Looking For A Bigger Sound

[tuba_bloke]

It doesn't matter what you play, just listen to the sound your making and try adjusting things to improve it.
The problem with Arbans is they become boring, and its easy to switch off...so the sound excercise becomes purely notes!
The short melodies in the back of arbans can be good for sound practice. Play them at your own tempo and make the most beautiful sound you can.

[ZACH336]

Any suggestions?

Practice.

[pulseczar]

Any suggestions?

Practice.

Rochut two octaves down for two hours every day. It will drive you crazy, but it worked for me.

Focus on a "thick column of air" and absolutely no pressure. Don't try to push the sound out, but instead relax and let the horn resonate.

my two cents

[LauriH]

I think it was Blazevich and Bordogni etudebooks where I found my sound. Arban is good, but you don't usually listen to your sound when you do those excerises. I recommend some etudes where you can think about the sound aspect. Play something beatiful, something more funky, something that makes you listen your sound. Yes and do experiments what kind of can you make with your horn. I found also usefull to listen tuba music to improve my perspection of tuba sound.

[Bandmaster]

I had a teacher once tell me that practice does NOT make perfect... only PERFECT practice makes perfect. In other words, practicing things wrong don't help!

Embouchure is only one aspect that you need to work on. There are many other thing that come into play as well. Try different tongue positions in your mouth, open the back of your throat as much as you can, try different air speeds and volume, breathe breathe and breathe some more, do you expell warm air or cool air? All these things can effect your sound. One of my college band directors was a former student of Bill Bell and he told all of us that we need to open all the cavities in our heads and allow our sound to resonate as much as possible. The resonance of your skull, believe it or not, can effect your sound and tone quality.

[tubeast]

I sometimes practise to sound like a plucked string bass.
Start in midrange, slow tempo, and play pizzicato notes. Allow each note to "fade" as a string would.
Try to play stubbornly like a metronome. Work your way down and up through all your range, keeping the same sound quality, volume, and attack all the time.
Try different articulations, or playing "the pocket" as a funk bassist would.

Serves several objectives: timing, breath control, sound, range... you name it.

[MartyNeilan]

Air.
Windsong Press (Brian F) sells a bunch of cool gadgets to help you work on your breathing, but simply taking as full a breath as possible every time and letting large amounts of air flow throught the horn (aka wind) will open up your sound. Half breaths and squeezing out air like you are constipated will only result in the pinched thin sound that maybe 3/4 of high school tubists have.
Also, practice LOUD at least part of the time.

[Roger Lewis]

Sound comes from the person, not the horn. Resonance and amplification come from the horn. Work with only the mouhtpiece, getting the biggest fullest tone possible on just the mouthpiece. There is no formula...just move things around ever so slightly until the sound opens up on the mouthpiece-then repeat that sound ON ONE NOTE a thousand times, until you know how it feels. Then pick another tone on the mouthpiece, higher or lower, and do the same thing. Once your body figures out the "gimmick" everything opens up. Remember, the only way the horn makes a noise is if you throw it against the wall. There is no sound in it and no music - it'a all in YOU. Another thing to realize is that neither the embouchure nor the air, by itself can produce the buzz. You have a symbiotic relationship between the air and the embouchure, working together efficiently, to produce the buzz. Once you have a good strong full sound on the mouthpiece, you will find that you have it on the horn as well. Train the body, not the machine.

Just my $0.02----fire away. I'm leaving now.

Roger

[Joe Baker]

If I recall, you're in -- was it eighth grade? At any rate, you're still not remotely through growing. You'll have to accept the fact that this will place some constraints on your ability to get a really great sound. You should work to achieve the best sound you can, of course, but be encouraged that mere aging will improve your sound over the course of the next 7-8 years, above and beyond what you do in the practice room.
_____________________________
Joe Baker, who appreciates TubaBluba's respectful, articulate and inquisitive posts, and thinks a lot of college students could learn a lot from him.

[Bob Mosso]

I don't claim to be an expert, but my opinion is:

Air support and air volume.

There is a great book, The Physical Approach to Trombone Playing. This approach is likely even more important to tuba playing than any other instrument. Work on developing a larger lung capacity, long distance running, breathing exercises, ...

Practice loud and (if possible) in a large room. Fill the entire room/house/auditorium with sound. After much practice, when you play softer you'll still have the air support and a good tone.

There is no quick fix, it will take time to develop the "air support" skills.

[Dean E]

. . . . I found also usefull to listen tuba music to improve my perspection of tuba sound.

For a break from tuba music, check out some melodies and ballads performed by Paul Desmond and John Coltrane. Hearing their expressiveness and burning it into the brain will add considerably to any musician's performance skills.

If these sax players sound strange, just keep listening for a few weeks. Try listening to a Coltrane CD, on repeat, while you sleep. Your library might have some CDs. If not, look at online auctions.

[Bob Mosso]

I got the book from my local instrument store. Here is the correct title and info:

Physical Approach to Elementary Brass Playing
Bass Clef Edition
By Claude Gordon
Published by Carl Fischer