Page 1 of 1

New to tuba

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2024 9:11 pm
by kyleighterry
Hello everyone im currently marching trumpet and am planning on switching to marching tuba next season so does anyone have any tips to get better at the tuba?

Re: New to tuba

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2024 11:35 pm
by windshieldbug
Start practicing now.

Re: New to tuba

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2024 11:01 am
by jayfarlow
windshieldbug wrote: Tue Nov 05, 2024 11:35 pm Start practicing now.
Agreed. And be patient with yourself. On any new instrument, it takes a lot of practice to learn to create the desired tone and it might seem at first as if you're making no progress. Stick with it.

Re: New to tuba

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2024 12:14 pm
by iiipopes
I did that as a freshman in high school. I still do both: tuba & souzy for community band; trumpet/cornet for the community-based Honor Flight reception band.
1) Relax the embouchure slightly for the lower pitches;
2) Think "bigger" air for volume instead of velocity of air for trumpet, while keeping the same support from the diaphram and intercostals.
3) Work on the "corners" of your embouchure to stabilize the larger mouthpiece. No pressure, that will "choke" the embouchure and will either crack or simply not allow the embouchure to buzz.
4) The orifice, or "hole" in your embouchure between the lips will need to be a tad larger. But don't try to do it right off. It will come with the reconditioning of the embouchure.
For the first month, about the only note I could get out of the school souzy was bottom of the staff F with shallow tone. I kept working at it until I had it up to where everything needed to be, and I haven't looked back.

Re: New to tuba

Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2024 10:40 am
by Slamson
Long, long, long tones. Try to play those long tones without pushing the air, just let it flow. Initially your range will be pretty narrow, but that can be expanded gradually with slurred arpeggios (I have an exercise called "high notes for low brass" along those lines). Develop the softer range of the instrument first, be patient and eventually you can start to be more aggressive. When that happens, though, the big sound needs to come from "oh", not "ta". Those are the biggest differences between tuba and that pigmy instrument they call the trumpet.