Teaching a Beginner - Partial Issues

[Thomas Maurice Booth]

Thanks again for all the replies, everyone.

Lesson #2 went better than #1. My first objective was to try and get him to move more air than he knew he could. I pulled out my trusty ping-pong ball air visualizer and kicked his butt with it for about 10 minutes. That exercise was followed by putting that same quantity of air through the mouthpiece, buzzing from F up to G back down to F and then down to D and then adding the mouthpiece to the tuba. At the end of his lesson, he was able to replicate the sequence 8 or 9 times in a row - a huge improvement!

His lesson tomorrow will incorporate more of the same plus some of the items included in this thread. Hopefully he will continue to relax more in his lessons and keep improving!

TMB

[happyroman]

Thanks again for all the replies, everyone.

Lesson #2 went better than #1. My first objective was to try and get him to move more air than he knew he could. I pulled out my trusty ping-pong ball air visualizer and kicked his butt with it for about 10 minutes. That exercise was followed by putting that same quantity of air through the mouthpiece, buzzing from F up to G back down to F and then down to D and then adding the mouthpiece to the tuba. At the end of his lesson, he was able to replicate the sequence 8 or 9 times in a row - a huge improvement!

His lesson tomorrow will incorporate more of the same plus some of the items included in this thread. Hopefully he will continue to relax more in his lessons and keep improving!

TMB

Keep in mind that any time we are learning a new skill, there will be crudity at first. However, if given a good example to imitate, and with the proper mental motivation, we learn the new skills very quickly through trial and error. Just make sure he keeps trying to produce his best possible sound, starting in the middle register at a middle dynamic, and gradually work outwards.

Also, assuming he is a younger player, his lung capacity may not be fully developed. As you work on having him use full breaths, allow him to breath whenever necessary. He will not be able to match the length of phrase of an adult, and trying to do so can create huge problems for him. Do not allow him to play on the last 1/3 to 1/4 of his lung capacity. It will be much better for him if he part of his "gas tank" from 3/4 full to 1/4 full, and then fill back up.

[MaryAnn]

I'd disagree re: solfege. Being able to sing pitches accurately using diatonic scale step numbers, or even "la" is adequate. The solfege syllables just add an unnecessary level of complexity.

I think being able to use the solfege syllables is a more advanced technique, and possibly more applicable to horn players, who play in a wide variety of transpositions. It's very useful to know which is the 4th or 5th of the scale etc when playing Horn in Q# on a Haydn symphony, where it's mostly open notes that are played. Probably not nearly as important for tuba players.

[happyroman]

I'd disagree re: solfege. Being able to sing pitches accurately using diatonic scale step numbers, or even "la" is adequate. The solfege syllables just add an unnecessary level of complexity.

I think being able to use the solfege syllables is a more advanced technique, and possibly more applicable to horn players, who play in a wide variety of transpositions. It's very useful to know which is the 4th or 5th of the scale etc when playing Horn in Q# on a Haydn symphony, where it's mostly open notes that are played. Probably not nearly as important for tuba players.

Mr. Jacobs suggested that Northwestern start teaching solfege during a faculty meeting. The rest of the faculty acted like he told a dirty joke in church. However, he firmly believed in its value and practiced it daily throughout his entire career.

[Rick Oakes]

Play (humm,sing, etc.) the MELODY.


Rick