How to Play the Mellophone

1. Decide between a mellophone pitched in F, E flat, D or C. The alto and tenor forms of mellophones sometimes substitute for the French horn in marching bands.

2. Play music on the mellophone with your right hand on the piston valves.

3. Choose a good mouthpiece for your instrument. According to Dr. John Ericson at Arizona State University School of Music, the Curry 1HTF works well for competitive marching band, the Yamaha 30C4 is a smaller horn mouthpiece that works with an adapter and the Curry 3TF is a good choice for the trumpeter moving to the mellophone.

4. Expect the mellophone to be easier to master than most other wind instruments. Most musicians learn quickly, especially if they are an experienced on the trumpet or French horn.

5. Take lessons or buy instructional materials to learn to play music on the mellophone. Dr. Erickson has materials to teach the instrument's history, mouthpieces strategies, tone quality, how to march with the horn, warm-ups, embouchure setting exercises, low register stretch, pedal tone warm down exercises and more (see Resources).