I play trumpet asnd have been for aabout 5 years, i have been playing in my local brass band on a borrowed cornet for about a year and was plodding along on third cornet until my conductor suggested a moved onto E flat soprano as tehre current sop player had to leave. I love playing soprano and am really happy playing it but i find it hard as i often miss pitch and find some of the pieces difficult aswell as findign playing loudly hard. I am using a very small mouth piece that i should hopefully be changing soon so this should help but i get the feeling im letting down my band, should i just give up and go back to playing b flat in band or should i stay on and keep going?

keep going if that is what you enjoy. during the summer practice extra hard so that you can be confident in your playing next year.

I believe you have discovered one of the little problematic adjustments that goes with changing instruments. With time you should get a "feel" for the Eb, just as you have done over time for the Bb.

Ok, thanx very much i shall follow ure advice and see what happens next year, thanx again :D

Don`t you dare!
Having trodden the same route and now feeling that I`m getting somewhere, maybe I can help.

There are several things to think about:
1) One of the most difficult things in Sop playing is the attitude of both your own mind and other folks. Ignore others. If they are that good they should go and find another band and play sop there. You were asked to have a go, not them. Stop thinking that you are on trial. Talk to the MD and tell them you are going to give this your damnest and all you need is their support, not funny faces when it goes pear-shaped. You beat yourself up enough without help from others.
2) Don`t expect too much too soon. It just doesn`t happen overnight. You have changed instruments - just like a Euph player moving to Eb Horn - however, because it looks to the uninitiated like the one you played before, you get no credit when it works well and even less sympathy when it doesn`t.
3) Try the higher notes quietly - just squeek them in your home practise rather than trying to blow like hell to see if it happens. That just leads to frustration (and it doesn`t work like that). You just need time to find where those notes are.
4) Blow louder in the band than you think you should. If you get told to be quiet, then you are getting somewhere.
5) Mouthpieces - ignore those who say that you either a) need a Wick S or b) just a slightly different cup to your Bb. These folks usually never played Sop anywhere except at home or in the youth band for a week or two (if at all) and they start going on about `blending` with the Bb`s. It`s a different instrument and you would not play a Horn using a Euph mouthpiece would you? If people interfere, tell them to s*d *ff. I just read someone`s comment on another website saying that you should use a deep mouthpiece and referring to "the wonderful sound Alan Wycherley makes" as an example. Alan does make a lovely sound that blends when it needs to, but he can make a really cutting sound too that you would expect the piccolo instrument of the band to make. And, by the way, Mr Armchair expert whoever you were, Alan uses a small mouthpiece - a Bach 17C. Oh - and who else is any good? Peter Roberts maybe? Same thing - Bach 17C. Just think how much better they might have been if they had listened to the `expert`.
6) If you played Bb for long enough, you formed certain habits. You maybe had faults in your `set` that worked ok on the Bb but are now showing. Think about what your lips should be doing. That`s why I mentioned playing upper register quietly - squeeking the notes at least gives you a good feel that your lips don`t have to be pulled back tight to get the notes out. Close your eyes when you practise and just focus on the airstream. Using the same set you had on Bb is probably the most common mistake. If lips are tight, the hole ain`t round any more and you are getting interference when the lips touch and the note cuts off. Try pointing the bell north or south a bit to see if your sound "frees up".

7) Playing Sop is not like playing Picc trumpet. What works for Picc trumpet works mainly because of the nature of the parts. Advice from trumpet players who have played any or all of D,Eb and Picc Bb is little value when you have a quiet pp entry on a top A blending with the band.
8) Tuning. The bane of the sop player`s existence. You need strong lips to play it in tune - and that takes time, but don`t forget, the instrument has characteristics that need workarounds. You need:
Stamina
Alternative fingerings
A Good Instrument
Suitable mouthpiece - the backbore shape makes a difference!

Worst notes on Schilke and Courtois are bottom line E, F (they are flat G is almost as). E and F at top of stave are sharp as is G. Play with it a bit. I find F# top line works with 2/3 especially if playing quietly. Sometime G is best 1/2 etc. Trial and error - most times in the band, are the only way. Playing and experimenting with a tuner at home is not the same. Educate the MD that this is what you are doing.
If your general tuning is too sharp, you will fall off lots of notes at the top as you try to lip them down! Pull out a bit.
9) Persevere - don`t think about giving up. Sop, as you say, is a very satisfying instrument. It`s voice is not "a Bb cornet playing high". Listen to Wych playing a solo live if you get the chance. That`s a very different sound to a cornet. I`ve seen people in the audience who are not familiar with the Sop really `buzz` with interest in this wonderful sound they just heard. "What did he say that instrument was?"


Good luck,
Soppy

yes