Trumpet all the way. If you want to play in college you want to be a trumpet since they are always in front on the 50 yard line at halftime. I was always on the 50 yard line right behind the USC songgirls doing their dance routines in front of me. EXCELLENT vantage point IMHO!

But seriously, if you learn any of the valved brass instruments it is easy to switch to any of the other ones. French Horn is the most difficult to learn. A rule of thumb I have found for brass instruments is that the smaller the mouthpiece the more difficult it is to play well. Since brass instruments are all about embouchere control the smaller the mouthpiece, the less room for error you have.


"We grow up hearing that trumpeters blew down the walls of Jericho, that Gabriel's trumpet announces the will of God, and that the largest, and hippest, of all animals, the elephant, has a trunk mostly for trumpeting. These grandiose images shape the classic trumpet persona: brash, impetuous, cocky, cool, in command. Anyone who has ever played in a band knows that if the conductor stops rehearsal because a fight breaks out, if somebody takes your girlfriend, if a tasteless practical joke is pulled, if someone challenges every executive decision no matter how trivial, it's got to be a trumpet player. That's just how we are."
---Wynton Marsalis


"The LORD said to Moses,
'Make two silver trumpets; of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation... And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets...; they shall serve you for remembrance before your God...'"
-- Numbers 10:1-2, 8-10

P.S. God didn't say anything to Moses about trombones. Or woodwinds.

 

They're the same thing.

Trombone is a good instrument, but learning slide postision, is a pain, imo, but I guess no worse than learning valve combos.

 

I played both flute and trombone. I was 1 of 2 guys in the flute section for a while. That was good fun Once you can play one woodwind instrument or brass instrument, switching between different instruments in their own family is pretty easy. I'd have to agree though that Sax gives you the greatest versitility.

Be cool and play BASSOON.

 

Hey, hey wait a minute! Everyone knows that the T-bone was not invented then. It came about when someone realized that the trumpet needed to be perfected. J/K

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ishy

 

<sax"amo"phone alto

it's easier to learn than trumpet and you can play some nice tunes for girls

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TrojanHorse

 

I vote trumpet too, but I'm also biased. D&B corps was fun when I was a young'un! I also played a little french horn but I didn't like most of the music written for FH (same for bigger tuba-like brass). My way of thinking is the trumpet is the most expressive, most like the human voice, of the brass instruments.

Knowing what I know now, if I wanted to try another instrument beyond the trumpet I'd look at the sax family.

 

I play Alto Sax, I really enjoy it, I can hit space notes on trumpet and maybe the C scale on a good day.

 

I have always wanted to play Sax, but as I got into classical music, I found out that there aren't many classical pieces written for sax