TubeNet

One thing is fairly certain.... it's nearly impossible to play a tuba without a mouthpiece

TubaTinker wrote:One thing is fairly certain.... it's nearly impossible to play a tuba without a mouthpiece

It can be done -- use the end of the leadpipe instead -- but the low range goes away completely (the high range is great, though!). Also, be sure the end of the leadpipe has no sharp edges before you try it ...

Size of the lips is not a factor. If you disagree, check out the jazz greats.

vaulter dude wrote:I know that when I played trumpet I had smaller lips, I play tuba and my lips have grown to match the instrument. Maybe I'm the only one

Hey, me too!

Of course when I played trumpet I was six...

Carroll wrote:

vaulter dude wrote:I know that when I played trumpet I had smaller lips, I play tuba and my lips have grown to match the instrument. Maybe I'm the only one

Hey, me too!

Of course when I played trumpet I was six...

That's funny, most trumpet players just have the mentality of a 6 year old.

tubafreaks7 wrote:Who said mouthpieces don't matter?

I think it was a viola player who sat too close to the bass trombone...

tubafreaks7 wrote:The suspense is killing me! Who said mouthpieces don't matter?

I don't know if I ever actually said that, but I'll actually agree -- in the sense that my opinion of a mouthpiece doesn't matter.

I can like what I like, but that doesn't mean that anyone else will like the same ones. Therefore, I refuse to give specific advice on what someone should get for themselves.

Leland wrote:

tubafreaks7 wrote:The suspense is killing me! Who said mouthpieces don't matter?

I don't know if I ever actually said that, but I'll actually agree -- in the sense that my opinion of a mouthpiece doesn't matter.

I can like what I like, but that doesn't mean that anyone else will like the same ones. Therefore, I refuse to give specific advice on what someone should get for themselves.

I believe my advise, or that of another knowledgable brass player could be quite valuable. I disagree that my opinion doesn't matter. I would agree that it is not particularly helpful to someone who knows what they are doing in selecting a mouthpiece. We need to remember that many players, including some on TubeNet, can find a little information and guidance to be quite helpful. Furthermore, a student might find it valuable to listen to mouthpiece suggestions given by that student's private(or otherwise) teacher.

Just my opinion. I know. I know. My opinion doesn't really matter....

I recall a band director holding up a horn and saying: This is not the instrument. Then, taking the mouthpiece out and holding it up: THIS is the instrument. Then, holding up the horn again: This is just the amplifier.

Mabye a bit of an exaggeration to make a point. It is a point I have not forgotten.

Then there is the case where you take a trumpet mouthpiece and put it into the backbore of a tuba mouthpiece, in which case there is no doubt that one of the mouthpieces is the instrument.