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Depends on why you switched in the first place. I started on trumpet, moved to euphonium, and then was lucky enough to find a really fine tuba teacher, so I switched to tuba. (the school restricted his students to tuba only , and I was getting tired of well-meaning trombone teachers having me work on "smile" chops for euphonium). When I got the hang of no-pressure, my chops on the other brass instruments actually improved greatly, and for me things got hugely better everywhere. My sister even had me play trumpet at her wedding. I gotta go with HeliconMan, if you're doing it right and you're doing it often enough, why not?

Yes it is possible. I'm primarily a tuba and bass trombone player with more occasional tenor trombone and baritone, but my hobby is playing trumpet ala maynard ferguson. It has taken YEARS to get completely used to the embouchure switch in a short amount of time. It has always been easy to go from trumpet to tuba, but upon picking up the trumpet again the lips feel like mush and the trumpet mouthpiece feels absolutely tiny. The secret is to switch back and forth very often, every minute or two, while you practice. It ruins your sound on both instruments at first, but with time the change becomes less and less drastic. Once I was somewhat used to the switch, I practiced mainly on trumpet and only touched the tuba once a week, yet my ability to play the tuba was the same and perhaps improved by playing it as though it were a trumpet (the notes come out faster for what I'm sure are purely psychological reasons).

What really kills me is trying to play bass trombone for a while and then switching to trumpet. Bass trombone is just so physically demanding and the lips take such a pounding as they flap together that the inner muscles that you use to control the trumpet swell up. When you play trumpet with swollen lips the high notes run together instead of centering, which can sound pretty good for certain things, but you never quite know what is going to come out of the horn when you blow.

I saw James Morrison perform at the IAJE convention here in Long Beach last January. What an amazing talent he is! He played the best trumpet AND trombone solos that I heard at the convention. He also sat down at the piano to accompany a vocalist, and I know he plays just about every other instrument there is with equal ability.

-Eric

Eric,

I read your post about different brass instruments.

To begin, I've been strictly tuba/sousaphone, although in the 4th grade when everyone was trying out instruments, the director gave me a trumpet, then a trombone. I wished he would have gone further with tuba for then I might have learned it back then.

I wanted to ask you and any other multiple players what is it like playing a trumpet with a smaller mouthpiece? Is the buzzing more tighter and easier compared to the tuba?

Hank74

According to a source who was there, John Fletcher played a horn concerto quite beautifully with a university orchestra the night before he won the audition with LSO, so it seems it can be done.

I seem to do ok with horn and tuba; I do refrain from tuba when I have an important morning horn rehearsal the next day; it's from the same thing Shockwave said about bass trombone....something seems to swell up a little and the horn embouchure doesn't work well until it un-swells. It's from the flapping, apparently, in the tuba mpc.

Recently I took up trumpet/cornet, and that doesn't seem to have messed anything up seriously yet (we're working up Bugler's Holiday for a fall performance) but I suppose it might.

Where I find problems is not in embouchure particularly but in air supply. I gave up on euph playing because the air supply is too close to what I need for the horn, and I clam every other note on horn if I've been playing euph. Since horn is more important to me, I chose it.

I have an upcoming performance that I'll be playing horn followed by a violin solo, but the horn embouchure is not interfering with the violin embouchure.

MA

Personally, I haven't done real well switching between tuba and baritone. One time in high school I went from 3 pieces on tuba to baritone. Of course, the first piece I played on baritone was a long duet with a trumpet. All I can say is 'yikes'. Same thing Mary Ann and Shockwave said - inner tissue all flapped out and when it came to hit that 4th octave b flat, ouch.

With regards to doubles, the only way to maintain a double is to practice it. I am a euphonium performer, but maintain a bass trombone double. If you expect a secondary instrument to be a viable one, then you have to put in the time. Not just playing a bit - but, you must work at it. No matter what the mouthpiece difference is, if you put in the time - then it will work for you.

There are simply too many good musicians out there - if you don't maintain your double, then there is someone out there who can.

I dont' tend to have any trouble playing euphonium and tuba, while my euphonium chops arent' anywhere near my tuba chops I can play it well enough to play our highschool's music.

Trumpet on the other hand, is very fustrating in the sense that I see the note, know the fingering, can hear the note in my mind.. and it doesn't want to come out, atleast not if i've been playing very long. Im one of htose who can pick up a trumpet and play aight for about the time it takes the rest of the trumpets to warm up and I am shot:)

i've always wished I had the ability I have on tuba, on trumpet..

Saw a guy in New Orleans play trumpet and valve bone clamped together.All he had to do was turn his head to the other mouthpiece.
I played rhythm guitar for 20 years and would solo on valve bone and/or trumpet.Later on I came to love slide trombone.Too much high bone would cause the lip to swell but a night of playing shots and solos was no problem on two horns.
Now after dentures,implants,I play tuba in bars with a trio.Trumpet solos are a nice change up in our sound but trumpet is a problem.I'm not sure what is going to come out of it at first.I have no lip or endurance but with 40 years experience I can make it sound nice for a short solo but it takes about four beats before the lip can relax enough to get the tuba going.I would like to do all my solos on tuba but the guys like the trumpet change up even if I do splatter a phrase,occasionally.
I agree with Mary Ann that a tuba/ trumpet embochure does not interfere with my Gibson guitar embochure.
Dennis Gray
Sing back up,your band buddies will love you for it.

I normally play tuba, but I picked up Trombone for Jazz band last year because we needed a 3rd trombone player. It was really hard last year to play concerts because I had to play both of them in the same concert and the stle of each was always so different. The thing that made it much more possible for me this year is when I practice I play on both horns every time, even if it is just a few notes, just so I have to make the trasition. It gets faster and easier the more you do it.

Ben