July 25, 2007 by John Ericson

Archived under: Deep thoughts

My First Instrument


As my daughter and two nephews are right at the age that they could start in band either this year or next, my brother offered to send his trumpet out to me for one of them to use. This trumpet was my first instrument, and I had not looked at it or played on it for many years.

38B1958 My First InstrumentI knew it was a decent instrument, but a little research online helped me find out it is a Conn Connstellation 38B trumpet which was, in fact, top of the line when it was purchased new at the local music store in the 1960s. There is a photo and description of the model here. It was used by Maynard Ferguson and Cat Anderson at the time and the model still seems to have some following among jazz players. And I still get a pretty decent sound on it.

Giving players a good start is an important topic; I have a writing project well underway in fact related to this. It is interesting that I started on actually a quite good trumpet. What if I had been started on one that was very close to a piece of junk? I might not have been sitting at or near first chair trumpet in junior high and potentially might not have stuck it out in music at all. Initial success and progress are impacted by the quality of the instrument; always try to have the best one in your hands that you can.

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My First Instrument
Published on July 25, 2007 by John Ericson

Archived under: Deep thoughts
John Ericson & Bruce Hembd
on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.