embouchure question

[eupher61]

Long and low is very good at this stage. Why the stiffness? Hard to say. You're using muscles in a way that they haven't been used for 15 years. When you were a beginner, those muscles had a lot less time on them, and they were open to almost anything.

Pay attention to how much pressure you're putting on the top lip. Try to even out the pressure between top and bottom lip--one hint is to move the mouthpiece as high as possible, so it's close to your nose. the muscle is a little more dense up there than right at the lip.

Since it loosens up, don't worry about it. It will take a while. But, you can help the process by buzzing the mouthpiece whenever you have time. Buzz some of the same things you are doing from the book, and go on to songs you know, something on the radio, whatever you want. That will give the chops the time they need to loosen up, and help your ear a bit.

[Heavy_Metal]

i never experienced this after other layoffs.

Has your facial structure changed in that time frame (example, lost or gained weight, major dental surgery etc)?

What mouthpiece are you using- and is it the same one as before?

Whatever it is, it's almost certainly fixable.

Welcome to TubeNet and back to the tuba!

[iiipopes]

It is no different than getting back into any physical activity. Yes, your embouchure muscles will tire quickly, and may become inflamed and sore, just like arm or leg muscles do after the first visits back to the gym after not having worked out for fifteen years.

Low and slow, lots of long tones, stop before discomfort becomes pain. You will get back there eventually. I had the similar experience when I got back into tuba playing a few years ago after being away from it for about the same amount of time. All those exercises - scales, slurs, dynamics, etc., that we hated in school now make sense.

The #1 item to watch for is to make sure to not use any pressure on the mouthpiece on the embouchure to make up for fatigue or to get high notes. That will only cut off the blood flow to the embouchure and exacerbate everything.

Hang in there! Welcome back to the trenches.

[MaryAnn]

Mind ahead of body....expecting too much too soon. It would probably benefit you to take a few days off. Then start in much more slowly. And what the other guys said about lack of pressure. This doesn't happen to me on tuba because the cup is bigger than I am, but it does happen on horn, and the difference appears to be whether I am able to use pressure, which I can on horn and I can't on tuba.

[windshieldbug]

Too much, too soon. Back off a bit on playing. Get some tuba related recordings and do some listening as part of your practicing.

When warming up, ease into it. A small bit of just lip flapping, a bit of very gentle mpc buzzing, then find a comfortable center on the tuba and work up and down from there.

+10

Your lips may be swelling from trying too hard.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

From my personal experience, I can say that most of the embouchure problems you have can be fixed simply by buzzing often on the mouthpiece outside the instrument. I'm not saying it will work for you, but it has for me. Good luck.

[Donn]

"Put you mouth up to that thing and make a fart sound in there".

What would you call this school of thought? "Song and Fart", maybe?

[iiipopes]

"Put you mouth up to that thing and make a fart sound in there".

What would you call this school of thought? "Song and Fart", maybe?

Well, if the Italian school of singing is "bel canto," then this school of tuba playing must be "bel peto."

[iiipopes]

By the end of this evening's session, I felt looser and more flexible than I have in a week. My upper range is back up into the bottom half of the treble staff where it should be, but my lower register is struggling to open up and playing wide intervals is a chore at this time.

I'm relieved though, I was beginning to wonder if I'd had a stroke or something! My chops were unusable.

This is how we used to feel after the first full day of band camp every summer. For the low range, relax the throat, think "Oh" inside your mouth, play the lowest note you are comfortable with holding for about 5 to ten seconds at mezzo-piano, then take another deep breath and play one-half step lower. Repeat until you start getting diminishing returns, then rest.

For intervals, start with slurring whole tones, then minor thirds, then major thirds, etc., up to octaves. This will take time, as in weeks, not days, as a few minutes of your daily routine. Remember to slur up firming up the corners of your embouchure and pushing air into the slur, thinking "hah" with the breath as you make the slur up. Don't "smile," as that stretches the embouchure instead of building it. When done correctly, the slur will almost feel like the upper note "pops" out.