did you play any instruments before u played tuba?

[j1007hc]

4 yrs old - piano
3rd grade - Violin (only instrument we could learn, all 3rd graders played violin, the reasoning I remember was that 3rd graders did not have long enough fingers for flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, etc.)
4th grade - trumpet (I chose it because it looked cool, I rocked this in elementary school!)
6th grade - euphonium (played it because no one else did)
7th grade - tuba!

Tried going back to trumpet for jazz band in 9th grade while playing tuba... was not very successful with that. Picked up trombone along the way (more success with that). Now I play mainly tuba (F and C, and occasional Bb sousaphone) and double on euphonium and trombone. I still play piano, though not classical.

[k001k47]

Nope. Probably why I can't read music to save my life.

[Lew]

Everybody in my elementary school started on recorder in 3rd grade (I still have my wooden recorder from then, which is so much nicer than the plastic ones kids get today). Then I took up cello in 4th grade, I was about the same height as my teacher that year. There was an orchestra in the elementary and middle schools in our town and I played in a local youth orchestra (Lakeland Youth Symphony in North Jersey). The regional high school didn't have a string program so they took a look at me and suggested I should play tuba. I played cello in the youth symphony and tuba in the high school. When I got to college I didn't have time for both so stuck with tuba. I only played in college for my first year, then stopped playing for 18 years until I picked it up again 20 years ago. I didn't even consider trying to play cello again.

[hup_d_dup]

trumpet in high school/college

40 year break

trumpet again for 2 years

dental problems & braces

switch to tuba, now for a year and a half

when the braces come off I will start the trumpet again but will continue with tuba, which I believe will be my primary instrument from here on out

Hup

[imperialbari]

Yes!

[muttenstrudel]

Studied clarinet and saxophone as main instruments. Added flute and trombone during studies. Piano was a pain in the a** for me, but managed to get through. Then bagpipe, electric bass. Later added trumpet and tenorhorn (euphonium) for the Bläserklasse. Tuba came into my life in 2006. Latest instrument to fall in love with was the bass trombone.

[J.c. Sherman]

Everyone in my family is required to take piano for a year before playing anything else. At 10 years old, that was a weekly migraine for me (not kidding!).

Then played flute; I took lessons until college (and occasionally after); I still own three instruments and love it.

The early 80s were a bad, intolerant time to be a male flautist (f-you, I still say flautist). So I begged in 8th grade for "anything else". Was handed a "baritone" (YEP-211).

Then switched to horn. Learned trumpet.

Learned my sisters Clarinet.

Figured out saxophone.

Moved; band director asked "what do you play" and I said "what do you want?" I met my first YBB-103 then.

Many, many more instruments after that, and wasn't serious on the tuba (despite success - I had the same expectations of my tuba as I had for my flute - a damn happy accident!) until my Junior year in high school.

Flute, is a great companion to learning the tuba. It instills high ideals for legato, air, aperture, and technique. I still practice it.

[hbcrandy]

I started life as a clarinet/saxophone player and wanted to learn brass and bass clef before I got out of high school. I was given a Sousaphone and a fingering chart to take home. I took my first private lesson in 1975 from David Brgunier of the National Symphony. David referred me to his former student, Dan Brown, who had just won the Baltimore Symphony tuba seat for further lessons. I went to the Philadelphia Musical Academy/College of the Performing Arts (now University of the Arts) and studied with Paul Krzywicki. While in Philadelphia, I started sth study of Horn as a secondary instrument. After my time in Philadelphia, I studied with Warren Deck for two years in New York. I continuued to play horn and did free-lance work on both instruments.

[toobagrowl]

Took piano lessons briefly one summer during kindergarten. Started out on percussion in the 6th grade, but soon wanted to play a brass instrument. Switched to trombone the summer right before 7th grade started and practiced/took lessons. The band director then wanted tuba/sousaphone players, so one of the trombone players switched to tuba (sousaphone). I loved the deep, rich sound of the sousaphone and knew then I wanted to play it. The band director said if I could get the parade music down on the trombone he'd let me switch to sousaphone. My mom also said "make sure this is the right one because this is the last time you are going to switch". So I get the parade music down on the trombone, memorize it, and switch to tuba/sousaphone around Christmastime. I only played trombone for half of 7th grade and made my final switch to tuba/sousaphone that year and have been playing since. Been close to 20 years now on tuba...

