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I played tuba in elementary school. Now it is about 30 years later and I'm learning to write.

I'm starting to feel compelled to at least dabble with performance while learning to write. My budget is very limited though, I could probably sneak 200 USD out of the family budget. Not enough for even a working used student euphonium.

I've been reading Cecil Forsyth's "Orchestration" and while reading the brass section, it struck me that a trombone is probably mechanically less expensive than valved brass. And has a nice sized mouthpiece (I tried trumpet after college, but the mouthpiece was too small).

While researching trombone, I read an aeticle suggesting to move peopld from flute to tuba if needed, as the breathing is similar. That made me wonder if a tuba player could learn flute. I've seen reputable brands of both used student flutes and trombones in my budget.

As far as my tuba ability was, I could play Reveille, starting from Bb below the bass clef, which means I must have had at least 5 valveless pitches. Are the buzzes from that Bb and the F just under the bass clef used for tenor trombone?

I did just purchase soprano recorders for myself and my 5 year old (ok, ok, 4 until a few days from now) daughter. Also, I've been working out some rhythmic structures with a pair of sticks and a plastic bucket.

Any thoughts on trombone or flute for me?

Tenor trombone is an octave higher than tuba.

Flute is roughly two octaves higher than tuba. I played flute for a while, but ... why? Listen to someone playing real high on a flute -- not low register stuff that only comes out in solo performance, I'm talking about high above the treble clef -- and imagine working real hard to sound "good" up there. If that sounds like you, go for it.

Both instruments will take a lot of work to learn and won't be much direct help with composing or arranging. What do you think about a cheap electric keyboard? Check for MIDI instrument functionality, which you could plug into many computer software musical notation editors, for note entry and playback.

I can tell you that US $200 might be enough to find a used student horn, but there are lots of chances at finding dogs. Since it would be a used student horn, you might end up getting a horn that has been beat up, not well maintained, etc. If you can play test, you'll be able to avoid that, but as you don't play the horn yet, it will be hard to tell. You could find a local teacher and pay them for their help, but that will likely put a trombone out of range for you.

While it seems like trombone would be mechanically less expensive, because its so finicky to having perfect alignment, the labor cost in making one play well is higher, so that can end up negating any difference in price compared to trumpet, etc. And, trumpet's (even more so than trombones and other lower brass) benefit from the scaling of building, which helps drive down costs per horn, so they can sometimes be cheaper for a similar quality instrument.

I'd advocate for a cheap keyboard. Here's one for less than $200 - http://www.guitarcenter.com/Williams/Le ... l-Piano.gc" target="_blank - and, that will help immensely with your composing - being able to hear voicings will help you determine if they might work (it still sounds different with a brass group playing the same voicing vs a piano, so there will be a learning curve there, but it's a start, and most composers use a piano at some point in the process for that reason).

The keyboard will allow you to play cords with more then two notes. Most have a variety of voices to use as well.
The learning curve on the trombone will be the shortest for you. After you play the recorder for a while, you will have a easier time with the flute. Saxophone will be in your grasp as well. If you wish to do vocal music, a guitar is a easy thing to pick up. All of the above will require a lot of time to get to performance level, unless you do not care about how bad you play. If that is the case, be sure you get an unbreakable tip jar.

Charlie C. Chowder