From trumpet to tuba

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 9:00 pm

Assuming you can already read music.... download the fingering chart for BBb tuba under 'tips' on this forum... get a copy of "I Recommend"... and start working on your scales. Just pretend you never played trumpet. Otherwise.... an Eb tuba might have been a simpler transition.

Tubaryan12 · Post by **Tubaryan12** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:00 pm

I think the BBb is a better choice because trumpet is also a Bb instrument. The best thing about that is that anything you used to play on trumpet will sound the same (but lower) on the tuba if you use the same fingerings. Get yourself a beginning tuba book and work from that. When I made the same switch years ago I didn't think about the name of the note...only the placement on the staff and the fingering for that note. Concentrate on that in the beginning. The rest will take care of itself as you work your way through the book.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:42 pm

figaro wrote:I got this yamaha BBb at a flea market for $50 and it plays!

Yep.... THAT was a bargain! Good luck with it and welcome to tubadom.

ThomasP · Post by **ThomasP** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 11:09 pm

I made the switch from Trumpet to Tuba in 7th grade. This is what I did. As stated before you can play the same fingerings on the tuba as you do the tuba and the same notes play, just different octaves. When I made the transition I took a trumpet playing friend of mine to a room and we played the same lines so that I could get used to playing in that register. It was not until I was comfortable with making sounds on the tuba did I begin to read tuba music. This is what I did, and I like to think it worked. And I learned on a Yamaha BBb too, I'm sure it's a different model, but the point is that it was a BBb.

Ace · Post by **Ace** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 1:51 am

If a trumpet player switches to tuba and reads bass clef well, the CC tuba is the logical choice. The fingerings are the same as trumpet. In terms of fingering (not pitch), treat the C below the bass staff as the low c on the trumpet, and work your fingerings out from there.

tubeast · Post by **tubeast** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:04 am

Welcome to the tuba!! I was in your shoes 15 years ago.
It was the second best thing that has happened in my life.

Maybe you want to get a beginnerÂ´s tuba method after all.
(Long tones and stuff)
After about 13 years of playing (including quintet and occasional soloing) and thorough practise, I bought a beginnerÂ´s method helping out a beginning tubist in band. Just fooled around a bit with it myself to see how these things were supposed to sound, and boy, could I use some of that stuff !!
Advanced technical studies sure have their place, but itÂ´s the basic and simple things that are hard to do well.

Skills I need (and practise, and hopefully improve) every day are: Breathe well. Give the note a good start, a decent sound, and a solid end. Slurr smoothly. Have a wide array of dynamics.
Know your rhythms.
I lack reading and fingering abilities on fast passages, but rarely need those, sound is much more important to what I do.

Have fun
Hans

ThomasP · Post by **ThomasP** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:30 am

I don't think that tinkering with mouthpieces is a good idea this early in your learning of the tuba. Find a standard mouthpiece (Bach 12,18,24AW) or honestly in my opinion any mouthpiece. Learn to play it and then after you get used to that mouthpiece I see no problem with you seeking out a different and better mouthpiece.

Lars Trawen · Post by **Lars Trawen** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:36 am

Start using the same books as for trumpet. Same notes, same fingering. Try to join a brass band, using the same clef only. You will never have need for bass clef.
However, after bored of brass bands and you are familiar with the tuba, try to learn the bass clef. It takes some time but is much easier than going that way directly.
Being able to play the trumpet litterature also opens a new and different world.
So I did. I also learned the trombone that way. Good luck and welcome!
Lars

MaryAnn · Post by **MaryAnn** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 1:19 pm

I did what you did, except with (french) horn, a few years ago. Except horn is still my main instrument.

The brass band advice is ok....but really, just learn the fingerings and the clef. It only takes a couple months. Sight read everything you can get your hands on (to learn the clef/fingerings.)

And I agree with not fiddling with mouthpieces; just use the one that came with it (or a middle-of-the-road piece) until you have some technique. Only after you have technique will specialized mouthpieces make any difference.

If you can already play the low notes you're doing well; the problem with going from that tiny mouthpiece to the teacup mouthpiece is getting more of your lips to flap. I made pffing sounds for the first couple of months down low; and I've seen my horn playing friends who try to play my tuba do the same thing (pffing sounds.) It just takes time, relaxation, and of course.....A*I*R !!!

MA

TubeNet

From trumpet to tuba

My thoughts on mouthpiece tinkering