[DonnieMac]

Played trumpet from 9th grade, through college and thereafter in the Peninsula Symphony. Combo and big band gigs and a stint at the Navy School of Music and fleet bands came along the way. Daily Schlossberg and Herbert L. Clarke studies drove my wife to go out and sit in the car. I got the message and sold off a bunch of trumpets. But one sale was special. On a Thursday I sold a Schilke Eb to a player who on Saturday played it on stage with the SF Sym.
On a deposition safari to St. Johns, New Brunswick, Canada I was bored out of my head and found myself reading classified ads in a local newspaper. There I saw that the local Sally Ann brass band was dispersing its instruments and on the way out to the airport I picked up a Boosey euph from the Sally Ann people. I played that euph and even a 6v French tuba (that had mysterious intonation issues) for 4-5 years until I had my "ah haw" moment at the Bob Reeves shop in LA.
There I was dazzled by a gold plated Yamaha CC tuba sitting in a royal blue velour case belonging to the Canadian Brass tuba player. You know who that was and he showed up the next morning and test played his tuba. He sounded beautiful and played so easy it seemed to me. I asked Reeves to get me one of those and he did (it only came in silver plate, darn.) From there over the past 39 years it has been a downhill progression, collecting (11 or 12, whatever) and playing tubas. The flavor of this week has been Willson EEb, Hirs HB 21 CC and Cerveny 5v CC piggy. A dust raising MP with those tubas is the G & W Roland Szentpali. I'll probably get called on it next rehearsal.

[imperialbari]

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viewtopic.php?p=7510#p7510

[acjcf2]

Clarinet in elementary school then switched to baritone in the fifth grade. Stuck with the baritone through the middle of eigth grade when the Junior High Band Director asked me to stay after school. I met him in the band room and he gave me a new Conn 10J to try on for size. Played that through the middle my junior year (1973) when I had a scheduling conflict with driver's ed. and band. Senior High Band Director said; "no march no play, period" (though a couple of kids had a pass to play only concert band).

Picked the tuba back up in 2010 and as far I know he's in the ground and I'm having a blast playing at church and in a community concert band. I don't have to march and the joke's on him.

Jim

[sailn2ba]

Played violin from 4th grade. In high school, the orchestra dissolved (not enough strings), so I wanted to join the band. Tried bell lyre, then oboe, then TUBA(!) and loved it. That horn was a US Navy surplus Eb, Holton, I think.

[cle_tuba]

euphonium for 6 months

[BopEuph]

Yep! Picked up tuba about two years ago. Best decision I ever made. I was surprised how many people want a bassist who plays tuba. I work on tuba almost as much as I do on bass now.

[ScottM]

I started on recorder in fifth grade. I still play it occasionally and have a set of them from sopranino to bass. In seventh grade I started on cornet after discovering my hand was too small to press the 1-3 combination without 2 going down too on tuba. I changed to tuba the summer before ninth grade. Fell in love with the bell front Conn. Played Besson compensators from 10th grade on. Got a Mirafone 184 as a graduation present. I still play and other than taking off a couple weeks of vacation, still practice a couple times week. I play in a good adult group concert band weekly.
Scott M
PS. There was an article in the tuba journal a few yrs ago and about 80% of us all started on another instrument before tuba as I recall.

[chipster55]

I played trumpet/cornet from 4th-9th grade. My HS band director said before I even played the try-out that he had so many trumpet players that I wouldn't make the marching band, but he needed tuba players. I switched and never looked back. I still have my Getzen Capri cornet I bought with lawn mowing money in 1968, though.

[Antontuba]

I was a percussionist from 4th grade through undergraduate study at Rutgers in music education. I saw the Michigan Marching Band and made a promise to myself I would be in it one day, but did not have the chance until I was in my 30's. I was not into corps style drum performance, so I learned to play tuba, and have been there ever since. I did go to Michigan for grad school and marched in all of the '96 pre-game and halftime shows.

Just changed from BBb to EEb (981), and am getting used to it.

Adam

[gorbs]

One must start somewhere on a new forum ... so I'll start with how I started!!

I was in a small grade school and joined the band in 2nd grade playing the trumpet. Got moved to french horn then baritone in the 5th grade before being installed into the chair holding the sousaphone around me in 6th. When our family moved to a new house/new school I had dreams of returning to play trumpet but once the new band director heard I could play the tuba those dreams were squashed ... quite alright in hindsight as I embraced my position after all of course! Played through college, bought my first personal instrument a few years back and should find more time to play it than I do. We'll call that a little personal goal of mine in the next little bit

[Fate0555]

People always laugh, but I started on flute! I started band in 6th grade and started playing tuba at the end of 7th (after reading through some of these comments, apparently that's really late >_<). Now I'm in community college and still playing tuba. It is literally my life. I've picked up so many different instruments (literally, you name it) in my mere 5 years of playing, but tuba remains my true passion.

Happy playing everyone!