Switching to trumpet in middle school?

[HaveTrumpetWillTravel]

I have a son who has been playing violin and is not totally loving it. I think it's a harder go because he's in an orchestra where he's third part and he's realizing that there are a lot of motivated violin players who have been playing a long time. He's only in 6th grade but is interested in perhaps moving to trumpet or another brass instrument. I have mixed feelings--I think trumpet is hard too and he is sounding better on violin, he's probably headed towards braces in a year, and there's a decent chance he just wants to sit with friends in band (not a band thing but also not necessarily the motivation to learn an instrument). It's a really small school, so I don't know what to tell him or how hard to explore this.

How quickly have you seen folk pick up trumpet? I don't even know if his classmates really started this year or having been playing for several years. In 30 minutes a day, could I have him close to grade-level in a few months? Any ideas?

[jondrowjf@gmail.com]

Have you talked to the middle school band director or high school band director and asked what instrument is most needed in the band? In my daughter's middle school there are few baritone players.

Finding an excellent private teacher will help immensely. Also buzzing on the mouthpiece will help develop his embrochure. He will have to practice at a least 30 minutes or more.

It is an advantage that he can read music. Key signatures are important to know as are sharps and flats.

What trumpet will he be playing? Very important to know when to apply valve oil slide grease and clean a trumpet.

Many high school band brass players do not maintain their instruments properly.

Whether he wants to be in band for social or musical reasons, being part of a musical group will enhance his life.
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[Brad361]

I would be inclined to let him make the switch, but with conditions:
A commitment to PRACTICE, daily. An agreement that there will be no switching back, one of the benefits of learning an instrument is that it teaches kids the importance of sticking with what they started.

Personally, I would not ask the directors what instruments are needed in their bands. I realize that they cannot have a band made up entirely of trumpets, saxes and trombones, but what are the long term (meaning adult) playing opportunities for let’s say, euphonium or tuba as compared to trumpet? I completely realize that the vast majority of kids do not continue playing as adults, but there are probably a lot more opportunities for trumpet than for many other band/orchestra instruments.

Brad
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[kehaulani]

I wonder if some of this is just the impatience of a self-quick gratified youth.

I don't think his basic problem will go away with a switch of instrument. Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that moving to trumpet is a bad move, in and if itself. Just that you should consider that it may not really solve the basic problem.

Another thing to keep in mind is that, while some instruments are easier than others, eventually all instruments will hit a wall.

Go to a piano and an infant can play the highest note. A trumpet player will take years, if ever, to hit the same note. on the other hand, a trumpeter only has to deal with three fingers in place, while a pianist has to deal with ten fingers over a wide physical range.

I do disagree with the accessibility issue. In my experience, a good euphonium or bass player is worth his/her weight in gold while there's a glut of trumpet players in many locations..
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[multiphonic]

A motivated 6th grader will catch up quickly with guidance and encouragement.

Agreed re: not asking the band director what's needed. If the request for a change doesn't go your way, I would steer any student far, far away from an upright bell euphonium due to the near certainty of right ear hearing damage.

Band directors are woefully (or willfully) ignorant about hearing damage and a middle school band room is a bad enough place to be. Playing euphonium is just asking for it.

[Brad361]

[OldSchoolEuph]

There is no such thing as an "easier instrument".

The process of identifying a person's unique predisposing characteristics relative to different instrumental options is called "fitting". This involves taking into account not only the student's interests (which are important), but physical size, any limitations that might impede the motor skills or strength necessary for certain instruments, oral structure, coordination (not generally, but between specific muscle sets), overall physical strength, reach, finger dexterity, and facial muscle control. Parental support or opposition can be a factor as well.

Good music stores serving the school music community employ music educators with extensive experience and knowledge in the art & science of fitting to help kids choose what instrument to play. Typically this is done in the first year, but the store servicing your school account should be able to help with that service (for a fee). If not, find one that does, and has a roster of high performing districts to support its claim to expertise.

That is how best to help a student pick a path to success and a life of music. Random opinions on a forum are considerably less reliable in this regard.
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[OldSchoolEuph]

[multiphonic]

[multiphonic]

[OldSchoolEuph]

[JayKosta]

[OldHorn]

There are many motivated trumpet players also, so it's not like he's going to have less competition by switching to trumpet. On the contrary, since he's thinking about switching, the other trumpet players are already years ahead of him.

Has he or you spoken with the orchestra director about this? Maybe a different string instrument would be an easier transition. If I was starting again, I would choose a cello and/or piano.

