Hello everyone - never posted on the brass forum before!

My son is 10 and would really like to learn a brass instrument. I know there's a space for him at school with the peri brass teacher but I'm not sure which instruments (if any) are available to borrow. We're willing to hire whichever instrument they decide on. We're quite a musical family with lots of instruments at home but no experience of brass.

So, bearing in mind that he hasn't met the teacher yet, doesn't really read music (he plays drums so is learning to read a drum score) and has never played any brass or woodwind instrument, does anyone have any suggestions of the best instrument to start on? He's fairly tall for his age so size isn't really an issue.

He quite fancies trombone - mainly, I think, because it can make rude noises!

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks!!

Trombone, I agree: not many players around, and he will get into an orchestra/band quicker than you can say mouthpiece. (I nearly took it up but my arms weren't long enough!). Also v popular with boys, not least for the rude noise factor - often played by rugby players in fact!! If he wants to play trombone, don't discourage him. You can pick up student models fairly cheaply... they're pricier than trumpets, but a lot cheaper than horns or tubas!!

Trumpet: Not such a good idea... lovely instrument, and extremely brilliant and flashy, but also very very popular... you have to be extremely able to get anywhere with this one!!

French horn: Better for quieter types really (like me!). Beautiful tone, and you can also make rude noises on it, but not as loud as the trombone, or as comical. Also, apparently, about 10 times more difficult. (Not that I'd know...)

Tuba: As there is usually only one tuba player in the orchestra, and he/she usually only plays in one movement of one symphony in concerts, I wouldn't advise him taking up this one... but he can always switch from trombone to baritone/euphonium and then transfer to tuba if he wants to - apparently embouchre's not a problem when you're playing lots of low brass instruments (although I can't confirm this one!). Rude noises easy to make on this instrument... but extremely pricey, and also difficult to transport.

So, I'd say go for the trombone!! I bet he loves it!

I agree with my mate cheeble, trombone is an excellent idea.

You do kind of have to consider your son's lip size though, sounds a bit silly, but if he has big lips then trumpet and horn will be a struggle for him to play compared to trombone. This isnt always the case the other way round, although bigger lips are an advantage for lower brass like trombone and tuba.

A better person to ask would be the peri brass teacher at the school, as I found out when I first started. My first year was on the instrument I chose, the trumpet. After my teacher left and I started with new and cureent teacher, she told me that my lips were more suited to playing the horn ,and I found it a lot easier to make progress on a brass instrument that was more suited to my lips. I've not looked back since.

hope this helps
hornplayer

p.s. Ultimately, if your son wants to play a particular brass instrumetn, then he should follow his desire, he won't want to practice and carry around an instrument that he doesn't like.

Thank you for your advice - now we just need to see what the teacher says!

What did he/she come up with?!

perhaps cornet or trumpet - there are loads of begginer models -if plays cornet he can join a junir band where extra tuition and the chance to play with others is given

OK - he's come home from school today with a very elderly looking trombone! He's over the moon with it, although the brass teacher hasn't met with him properly yet to assess if it's going to be right for him. He's got it to have a go with over the weekend then the teacher will see him on Monday.

He's had great fun this evening experimenting with making different notes & seeing how low & high ( and rude) he can get.

Turns out my husband played trumpet for a while at school (kept that quiet, but then he plays most instruments so I guess he just forgot to tell me about that one!) so has a pretty good idea of how to produce different pitches.

Son is particularly impressed with the fact that no-one else at school plays the trombone - he likes the idea of being unique.

I'll let you know how he gets on - if it's a success I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of lurking on this forum!

Cheers,

Jane

I hope he has fun!

Cheeble, I love that you had "rude noise factor" in all your descriptions...

Cheeble obviously knows some 10 year old boys!!!!!

We went to see Les Mis last night - totally superb - hubby, daughter & I were swept away by the music - son was most impressed with the fact that there were several gory deaths!!(He did really enjoy the music as well - the deaths were just the icing on the cake! )

Jane

I have a younger brother, and I remember him being 10 (he's not all that different now at 15). Enough said.

yeah my brother has not changed much and he is 31..........

Glad to hear your son's taken up trombone folkie! How's he doing?

Hello again everyone,

Just thought I'd update you on my son's progress. He was doing so well and such a great sound out of the ancient instrument that we decided to buy him a new one - we got him a Yamaha YSL354E - managed to find a company online selling it for £337.35 (Chappells are asking the full recommended retail price of £519!) and it arrived very quickly. He couldn't believe it when he realised the enormous cardboard box was for him - totally speechless!

His teacher thinks it's lovely with a great sound and, more importantly, my son loves it too - we can't stop him from practising and he seems to be an absolute natural - no problem at all in finding slide positions and embouchure, and some lovely glissandi (I think that must be the plural! )

Let's hope the enthusiasm continues - husband & daughter have just gone off to swing band practice, and at this rate it won't be long before he joins them (as there's always a shortage of trombone players )

Thanks for all the advice

Jane

PS He just adores making rude noises with it .... a perfect choice of instrument!

Sounds great. The kind of thing everyone wants to hear!

Hope he does keep up the enthusiasm and the good embrouchure etc.


Oddball

Great news!

Sounds fantastic!!!! Glad he picked the trombone, and really glad that he likes it!

my sisters friend plays trombone (shes in year 6 if you want to know! dont know why you would mind you. anyway, im babbling). he's only been playing for 2 years and already on grade 3!
i would say trombone is great for your son, a great for begginers. and also he could always play another insterment aswell, i know someone who plays trombone and baritone and is a really good musican (not many people play baritone.)

im glad your all so thrilled with him and he is with the trombone!

I started to learn trombone when I was about 6-7 years old, and I am now gone 13 and stil learning it. I agree with cheeble totally. There is a big demand for trombonists at the moment, unlike cornet which is a very commonly chosen instrument. I myself am in a youth brass band and our trombone section is out numbered by cornets by about 7:25+. The trombone is a really good instument to learn, not to mention being able to gliss and pedal. At the miment I play on a Yamaha YSL-445GE trombone (B flat no trigger) and i can pedal down to about (treble clef) pedal E (sometimes ghost D flat) and ghost sometimes the C upwards on the second leger line up. What clef would your son be taught by the way? Just curious- I was taught by a brass-band player so I was taught treble clef which is unusual for trombone. When i attended secondry school however, I had to be taught bass clef. After nearly two years learning bass clef, i can read it practically fluently.
Trombone rocks!

Lol, I remember when my Yamaha YSL-445GE arrived the box was huge! I also couldnt believe it was for me.

Is it weird then to learn in treble clef, because although I was taught in bass clef, every other trombone player I know reads treble, and then makes a big fuss about transposing into treble from bass. They're al brass bandies! There's loads over here, we're 10 miles wide (max.) and about 25 miles long, yet we have 9 brass bands, I reckon that's pretty dense.

alibonebone!
that sounds a bit like where i am. i live in an area approx 15 x 15 miles and there is 8 brass bands and a wind band in the area.
Where are you from?

yes that is the plural