TromboneChat

Title says it, folks! I’m picking up the horn after about six years. A lot’s happened since my last time even holding a trombone. I moved across the country ( well most of the way… from the Great PNW to the Great Salt Mines, which is what I call the streets in the metro Detroit area in the winter. Really killer on my poor truck frame ), went vegan, stopped being vegan, found out I have high cholesterol so probably going vegan again, spent months internationally, bought a house to exercise my strange sensibilities of midcentury modern and Chinese tea house aesthetics.

So here I am being encouraged to start playing again. I’m almost starting from scratch, but there’s a certain zen in building what you know after becoming someone different. Maybe I’ll find a band to play with, but for now the cat will be my audience.

Welcome back!

Keep us updated. I love to hear come back stories, and how things that used to be familiar look to you now with a different perspective. Are you going back to bass or tenor?

hyperbolica wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2026 7:50 pm Keep us updated. I love to hear come back stories, and how things that used to be familiar look to you now with a different perspective. Are you going back to bass or tenor?

For now I have a Schmelzer Model 2 coming. My short term plan is to get a real routine going to get better than I was, but long term I want to rebuild my bass since the mods I did were a bit sloppy and it has some gig damage.

I’m excited to read through the forum and see what’s changed in the industry

Welcome back!

Yes, there’s always new stuff. New mouthpieces—take a look at Harrison Reed and LI Brass. New mutes, like Sobieralski and Morningstar.

From one trombonist who has laid off to another, do yourself a favor: Take some lessons with someone who can help guide you through the quagmire of re-learning the horn.

Kbiggs wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2026 10:19 am Welcome back!

Yes, there’s always new stuff. New mouthpieces—take a look at Harrison Reed and LI Brass. New mutes, like Sobieralski and Morningstar.

From one trombonist who has laid off to another, do yourself a favor: Take some lessons with someone who can help guide you through the quagmire of re-learning the horn.

Thank you!

I’ve been following LI Brass for a bit on ig. Highly interested in seeing if they would rebuild my bass with Rotax if I get around to playing bass again in the future. Also taking a trip to Chicago if I feel like getting into a large tenor from O’Malley

The real trick is time for lessons. My schedule is somewhat flexible, but needs are very sporadic. I know Mike Dease is at MSU so I feel like I can largely trust the music scene here for finding a teacher