Sometimes it's just the material that he's playing that makes the instrument enjoyable or not. I write music for a US publisher, most of it is for middle school or high school orchestras. I try hard to write something that's fun for the kids to play, but also contains elements or techniques that they can learn.

I received an email a few years ago from an orchestra director who had a student who wanted to quit. The director purchased one of my pieces and this kid loved it. He just lit up every time they played it. This kid ended up not quitting. The director thanked me and thought the choice of music was a big reason the kid stayed.

Kids love video games, video game music, movies. I don't know where you live but there are video game music concerts, full orchestras. If you have a chance to take him to one of these concerts, it might open up a new world to him. These are a lot of fun and there violins that are playing this really cool music. Expose your son to music like this, show him where practicing leads when you stick with it and become a pro.

His motivation and desire will ultimately determine the path he takes. Good luck.

[Brad361]

[HaveTrumpetWillTravel]

The hearing question is kind of tangential, but still interesting. Actually, playing violin is not great since the instrument is inches from the ear. It would not surprise me if trumpet is better for hearing.

I will try to check with the band director sometime. The orchestra director is a little more intense, but not in a great way, and two of his best friends play trumpet, so that's part of the equation.

It is a *tiny* school--think 30/class. In orchestra I believe they only have violin and cello at the middle school levels--I think there's no viola or bass. If I could move him to bass, I would probably also consider that.

He's also a decent singer. I do feel like his sense of pitch is good, certainly better than mine at age 11. Like all parents I'm trying to balance the fun:sustainability:hassle equation.

[Croquethed]

I think OldHorn is on to something. If the kid can be taught how to replicate the music he likes to hear, exactly which instrument he does it on may become secondary to the joy in hearing what he's created. And at that point, whether he's in a school ensemble may or may not be relevant.

My kid started French horn in 5th grade. Big school, decent sized band. Transferred to a private school in middle school. Sixth grade band had about 20 kids (and, interestingly, a teacher who was a comeback player on sax. The parents and band director actually began discussing whether a student-teacher-parent band might be a good idea in a school that small).

But the band director got a new job in a different school, the band shrunk to about nine kids, and the French horn lost its allure. My wife and I opted to let him stop after a lackluster experience in 7th grade. He had learned the basics of reading music and that playing an instrument takes work. He's dabbled in drums, guitar, and keyboard since. Nothing has really caught fire, but the investments have been minimal on our part, and music is presented as something he should pursue when and if he does purely because he loves it. He's a junior now and has enough "you gotta do this to get into college" stuff going on that we aren't about to guilt trip him over not being in a formal ensemble.

Or you could just buy him a Telecaster and show him how many millions of dollars have been made with the minor blues scale.

[HaveTrumpetWillTravel]

He told me he thinks there are only two trumpets and actually one of those kids might be switching to choir. They apparently did some music in 5th grade, so I'm not sure what level he'd need to get to. He might also still do some violin 1:1 with a teacher, but I think he just really feels demotivated in orchestra. I'll have to see what he thinks. The small school band is really a dilemma.

[abontrumpet]

I'll offer my two cents to your original question.

I came to trumpet from playing piano from age 5-10. Trumpet was a breeze having the ear and reading music under my belt. I got lucky with a good embouchure and a penchant for what I wanted to sound like.

I have encountered many colleagues who can play violin and oboe equally well as well as piano and trumpet or whatever. Trumpet is not as a time intensive instrument as piano or violin is at that age (sorry if that triggers some people). If he just wants to sit in band with his friends...those are going to be better friends than he would encounter in the general population of your standard public school (small schools it might not matter as much). Lifelong friends are made in band.

Trumpet could be picked up in no time at all. We all might be prodigies in an instrument we never picked up. Just let him fool around with it for a while before getting a private teacher (sorry if that triggers some people). Sometimes teachers complicate it and with trumpet I believe there is a great deal of "not thinking about it" but "listening to great trumpet players" that needs to happen before we start getting too serious.

Let the trumpet be his "fun time" and keep him on Violin (privately or otherwise) IMO. He doesn't need to dedicate that much time to trumpet just yet. Braces suck..but oh well. Euphonium is pointless (this was for my amusement).

For the hearing damage business...nobody is putting out the sound of a pro orchestra in middle school band. The volume only became an issue for me in pro level ensembles. No worries on that front.

[Brad361]

[theslawdawg]