably my best instrument.

    I liken the euphonium to the tight end in football. Just as in football the tight end (in my opinion, or possibly the linebacker) best exemplifies the widest range of skills and roles that the player fills, the the euphonium serves the widest range of roles in the band, including, at various times, a rythmic role, a fanfare role, a harmony role, a counter melody role, a lead melody role, and a soloist role. This applies to most instruments to one degree or another, but to the euphonium most of all. (Paradoxically, it does all of this while having probably the lowest profile of any insrument in the band in terms of public recognition.)

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Intermountain West in USA
    Posts
    141
    Quote Originally Posted by John Morgan View Post
    ...I have lived in Germany three different times for a total of almost 9 years. The last time I was there, I lived east of Nuremburg in a little town called Weiherhammer...
    My grandmother was born in Nuremberg. Her mother was born in Leinburg, which is about 20km from Nuremberg, and my grandmother's father was born in Oberredwitz, which is, I believe, now part of the town or Marktredwitz, which looks to be within walking distance of the Czech border, if "walking distance" is taken to mean 18 or 20km. On the map Weirhammer looks to be about halfway between Leinburg and Marktredwitz
    Last edited by massmanute; 01-13-2020 at 03:40 AM.

  5. I started as a clarinet player. My clarinet career hit the skids in sixth grade when an orthodontist told my parents that I would need braces if I stayed with it (hey, it was the early ‘60’s). If I switched to a brass instrument, all would apparently be well, at least dentally, so I switched to baritone- an Olds Ambassador.

    When I got to high school I encountered marching band. Much love and respect to those of you who love/loved it but I loathed every minute. At the end of my freshman year I told the band director that I looked forward to concert band next year but didn’t want to march. He said, no marching, no concert band. My solution was to learn trombone over the summer and play in the orchestra. I stayed with trombone all through college and didn’t return to euphonium until well into adulthood when the threat of having to march was no longer an issue.

  6. My parents took me to the choose-your-instrument-day at school the summer before sixth grade. We all assumed I'd choose something small to go with my stature, so I started on clarinet. I hated the way it tickled my mouth, so I tried flute. I couldn't even produce a sound! I wouldn't play trumpet because my brother did, and I didn't like how the French horn sounded. I surely don't have the rhythmic talent for percussion, and one of the boys who picked trombone really aggravated me. Then I tried an old Conn 3-valve baritone, and it was like Goldilocks trying Baby Bear's porridge. Juuuust right.

    My parents didn't believe I'd stick with such a large instrument, but I loved it immediately and never considered anything else. Well, my band director quickly upgraded me to a YEP-321, but you know what I mean.
    Wessex Dolce

    "Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones." - Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair"

  7. #67
    Very disappointed because of the cello. Why was she not singled out as a single instrument in the survey, but porsto was assigned to the orchestral. Since childhood I have a passion for this instrument and will buy one for my daughter when the academic year starts

  8. #68
    Quote Originally Posted by Blessed View Post
    Very disappointed because of the cello. Why was she not singled out as a single instrument in the survey, but porsto was assigned to the orchestral. Since childhood I have a passion for this instrument and will buy one for my daughter when the academic year starts
    I'm not sure why you would expect to see much talk of cello here - we are focused on euphonium and tuba mostly. Do you also play brass (or perhaps other family members)?
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  9. #69
    though considering how often we play cello pieces, maybe it should have a place
    "Never over complicate things. Accept "bad" days. Always enjoy yourself when playing, love the sound we can make on our instruments (because that's why we all started playing the Euph)"

    Euph: Yamaha 642II Neo - 千歌音
    Mouthpiece: K&G 4D, Denis Wick 5AL

    https://soundcloud.com/ashsparkle_chika
    https://www.youtube.com/user/AshTSparkle/

  10. #70
    In retrospect, I do wish I had started cello my soph year in HS, rather than starting double bass my senior year, just so I could get some orchestra experience. Cello and euph? Good pairing, I would say.

    D
    David Bjornstad

    1923 Conn New Wonder 86I, Bach 6 1/2 AL
    2018 Wessex EP100 Dolce, Denis Wick 4ABL
    2013 Jinbao JBEP-1111L, Denis Wick 4AM
    2015 Jinbao JBBR-1240, Denis Wick clone mouthpiece of unknown designation
    Cullman (AL) Community Band (Euph Section Leader)
    Brass Band of Huntsville (2nd Bari)

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