When you were in jr high why did you choose your instrument

Naptown Tuba · Post by **Naptown Tuba** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:21 am

In 4th grade, after taking the standard little music test given at the time, I was asked "What would you like to play, young man?" I replied "I want to play the drums!" The music teacher looked at my score and said (verbatum I swear) "Well, son, we just let the dumb kids play the drums............ why don't you try this cornet." Therein began my journey with the brass family. (I did manage to work into drums; playing set in the H.S. stage band & swing choir and trumpet in concert band). I switched to baritone my senior year and it's been down hill ever since (euph. valve trombone, and tuba). To this day I love to play my tuba in several comm. bands around town as well as drum set with brass quintet, big band, and church orchestra.

andrew the tuba player · Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:50 am

I started band on percussion. a year and a half later our only tubist quit. So, i picked up a piece o' junk student horn and loved it to death. Now, only 2 years later, I still love playing. I play drums still a little to. But, i like all brass (and some woodwinds). Espeacialy low brass. (duh

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goldtuba · Post by **goldtuba** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 2:21 am

when we were about to enter middle school, everybody had to sign up for a music class. We had three options; band, orchestra, or choir. I hated singing, and I just had a natural calling for wind instruments. I originally wanted to play saxophone. The band director thought that the French horn was a suitable instrument, and he was wrong about that. After about a week into the semester, I realized that I was completely unable to play in that small mouthpiece. I quickly changed to euphonium, and things were good. During the second semester, I was persuaded to play tuba for many reasons. There weren't any other tuba players in the beginning class, my brother, who was 2 years older, also played tuba, and the band director played tuba. I made the switch, and I haven't looked back since.

tuba72 · Post by **tuba72** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:54 am

I started playing a cornet in 6th grade. Still have the horn along with the receipt my parents got with the purchase. Sometime in seventh grade the band instructor asked me if I wanted to learn to play sousaphone(I think he asked me because I was the biggest dog in the pound!) As I remember he brought somebody in to help me learn bass clef and get the fingerings and I loved it ever since. 3 years later when I got to high school (1969) I got to toot on a 4 rotor tuba and had a blast with that. I talked to the the instructor at the high school this summer and discovered that they trashed it because it was all dinged up. I cried.

oldbandnerd · Post by **oldbandnerd** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:44 am

I was playing trumpet . I had borrowed it from my brother-in-law( my sisters were are much older than me ) . When his brother decided to start playing trumpet he took it back . Since my parents couldn't afford to get me my own instrument and the band director needed euph players I was given a school owned instrument . The rest is history ...

Pure Sound · Post by **Pure Sound** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 8:27 am

When I started band in 6th grade. I wanted to be in percussion but after taking the "beat" test I was told I would not be succesful in percussion. So they stuck me on a tuba. I was happy with it although I was going to quit after I got out of jr.High. Right about that time my band started playing his tuba in the mornings in our band hall. He would drag out his MW2165 and play solo's and orchy excerpts, Me being a little 6th grader and had never heard how a tuba should sound, And so long story short my band directir inspired me to continue tuba and I owe everything to him.

Those of you who are teachers out there have NO IDEA how much you can impact those young kids lives. Keep it up!!!

MartyNeilan · Post by **MartyNeilan** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:14 am

I chose it in 5th grade, or should I say it chose me. I had started piano a year and a half before, so having a firm understanding of music theory helped tremendously.

Carroll · Post by **Carroll** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:57 am

I played trombone in grade school and high school and decided to go the engineering route in college. I still played trombone in marching, jazz, and concert band, but never very seriously. During my fourth year in engineering (gearing up for the EIT exam) I realaized that while I was doing quite well in my Mechanical Engineering classes, my heart was in the music I was making. I changed majors (as a Senior) and joined the tuba-euphonium ensemble to learn euphonium. When the tenured trombone teacher came back from his sabbatical, we had words about a trombone major playing in tuba ensemble... I was kicked out of the trombone studio... I became a euphonium major... I played my senior recital and graduated. Now I teach band classes in the backwoods and ENCOURAGE kids to play multiple instruments.

pierso20 · Post by **pierso20** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 11:29 am

I started on piano when I was 5 because I liked it.

Then in 6th grade I wanted to play the clarinet but once I found out there were no trombones signed up, I decided to play that and I did for a while. (through high school in Jazz band and etc.)

But in 8th grade, the tuba player quit, so I said I would learn. After 3 days, i was up and running playing in band..

So......school demand brought me to tuba....I thankfully switched from the darkside of the woodwinds....to the less dark side of the trombone and then over to the Light Side on the Tuba.

Jack Denniston · Post by **Jack Denniston** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:04 pm

Ah, I always enjoy a trip down memory lane! I started out on piano and took up the cello in 4th grade. By the time I got to junior high, I could see that most of the cute girls were in band, and I had heard enough music to know that I loved the sound of the brasses- especially the horns. So I went to see the band director and told him I'd like to join the band and play the horn. He said he'd be happy to have me in the band, but he already had plenty of horn players. Besides, he said, the horn would be hard for me to play since I had braces. He went on to say that he could use another tuba player, and that would be easier for me to play with braces.

So I became a tuba player. The first few weeks were tough. I'd go to the band room before school and during study hall and blow away on a huge old leaky sousaphone. After a few toots I'd be dizzy as heck. But it was a real blast to be in the band, and the girls really were cute, so I kept after it.

