Tips for Switching to Euph from Trumpet

[AUG17]

Hi. I've been playing trumpet for three years since eighth grade (played strings and percussion before that), and my director decided to switch me to euphonium last week. I've been having some difficulty getting the hang of it. (Especially since I haven't read bass clef since about sixth grade.)

 

Does anyone have any tips, whether its on embouchure, reading music, fingering, tone, or just in general, that could make this switch a little bit faster so I can be caught up with the rest of my section by competition season? 

 

Thanks

[takigan]

Embouchure is similar....the big difference is mouthpiece placement with an obviously much smaller mouthpiece.

The biggest struggle (aside from struggling to hold up a larger horn while marching  ) will likely be changing to bass clef.  Clef changes (or doing any kind of transposing) is much easier if you have a really solid concept of scales and arpeggios....because when you do, you stop seeing the individual notes and start seeing musical patterns.  When you see a bunch of notes running up the staff, you don't see it as a C,a D,an E,F, G etc....it's simply a C Major scale, and you apply the C scale you've learned from memory rather than trying to read all the notes.  Think in keys, not in notes.  I would suggest spending a lot of time on them.  Interval studies will help you learn to remember the bass clef notes on sight. 

The hardest trouble I had was with the transposition (learning Bb Treble Clef in college after playing Bass Clef concert pitch my whole life).  Even though a 2nd line G in Treble Clef is played open, the same G on Bass Clef (4th space) is played 1 and 2.  In reality, the first note is Concert F, and the 2nd note is a Concert G.  That and having to change the key signature in my head.  Having good knowledge of scales helped with that also.