How to make your first sound on euphonium or baritone

A euphonium (or baritone) makes sound the same way every brass instrument does. Your lips vibrate as you blow into the mouthpiece, making a buzz, and the air inside the euphonium helps those vibrations settle into a note. You'll go from your first breath to your first note, then work out which note you played.

The notes here are in bass clef at concert pitch, the way many band books write euphonium. If your part is in B♭ treble clef (often marked "T.C."), your notes are written a major 9th higher (an octave plus a whole step) with the same fingerings: the open B♭ on the 2nd line of bass clef is written as middle C, and the F on the 4th line as G on the 2nd line. See euphonium in treble clef vs. bass clef.

Step 1: Breathe

Take a comfortable, full breath through your mouth. Let your ribs and stomach area expand, and keep your neck and shoulders relaxed. A full breath should still feel easy, not tight.

• Breathe through your mouth with an open "oh," like a relaxed yawn.
• Stay relaxed. Your shoulders can move a little as you breathe in. Just don't tense them or lift them up toward your ears.
• Breathe and blow in one motion. Move smoothly from the breath into the note. A tense hold before the note can make the start late or bumpy.
• Practice without the horn: breathe in for 4 slow counts, then blow out for 8 with a steady "hoo."
• Feeling lightheaded? Stop, rest, and breathe normally before you try again.

Step 2: Set your embouchure

Your embouchure (say "AHM-bah-shur") is the way you shape your lips and face to play. Practice this step with the mouthpiece alone, off the horn.

• Say "mmm." Your top and bottom lips touch gently. That's where they start.
• Firm corners, relaxed middle. Keep the corners where they are for "mmm." Don't smile; smiling stretches your lips thin.
• Teeth a little apart, so the air has room, and a flat chin.
• Center the mouthpiece side to side. Start with about the same amount of top and bottom lip inside the rim. Every face is different, so your teacher may move it a little for you.
• Rest it, don't press. Use only enough pressure to keep air from leaking around the rim.

Step 3: Buzz on the mouthpiece

Take a comfortable, full breath and blow warm air through your lips into the mouthpiece. Your lips should flutter and make a buzz. Mouthpiece buzzing is one way to get ready. If the buzz isn't even yet, you can still try the euphonium in Step 5.

• Start with your tongue. Put the tip behind your top teeth and whisper "tah." Don't pop the air out with your lips, like "puh."
• Low and loose. A euphonium buzz is lower and looser than a trumpet's: more like a motorboat than a bee.
• Only air? Check whether your lips have drifted apart. Bring them gently together and try again. Nothing at all? Check whether you're squeezing them shut. Relax them a little and blow again.
• Buzz for 3 or 4 seconds, rest, and try again. Then try a slow siren: start low, slide up, and come back down.

Step 4: Hold the euphonium

Most beginners play sitting down. Set your posture first, then bring the horn to you. You shouldn't have to bend down or reach to get to the mouthpiece. Here is a good place to start. Your teacher may adjust it for you and your horn.

• Sit tall, near the front of the chair, with both feet flat on the floor.
• Bring the mouthpiece to your lips. Tip the horn a little toward you. Keep sitting tall with your head level while the mouthpiece meets your lips.
• Support the horn at that height. It should feel steady and comfortable. The horn can rest on your thigh or on a cushion on your lap, or your left arm can hold it up. Some players use a playing stand. Your teacher can help you choose what works for you and your horn.
• Left hand holds the horn, wrapped around the tubing in front of you. It does most of the holding.
• Right hand on the valves. Your fingertips rest on the valve buttons with a curved hand, like holding a ball. If your horn has a 4th valve, you'll press it with your right little finger or your left hand, depending on where it sits.

Step 5: Play your first note

Put the mouthpiece in with a gentle twist. Don't press any valves: your first notes are open. Take a full breath, set your embouchure, start with "tah," and keep the air going. Your first note will probably be one of these two:

B♭ is the lower one: try a looser, slower buzz. For F, try a little faster air. Play whichever one comes out first, and try to hold it for 4 slow counts. Getting a steady sound comes first. Working out which note it was comes next.

Which note did you play?

Each fingering plays a whole family of notes, called partials. The valves stay the same; your lips and air pick the note. With no valves down, the family you'll find first looks like this:

• Listen, then match. Tap a note above and listen to it. Hum it, then play and try to match its pitch and octave. Hearing the note in your head first makes it easier to land on.
• Lower than the note you tapped? Firm the corners a little and try faster air. Higher? Relax your lips and use a slower, warmer stream of air.
• Check with a tuner. Bass clef euphonium is at concert pitch, so set the tuner to Concert pitch. It shows the note and its octave number: B♭2 for the B♭ on the 2nd line, F3 for the F on the 4th line, and B♭3 for the B♭ above the staff. The letter B♭ alone doesn't tell you which one you played, so check the number too. If you read treble clef, pick the Baritone T.C. setting instead, and the tuner shows your written note.
• Let the microphone check. In Play the Note in Brass Trainer, you see a note, play it, and the microphone checks whether you landed on it or on another note in the family.

Common first-day problems

More than one of these can happen at once. Change one thing at a time and listen for a difference.

A sample first week

Keep it short. Practice about 10 minutes a day, and rest as much as you play. Here is one way to plan your first week. Move on when the step before feels comfortable, whether that takes two days or two weeks.

Once you can play a few notes, use these to check your work:

For your next step, see how to get a better sound on euphonium.