# Should I play the trumpet or the piano?



## purplerain

I have played piano for 8 years( all of them I hated). And I have crappy stiff fingers. I have recently started to like to classical and jazz music. I'm wondering if I should continue with the piano or start fresh with another instrument.  I might even consider violin( is it really that difficult?)

I would like to play classical and jazz. And what I would like to as you is which instrument will be the most rewarding to play. 

Ps. Thanks for answering my previous questions. Also, plz don't tell me to "follow my heart.


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## Head_case

> I have played piano for 8 years( all of them I hated).


Yay! Nice to meet you. I can't stand piano either. Had to study it till I was 16yrs.

I learnt flute too; whereas others can blow their own trumpet, I prefer to play with my flute 

This is an incredible instrument for its expressivity. It is ideal for classical and jazz. If you're into jazz, then you will probably dig the sultry mellow alto flute. I tried trumpet in school and never liked the embouchure. I felt like my head was going to explode. The clarinet and reed instruments (harmonica; oboe) presented similar feelings as the trumpet and euphonium; you retain more air than you can expel and feel like you're busting to let it all out. With the flute, I have the opposite, where I can't wait to take my next breath...of inspiration. I feel more at ease playing the flute and can work out the breathing much easier than a trumpet.

Practice considerations too: can you practice a trumpet when you like, where you like? The flute has similar issues with disturbing residents/neighbours, but perhaps its less annoying than the trumpet, no?

The only problem ...is the crappy stiff fingers which you have. You could either spend a year loosening them up, or perhaps try to take up the orchestral triangle.


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## purplerain

Some artists I like are bill evans, Louis Armstrong, miles davis. 
For classical I like romanticism. I would like to play debussy and I like Bach. I have a strange attraction to sad songs. 

Feel free to throw some songs at me. Thanks.


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## purplerain

Head_case said:


> Yay! Nice to meet you. I can't stand piano either. Had to study it till I was 16yrs.


I don't hate piano anymore. But I have many repressed memories lol.


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## purplerain

I'm wondering if the trumpet has many solo classical pieces.


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## Krummhorn

purplerain said:


> I'm wondering if the trumpet has many solo classical pieces.


It does ... check out this public domain site known as IMSLP.

A plethora of music scores all in PDF format and downloadable.


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## purplerain

Great thanks. But I can I understand it better on video. Can u give me some links.


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## purplerain

The bad part about asking to much questions. People never answer the first.


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## Ravndal

Patience son, patience.. 

OT: Play the piano. Because.


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## Sonata

I personally have a mad love affair with the piano  So it's unusual for me to suggest otherwise. But if you hated all the years you played, I would recommend starting fresh with a new instrument. Then in time, you can always give piano another shot.


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## Sonata

And stiff fingers can be improved with gentle stretching exercises, etc. Which would be better specifically recommended by someone other than myself as I am still a newbie.


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## Jord

I wouldn't say learn what instrument would be the most rewarding for classical and jazz, learn to play the instrument you want to the learn the most, then you'll have the most fun


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## Jaws

purplerain said:


> I have played piano for 8 years( all of them I hated). And I have crappy stiff fingers. I have recently started to like to classical and jazz music. I'm wondering if I should continue with the piano or start fresh with another instrument. I might even consider violin( is it really that difficult?)
> 
> I would like to play classical and jazz. And what I would like to as you is which instrument will be the most rewarding to play.
> 
> Ps. Thanks for answering my previous questions. Also, plz don't tell me to "follow my heart.


Play the trumpet because there are more opportunities to play in ensembles with other people. Doing this is what makes playing anything more rewarding and more fun. Don't take exams, they are a waste of time and money.


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## Trumpetcat

What! Lucky. I wish I had learned piano (all the way), it's an amazing instrument tbh. It's universal, for all your musical needs. My name gives away what I play! I love trumpet. It has a wide repertoire, it's versatile-used in classical, jazz, you name it, and is a very "strong" instrument in general. So I guess I'd suggest it.. I mean if you hate piano THAT much.


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## brianvds

Your neighbours are begging you not to take up the trumpet... 

Jokes aside, I would think that whether you have a soundproof practice room is indeed a factor in deciding which instrument to take up. One really can run into trouble with the neighbours.


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## gjohnson

My first instrument was the trumpet. The piano seems so complex, but those who play it seem to play with such ease. When you play the trumpet, you are only thinking in single notes at one time. It wasn't until I learned guitar that I noticed the importance of chord variations; major, minor, 7th, etc. The trumpet would be a great instrument to master, but I wouldn't give up on the piano and!


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## Kat the Tommy

purplerain said:


> I have played piano for 8 years( all of them I hated). And I have crappy stiff fingers. I have recently started to like to classical and jazz music. I'm wondering if I should continue with the piano or start fresh with another instrument. I might even consider violin( is it really that difficult?)
> 
> I would like to play classical and jazz. And what I would like to as you is which instrument will be the most rewarding to play.
> 
> Ps. Thanks for answering my previous questions. Also, plz don't tell me to "follow my heart.


Okay, if you don't want to be told to follow your heart (which, by the way is the best advice given how abstract and cathartic for a thing as profound as music) let me just say you might want to try trumpet. If you really like classical and jazz, know that trumpet can be played in classical orchestras, contemporary ensembles, quartets/trios, traditional bands AND jazz groups. If you feel like your head is going to explode when you play the trumpet, you aren't playing it right.


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## Headphone Hermit

This reminds me of an anecdote told me by an examiner about a moderation meeting where there was a discussion about possible answers to a question on a history exam many years ago. The question was "Why did the person at the front of the Jarrow March play a mouthorgan?"









One of the answers that was allowed was "Because he couldn't carry a grand piano"


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## Rhombic

Piano is lonely. If you play trumpet you will be able to play in brass ensembles/bands/orchestras... much more fun. This does not mean to give up piano, just to leave it as a second instrument and learn harmony using it.


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## Xaltotun

Rhombic said:


> Piano is lonely. If you play trumpet you will be able to play in brass ensembles/bands/orchestras... much more fun. This does not mean to give up piano, just to leave it as a second instrument and learn harmony using it.


Yes! I played the piano, my two brothers played the tuba. Guess who was lonely and who wasn't? It lead to the point that they continued music studies and I dropped out.


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## quack

Trumpet of course. Few other vocations permit you to fart at people on a daily basis (maybe a hobo?)


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## stevens

Well, if you hated playing piano all 8 years, stop playing! Find out *why* you hate playing piano. You will probably hate playing violin or trumpet as well, if you hate to practise. Why not just listens to others playing? Go to concerts, listens to records?


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