another off-shoot of another thread...

[tubatooter1940]

My third year of tuba I got interested in trumpet. I had a gig with a monastery pep band as a drummer. I had two hours a day I could spend playing ball or praying. I found a mint condition Olds trumpet nobody knew about. I had a dramatics hall to myself to practice in. I wanted to be Harry James and have ladies paltipating over me. I busted out of the monastery.
If you want to play trumpet, you have to marry the damn horn. Doc Severinsen would play ugly lip slurs and God knows what three hours a day and then a four hour gig most every night.
And NO KISSIN' WOMEN (a lot) or the chops turn to rubber.
You want to be like Satchmo and hit your "F" late in an eight hour gig, you gotta put in the time.
I got no business playing trumpet. I can sneak up on a high "C" if I don't warm up and can only be consistent to "G" for ten minutes-as bloke wrote.
I often ask my fellow Creekers if I need play only tuba and they think that if we play joints that have only had guitar bands for entertainment for the last 20 years, the more brass we throw at them, the better.

Dennis Gray
tubatooter1940
www.johnreno.com/

[KevinMadden]

I began on Trumpet in 5th grade.. was like 3rd chair thereabouts.

come 8th grade I was approached by my band director with a, "hey big guy, want to be awesome? play a bigger instrument!!!"

have not looked back

[Henry Gertcher]

I sometimes wonder if I should have taken up Euphonium. None of the problems of the slide yet nice sounding and you get to play some cool melodies.

I still play trumpet and trombone from time to time. Like most I can usually play trumpet for about 30-60 minutes before the chops give out. I have been seriously considering practicing the trombone and playing in a summer band this year. I will probably be awful but I think it will be fun.

Oddly enough I remember a few semesters in college where I was playing bass trombone in a quartet, tuba in the wind ensemble and covering euphonium when needed. I think I was almost equally awful on all but it was many years ago. I was practicing way too much to have classes.

Henry Gertcher

[ken k]

played trombone throughout hs and college. Only got into tuba seriously in college and then more seriously after college, since I found I could get more work on tuba than trombone....

k

[Steve Inman]

For some reason, as soon as I became proficient with tuba, I never had any wistful pangs, longing for the "good ole days" as a Jr. Hi. cornet player. I've always enjoyed tuba.


Cheers,