Getting back to the mailbag, a question came in a while ago on how to hold a traditional, concert mellophone.
The short answer is I have seen concert mellophone resources from the 1930s/40s that show the left hand holding either the rim of the bell or the valve section (fingering, of course, with the right hand). It was/is not normal to put a hand in the bell of a traditional mellophone.
However, backing up for those confused by the above, what is a concert mellophone? They are those horns that look like compact, right handed piston valve horns. They were still popular 100 years ago for young players and community bands and such. They take a different type of mouthpiece than the modern mellophone. I have a longer resource on these instruments here:
For a visual look at the topic, just this week a great video was posted by Robert Levine, a part of his “Week With a Horn” series, which reminded me of this question. He describes how to hold it and much more.
This is part of a series he has been posting on his YouTube channel and on his website, REL Brassworks. Check it out the website for even more here:
https://relbrassworks.com/media/
