I had my first lesson with a trumpet instructor. This one truth became immediately clear:

While I thought it would be a good idea to learn the basics such as the C Major scale prior to getting lessons, this is not the case. In fact, I only hindered my development so that now, I not only need to learn HOW to play correctly, I need to UNLEARN how to play incorrectly.

Trumpet is not like any other instrument I have learned to play proficiently (and I have learned to play several instruments proficiently). For all those like me who think they can just teach themselves, please believe me when I say that you are only doing yourself a disservice by not getting proper instruction.

The good news is, I've only been "self teaching" for a week, so it's not the end of the world. However, this is the first instrument that I find it absolutely necessary to have a qualified instructor from day one.

Good for you. You will progress at a better rate. I hope others listen to your advice.

I, too, decided to start with an instructor for the same reason - to unlearn bad habits. When I was young, I could do things the wrong way and still succeed (brute force, I guess) but at my age now, all margin for error is gone and I need to make sure everything is in perfect alignment before anything will move at all (in more ways than one).
Good luck.

Yes! I've said the same thing over and over again on other forums, I can't stress enough, get a teacher . I had three years of bad habits to unlearn.

Don't get the idea that a teacher is a guarantee for perfection. They too are human and like all of us, have a scope pretty much limited to what they have experienced.

The advantage is that a trained set of ears will pick up mistakes before they have turned into (bad) habits. It also is an exercize in humility, letting someone else guide something as intimate as how we make music. Lord knows, there are enough trumpet players that should come down off of their high horse.

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