TrumpetMaster - View Single Post - Small Hands -- Change to Cornet?

lowtide89 · 07-02-2006, 10:24 PM

Hi again, still Liz.

I was pleasantly surprised with the response I got with my last question about air flow, so I expect this question to be a pretty straightforward one and likely even easier to respond to.

When I first began playing the trumpet, the band director at my grade school asked me what I wanted to play, so I said trumpet. He tried to convince me to go for a cornet, but I adamantly refused. Needless to say, I had no idea that the cornet was just a mini-trumpet, so to speak.

All right, so now I'm a junior in high school, with the same trumpet, and a few months ago my private trumpet teacher finally decided to get me to shape up and fix my trumpet-holding posture. Apparently I'm not alone in just having picked what was most comfortable and calling it good, because many of my teachers have ignored this issue.

So I've been struggling lately to adjust to the correct way with my left hand -- which involves actually bothering to use the third valve slide. At first it sounded simple -- just remember to use it! And I get that just fine -- but my hand won't let it be that simple. I'm a small person for my age, 4'10 as a 16-year-old, so I still have small hands. The correct way to hold a trumpet is not comfortable for me at all, and although I will bring it up with my teacher the next time I see him (August or September, probably), I was wondering if any of you could tell me how common it is for this sort of thing with a person who has small hands. Everyone I know who is a trumpet-player doesn't even use a cornet -- does its structure create any differences in sound from a trumpet? Or would I really be better off getting a cornet after all?

The actual problem with the grip of my left hand is that when I extend my middle finger (pushing the 3rd valve slide out), I lose my grip on the trumpet (it's left up to my poor index finger to hold) and it tips sideways. Is there something that I'm probably doing wrong? Or is it more likely that a trumpet is just truly not my size?

07-02-2006, 10:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
lowtide89 New Friend Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 6	Small Hands -- Change to Cornet? Hi again, still Liz. I was pleasantly surprised with the response I got with my last question about air flow, so I expect this question to be a pretty straightforward one and likely even easier to respond to. When I first began playing the trumpet, the band director at my grade school asked me what I wanted to play, so I said trumpet. He tried to convince me to go for a cornet, but I adamantly refused. Needless to say, I had no idea that the cornet was just a mini-trumpet, so to speak. All right, so now I'm a junior in high school, with the same trumpet, and a few months ago my private trumpet teacher finally decided to get me to shape up and fix my trumpet-holding posture. Apparently I'm not alone in just having picked what was most comfortable and calling it good, because many of my teachers have ignored this issue. So I've been struggling lately to adjust to the correct way with my left hand -- which involves actually bothering to use the third valve slide. At first it sounded simple -- just remember to use it! And I get that just fine -- but my hand won't let it be that simple. I'm a small person for my age, 4'10 as a 16-year-old, so I still have small hands. The correct way to hold a trumpet is not comfortable for me at all, and although I will bring it up with my teacher the next time I see him (August or September, probably), I was wondering if any of you could tell me how common it is for this sort of thing with a person who has small hands. Everyone I know who is a trumpet-player doesn't even use a cornet -- does its structure create any differences in sound from a trumpet? Or would I really be better off getting a cornet after all? The actual problem with the grip of my left hand is that when I extend my middle finger (pushing the 3rd valve slide out), I lose my grip on the trumpet (it's left up to my poor index finger to hold) and it tips sideways. Is there something that I'm probably doing wrong? Or is it more likely that a trumpet is just truly not my size?