Getting back into tuba shape

[Biggs]

.....and the guys grabbing the balls and such

Ummmm....maybe our jobs aren't as similar as I thought...

[tubacrow]

Maybe I should keep my mouth shut, and maybe I should just let things slide, but this is not productive. I myself am guilty of this. Look at your day, and really look at it. We waste so much time, and instead of being on here I[ Should be practicing. Tubashaman, Elephant is right you have to decide what is important and make those things first in your life.

now I would like to address a couple things you have said. First, you are not alone we all have struggled in shitty jobs, that are in the worst part of the town. Personally I worked as a lifeguard in a low SES area. (and yes I am sure some may think this is a cake job) I do understand rough, we were robbed at gunpoint, twice. Once I had the pleasure of looking down a muzzle. I am not saying this to do anything, but to say I understand working in a rough area. Second, going straight through all three degrees may seem like a good idea, but like everything else sometimes it is good to get some experience before you go back. That way you can see what you don't know, and what you tools you still need to succeed. I personally felt like I knew everything when I got my BM, but the real world proved to me I didn't, and when I returned to school for my masters I truly was a better student becuase I understood as much as I knew there was always someone who knew more.
That said, Keep playing and dreaming.

[The Big Ben]

Second, going straight through all three degrees may seem like a good idea, but like everything else sometimes it is good to get some experience before you go back. That way you can see what you don't know, and what you tools you still need to succeed. I personally felt like I knew everything when I got my BM, but the real world proved to me I didn't, and when I returned to school for my masters I truly was a better student becuase I understood as much as I knew there was always someone who knew more.

I can understand this and agree. I was teaching a few years before I went back and got my master's in education. I knew better what I wanted and needed because I had a little experience.

James did not state if he was planning to go to the same school for all three degrees but, at least in my field, we were discouraged from doing that because it was felt that we needed a wider exposure to ideas than we would get just from one school.

In my field, I frequently go to conferences and have trainings in specific areas of teaching. To me, the sum of these trainings makes me a better teacher than if I had another advanced degree. I'm guessing that having a resume with many master classes with established tuba players/teachers might be more valuable to a working tuba player/teacher than advanced degrees.

Funny thing is, I once had that goal of a PhD. It would have been the 'ultimate intellectual achievement' for me but, after awhile, it didn't matter. I had been saving my money and was getting ready to begin chipping away at it, quarter by quarter, when I realized that the 'doing' of education was more important to me than the 'studying how'. I have about ten years left in my teaching career and, while it would have been cool to have a 'Post Hole Digger", I don't feel that I have let myself down. You can't get HS kids to call you "Dr. Big Ben" anyway. We had a band director who would flip out if the kids did not call him "Dr. ----". He was kind of a whack job anyway but he just made things worse for himself.

That's a little off the stated topic but kind of connected, too. If James wants to go straight through, good on him. I guess sometimes an old guy like me has a little different way of looking at it than a young fella working on his BA.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

For what I want to do, having a doctorate wouldnt hurt.

Just in the pocketbook...

There are many pros on here who would tell you without hesitation that it wouldn't help, either. But do what you feel is best for you.

[Brucom]

Get a 6 inch tube.Attach to mp.Buzz along with the Brass Gym to and from work.Play etudes,esp.low register stuff from 8-9 each night.Problem solved.

Yeah. That's a little more specific than I was going to suggest.

Yes, go to the local hardware store and get a piece of plastic tubing, half-inch inside diameter, preferably clear plastic, so you can see when things start to grow on the inside. It will cost less than a dollar.

Put this foot of tubing on the end of any mouthpiece. Buzz. The resistance is like playing the whole tuba. Buzz in the car every day. Practice when you can.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

My sound feels weird and unsupported sometimes (though im using alot of air) on my 180F, and sounds great on CC. the 180 has a huge sound, and im in a small room, do you think this will make the horn sound weird at all TO THE EARS....im still getting used to F tuba

Answer...

Record yourself, and decide for yourself if the horn sounds "weird." Post some sound files of you playing your F on acidplanet if you want anyone here to possibly comment on your sound. It's very difficult to help when we have no idea what you're talking about. I don't understand how you can sound unsupported when you're using a lot of air.

Record, listen, evaluate, modify, repeat. Not rocket science.

[tubacrow]

LoL

...and its such a small tuba...im thinking thats it....and im a hugeguy

I needed a smile tonight!
I am 6'3" and 293lbs. do I qualify as huge too?

[Dean]

There is no correlation between physical size (or even lung size) and the ability to "fill up" a horn. Lung capacity does help with playing a longer phrase, but has nothing to do with the qualities of the sound.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I would guess that James, like many tuba players, rarely or never buzzes whole etudes or longer pieces of music as a practice tool, even though it is a very good regimen for strengthening the embouchure muscles. The best part is not having to worry about taking out the horn, making too much noise, or finding a place to practice. You can quite literally do it anywhere, at (almost) any time (I wouldn't recommend it at church services...the old ladies look at you funny). Quit depending on your mouthpiece and various tubes/gadgets to assist the buzz...learn how to do it "au naturale."

Get bored buzzing? Good...try buzzing real music at softer and softer dynamic levels. Anybody can buzz loud, but the player that can buzz with accuracy and good (ok, decent) tone quality has really strong chops. It makes playing through the instrument feel easier.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I would submit to the TNFJ that if a player gets dizzy after only 5 or 10 minutes of buzzing, then it follows that they are using a very large volume of air to create the buzz instead of using the strength of the embouchure muscles. That was the reason for my suggestion that buzzing softly could be of some use (assuming that increasing embouchure strength is the goal). Comments?

[TMurphy]

I would submit to the TNFJ that if a player gets dizzy after only 5 or 10 minutes of buzzing, then it follows that they are using a very large volume of air to create the buzz instead of using the strength of the embouchure muscles. That was the reason for my suggestion that buzzing softly could be of some use (assuming that increasing embouchure strength is the goal). Comments?

I think if you get dizzy after buzzing for ten minutes, but not after playing for ten minutes, you need to think about what you are doing differently when you buzz. Or, to put it another way, you should think about how to apply what you need to do to get a get buzz on the mouthpiece, to playing the horn.

Todd, I think what you were trying to say is, if you are getting dizzy when you buzz after only 5-10 minutes, you are not using your air efficiently. The air stream should be working with the embouchure to create the buzz, rather than forcing the lips to buzz. If so, then I agree.

Using a very large volume of air to create your sound is not a bad thing. Not having a firm embouchure to control that airstream is where you will run into trouble, but I don't necessarily think that is the cause of the dizziness.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I dont want to do tires the rest of my life, with a bachelors degree I can do better even outside the music field

You know, I remember a time when I thought people somehow magically got paid more just because they have a college degree. Then reality smacked it's hand across my face. It's not true. But that's another thread.

I have tried to be helpful with James...he reminds me a lot of myself as an undergraduate. The things I say to him are, without exception, things I wish someone had said to me when I was in his shoes now that I am looking backward at those days. Because of my poor communication skills, I have been branded as rude, mean, and sarcastic both on the board and in private messages. I have now had my fill of that, and return you to your regular programming.

Thanks to TMurphy and to Wade for more accurately saying what I was trying to say about buzzing from a pedagogical viewpoint. I still think it is valuable to learn to buzz softer and softer, though...at least it works well for me.

[The Big Ben]

::sigh::

[TMurphy]

As always, Wade comes along and says what I was trying to say, only much, much clearer. Great post, thanks.

And to James...you mentioned in an earlier post needing to warm up better...I have a great warm-up routine I got from my teacher and have been using it for a few years now...PM me and I can send it over to you.