Give me the best way to get started plying the trombone as an adult. Thanks

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Well im a student right now in highschool and i got started in middle school. I suggest starting on a cheaper horn cause i had to buy my own new one and they are expensive. Start playing on a tenor trombone you can find nice student horns online or at the music shop...As an adult get a teacher because i play in 3 bands, 2 at school and one with some friends. My music teacher helps me a lot cause he plays t-bone so i stay after class sometimes but a teacher is great to have. I play a yamaha allegro but that costed me a lot of money :P Start on something cheap and move up later when you know you wanna stick with it cause my parents wouldnt let buy it until after 3 years of playing...ive been playing for about 5 now and i still love it Just have fun wit it!

Don't get mad at yourself if you can't play something right, or if it doesn't sound like the trombones you've heard in symphonies or jazz concerts or what have you. Expect it to be years before you're any good at all. Harsh, yeah, but if you don't face up to it now, you'll quit.

On a brighter note, TROMBONE ROX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats on deciding to play the trombone. I have been playing since 1994 and I absolutely LOVE it. It is my favorite instrument, and in my opinion one of the most versatile. I do reccommend getting an instructor though.

If you want to do it on your own, I'll give you some pointers on things that I did as a young musician just learning to play. I used the book "Standard of Excellence" published by Hal Lenard. I think they replaced that with Editions of Excellence 2000 by the same publisher. It comes with a DVD and CD, and the begining of the DVD has a 15 minute introduction to the basics of your instrument. I just ordered one for Violin, so I'll let you know how it works out. I also reccommend getting a tuner and metronome. Sit with the tuner, and play your notes in various positions over and over. It will give you an idea of where your positions actually are (they differ for everyone, and intonation is usually a big problem with beginning trombonists). Learn all of your 12 major scales, and complete your editions of excellence. After that you should have a solid grasp on the basics, and should be able to handle some grade 2 and 3 music. After you have a good handle on things, you may want to dive into some basic music theory. If you are looking to play jazz and blues, you may want to learn your minor and blues scales for impovision purposes.

I know it sounds danting and a lot of work, but it is worth it. I wish you the best of luck, and if you need any more specific help feel free to email me =)

-Steve