Trumpet

It's time to face facts. I'm never going to be able to play the trumpet. Or the cornet, or any other similarly sized brass instrument.

I've always been half convinced that I could probably do anything I wanted to, as long as I was willing to put in the hard work. This means whenever I say I "can't" do something, at the back of my mind I always tack on the word "yet". I might never put in enough work to be able to do it, but I still think the potential is there.

Heck, even math related things fall into this category. I suck at anything that requires something more elaborate than adding two digit numbers, and I truly hate maths. However, I believe I could probably improve if I stopped chanting "I hate this, I hate this" and put in a bit of effort.

When my brass instructor had me switch from cornet to baritone because he felt it would be a better fit, I held to the belief that, while the baritone was easier to play, I would still be able to play the smaller instruments if I just tried hard enough. I realise now that I was wrong.

It actually is about fit, not effort - and I mean this in the literal sense: fit as size, rather than fit as feel. I can't play a trumpet anymore than I can fit into a pair of size six stilettos. I cannot physically make my mouth fit into the space needed to hit any note higher than an E above High C - and I really struggle to hit that.

It's a bit sad, really, especially since I own both a trumpet and a cornet. The trumpet is a cheap tin pocket trumpet that looks a lot better than it plays, and the cornet is a third-hand ex-Salvation Army thing that I bought from a second-hand store for $50 and an accordion years ago. Now I have to figure out what to do with them, since I know I won't be able to sell them for anything near what I paid for them...

Anyone want a pocket trumpet or a cornet? I'm happy to give the cornet away, but I'd probably be looking to sell the trumpet for about $200 (I bought it two years ago for $400).

*sigh*.