Hitting the high D

[tuba114]

I have had a constant problem of not being able to hit the high D above the staff wile playing through a passage of music. The wired thing is that it is not an issue of not practicing or not enough air because I can easily hit all the notes around it. I can play the high D flat with no problem and the E flat with no problem. I have tried doing lip slurs, long tones, and anything and everything I could think of to help me improve, but nothing seems to work. It also might be an issue with the horn I am currently playing on which is a 201N St. Petersburg.

[Doug@GT]

It's not the horn.

Take the mouthpiece off the tuba, sit down at a piano with a tuner, and practice the pitch until you can play it consistently just on the mouthpiece. Then do it some more. Stick that sucker back in the horn and see what happens.

Doug "that's what worked for me"

[Charlie Goodman]

Maybe try an alternate fingering? That can have an effect on how a note slots.

[Dylan King]

If you are playing a CC tuba, you may want to try fingering that D open.

[Doug@GT]

There are a few models of BBb tubas that have "funky" pitches above Bb...

I got ahold of a St. Pete today just to see. The high D popped right out.

tuba114, try playing in octaves. Play D-D-D, low-middle-high. (1+2, open, open)

[Ryan_Beucke]

It is the horn, but it's also not an excuse for not being able to play it. Most horns have bad notes, that are harder to center. My B natural on my euph is really bad, but I've worked it out so I can hit it. I vote trying the alternate fingerings, playing octaves, and buzzing before playing it.