Trumpet vs. Baritone/Euphonium

Alright...so now I'm pretty much completely trumpet for concert season after I was trumpeting all marching season...although I am a baritone player for the most part. I figure it would be appropriate for me to compare and contract the two now that I have decent experience with both.

Trumpet is definitely the more difficult instrument by far. The range is generally 2-3 octaves within a song. Mid-range is the comfort zone, maybe bordering on high. Low range is good for warming up, but very difficult to sound nice in it. High range will be where most mid-grade and greater pieces will leave you. Runs from mid to high range are common, and expect sessions of vigorous playing followed by long bouts of rests within the same piece. Trumpets' tuning is fairly simple: the higher you go, the further you need to bend the pitch down. If you are standing in the high range the entire song, tune flat. Difficult tonguing articulation and grace notes are common as well. On the plus side, you never have to really play very loud to be heard; the piercing pitch is the cause for that. This is certainly the superior instrument if you are looking for more challenging parts in music. Trumpet is definitely a sprinters instrument: you get to play really loud, high, and fast, and then you break for a while.

Baritone is quite opposite mostly. Slow, cumbersome, bass parts plague the songs that most bands play. However, some songs (usually written low brass player composers) contain boisterous melodies in the middle of songs just for the baritones and trombones. But mainly, half notes on slow songs, and polka bass parts on marches. Playing the euphonium is quite easy. Playing the euphonium right is a completely different story, unfortunately. Beginners have the tendency to sound somewhat pinched (constipated, if you will) with their playing. The corners are the only firm part necessary for decent sound, I've found. The rest tends to set into place by itself; just don't try and cram your whole face into the mouth piece. Range in songs generally contains one octave, and you're rarely escaping the lower midrange. In solos and other pieces written especially for baritone, however, be prepared for a completely different world. Short runs with extreme low or high long tones ending them is common in these pieces, and octave jumps and slurs are constantly thrown in for no real reason. Those are the types of songs that trombone players write, because they want to do all sorts of things, but can't with their lack of convenient buttons. Pitch is somewhat of a problem with the horn itself, but the large mouthpiece makes bending pitches quite easy.

So, if deciding which instrument to start on...I'd say go trumpet because it isn't very difficult in beginner band, and you won't be terribly bored. Also, you will advance quickly. If you are being tossed into a new instrument for marching band however, baritone is an easily played instrument with simple parts. The size is the most difficult part of marching though. While both trumpet and baritone require decent shoulder and arm muscle, baritone is the heaviest of the brass that doesn't use the shoulders for support (sousaphones, contras, etc). That means your arms will get tired if you are parading for more than 20 minutes or so, so be prepared for that. Trumpet has the issue of being extremely light...which makes forceful horn moves easily overdone. Especially coming from baritone to trumpet, my first "horns down" tossed by mouth piece several yards, and I hit myself in the chest with the bell.

Anyways, depending on what stage of learning you are, and what exactly you want to do, trumpet or baritone can generally suit your desires. They are also great transition instruments, so picking these up may not be your final choice.