Would learning Baritone Saxophone destroy my euphonium embouchure?

[Simon]

Title.

[ghmerrill]

I've been waiting for someone with experience to answer this, and I think it deserves some kind of answer. I think the lack of response to your question is equivalent to "Why would you think it would negatively affect your euphonium embouchure?"

Personally, I believe that concern about playing one instrument and having it negatively affecting how you play another is (so far as I can see) entirely speculative and without empirical foundation. There may be something to it in individual cases (depending on physical attributes and problems of an individual player), but that would have to be determined in the individual case. There are just too many people who play multiple instruments (and do it well) to give much credence to this sort of fear. I know of at least a couple of people who are primarily tuba players and double on Bari sax (it's a great double).

It's kind of like asking "Would learning to throw the javelin destroy my performance with the discus?" Uh, no.

At least that's my two cents.

[davewerden]

Thanks, Gary. The reason I thought answers may be suppressed is the one-word body text of "Title." It took me a while to figure out what this post was up to. I actually thought it was a mistake when I first saw it.

Once I figured out what was going on, I was pretty sure that someone would speak up based on actual experience. It would be an unusual double, but we have a pretty diverse group here with lots of different experience.

As for me, I don't think it would interfere, but I am really just guessing.

[DaveBj]

This isn't really going to answer the question, because the experience was a long time ago, and it was really short-term. In high school band at the end of the school year, when we weren't really working on anything significant, my friend (bari sax) and I would swap axes for the day. I liked playing bari sax, and more significantly I didn't experience anything about the set of my mouth around the sax mouthpiece that felt like it would damage my euph embouchure.

[JakeGuilbo]

(non serious answer)
In some ways it might be able to enhance it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4jpkXDfzo8

And vice versa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3scUVYmiSxg

[davewerden]

That's fun! I have tried the first method one day while we were in an endless wait for a parade to start. It was an awesome sound, but I think I used a tenor sax. I'll have to check with Adams, but Brian may have voided the Adams warranty!

One could argue the second method improved the sax's sound

[RickF]

[snip]

One could argue the second method improved the sax's sound

My thoughts exactly. Maybe the bari-sax has been using the wrong mpc all these years. Using this approach would DEFINITELY not interfere with one's euph embouchure.