Hi Russell. I hope the trumpet note you are playing with your index finger is Bb, not B (natural). Otherwise, your slide has been cut, your hand position is wrong, or that's one funky horn.

There is some use for fingering with the left hand: French horn. I know what you mean about the surprise of finding out you could finger with either hand. I had a broken finger once on my right hand, and played a concert using my left hand to finger. No problem. Got to be a brain thing, because it sure isn't muscle memory in the conventional sense.

Some people who switch instruments have a problem because they have such an ingrained sense of what a certain pitch should sound like, that they can't make the mental adjustment when playing a transposing instrument where the same written note sounds different. My main instruments are pitched in C (trumpet, flute, vibes), Bb (flugelhorn, trumpet, soprano sax), A (piccolo trumpet) and G (alto flute). Got a few others, too. Sometimes it is a bit of a mind-bender when switching. The important thing is you follow what John said and make sure that you know what key the song is in and whether or not any transposition is in effect, because when you load the song in BIAB, there is no obvious way to tell. I make separate folders for songs in different pitches for different instruments. Some people name the song with the key in the name. But find something to keep it straight.

BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.