My dad was really disappointed, because he'd hoped I'd stick with the cello or the piano. He said there wouldn't be as many opportunities for a tuba player to make music. As it has turned out, there have been plenty of opportunities to play tuba in all kinds of groups- and many of them are quite musical (smile). And I picked up euph and trombone along the way, which opened up some more doors.

Jack

winston · Post by **winston** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:00 pm

lgb&dtuba · Post by **lgb&dtuba** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:26 pm

I started out on the alto horn in the 4th grade. In the 5th grade we had a short parade and I was the only one dumb enough to agree to play the sousaphone. I had a bath towel wrapped around it to keep it from completely breaking my shoulder. No fiberglass in the 50's.

I continued to play sousaphone for marching band and baritone for concert band the rest of the way through public school. Didn't see a fiberglass sousaphone until my senior year.

Didn't go to music school and didn't even hold a tuba until I bought my own in the mid 70's.

wrongtrousers · Post by **wrongtrousers** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:38 pm

At the end of grade 6 I expressed an interest in taking band in grade 7. The band teacher interviewed me, gave me a listening test and decided I should play trombone as I was already 5'10 and had long arms which would enable me to reach all the slide positions. I showed up for the first rehearsal the next fall and discovered that we already had enough trombone players. Turns out, I was the only kid big enough to hold the schools tuba - an old Boosey Imperial BBb. Damn that thing was heavy.....

Tom Holtz · Post by **Tom Holtz** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:09 pm

Middle school band was short of tubas. One of them dropped out. I was 9th chair trombone out of 10, going nowhere fast. That switch was a no-brainer.

Tried bass trombone again last week. Played two concerts. Yep, I made the right choice in middle school.

Chadtuba · Post by **Chadtuba** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:25 pm

Started on the violin in 5th grade, learned viola for the fun of it a couple summers later, joined the percussion section so that I could be in the marching band in 8th grade and then in 11th grade after marching season was over we had too many drummers so I asked the BD what I should play. He suggested either horn or tuba. Since we had one horn player already and no tubas that's what I took home and as a lot of you have already said "I've never looked back!"

David Spies · Post by **David Spies** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:34 pm

I actually might not have been a tuba player if the middle school had had a contrabassoon. That's right, a contrabassoon. One of the most awesome instruments ever! When played well there's nothing quite like the power, rattle and buzz of that instrument.

I heard a recording of one, didn't know what it was at the time, and knew that that was the instrument for me. Unfortunately, when in 5th grade, the directors that had photos of all the instruments they didn't have a picture of the contrabassoon.

There were recordings and accompaning photos of the Bassoon, the Baritone Saxophone (a noble instrument--Howard Johnson!), and the low brass, but nothing seemed the right combination. Therefore, I went with the baritone in 6th grade because the director wanted to start us on baritone rather than tuba (not an altogether bad decision). I then moved to the tuba in 7th grade.

My first band director was a fine trumpet player, and the high school band director at the time was a euphonium player. I had lessons with both of them, but when the high school band director's friend came to visit from Orlando, I had my first tuba lesson, opening my ears and eyes to the beauty of the tuba.

However, I still have aspirations of becoming a world-class contrabassoonist if I should ever win the lottery!

David Spies
Principal Tuba, Racine Symphony Orchestra

DonShirer · Post by **DonShirer** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:49 pm

My father was a trumpet player (and leader of a band that did not survive the thirties depression) so it was foreordained that I inherit his silver Conn horn. Played it through elementary school and 8th grade, but the Jr. hi was overloaded with trumpets and I was the only one the teacher could talk into a lower instrument. Dad was not thrilled, but found me a loaner double-bell euph until I was big enough to handle the high school's one and only bass, an Eb Helicon. And the rest is history.

P.S. Two years later my brother put a marble down the Conn's bell and it was never the same again.

BriceT · Post by **BriceT** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 8:03 pm

My mother forced me to start playing an instrument in the band in sixth grade, so I did a little research and decided that I wanted to play the alto sax.

I went into the little "test the instruments thing", and started with the trumpet. I supposedly didn't have what it takes for trumpet. Then, I tried french horn, and finally the alto sax. However, I couldn't even make a sound. Finally, I moved on over to the tuba, and my band director thought it was perfect because I could make a sound. I was fine with it also, because the tuba that we started on only had three valves and so I thought it would be a piece of cake!

I started out as a miserable failing tuba player, but three years later I made it to Ist band 2nd chair(a mistake) and am one of the best tuba players in texas, as a freshman in high school! Thank goodness I chose the "easy" intsrument.

KevinMadden · Post by **KevinMadden** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:02 pm

in 5th grade I began on trumpet (because it was the cool thing to do) the director we had at the time wasn't really interested in the growth of the program and would only teach the instruments the local store was interested in selling to us. (flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, sax, and perc.) By the time I had got to eight grade we had gotten a new director who was actually interested in helping the program, he figured he'd start by getting a euph player, me, being the big kid who wasn't very good at trumpet, was asked, and i switched. a few months later he got a new euph convert and asked if i was interested in going down further to tuba. I took it, got aight at it, and surprised all the 'tuba players' in the high school when i showed up and won, my ego kept me interested, so i decided to continue it into college. I recently made my first $$ on tuba (played opposite Joe Burton in the Busch Gardens Festhaus Band) and am hoping to be able to keep work up!

Tubaing · Post by **Tubaing** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 11:22 pm

I wanted to play tuba when I joined band in 5th grade, but my band director would not let me so I had to play Euphonium for a year and a half. After about half a year of playing tuba, I was playing on a Holton BBb-345. That was a fun Junior High.