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Play it down an octave....then down another one....then back up (so you are still an octave down)....then finnaly play it where written. Focus on playing the high notes as easy as they are an octave or two lower.

Honestly, if you have to ask this question less than a week before performing it, I would find a trombone player to play it on euph!

Good luck!

Keep in mind the part is written for french tuba in C... an entire octave above CC tuba. I don't know what horn you are using, but playing on anything lower than an F tuba is recipe for disaster.

You won't see people trying to play trumpet parts on trombone (can you imagine???) and same goes for us. If you don't have high F tuba or euphonium chops, you'll want to find someone else to cover it for you. As said in earlier posts, get one of the trombone players to do it or "hire" a euphonium player to cover it.

The one time I was in an orchestra that did Pictures, I was given no choice. They hired a "euphonium specialist" (actually a very naive trombone player--but he was all that was available) to do the part and I played the rest of it. He received pay for the whole concert for only doing "Bydlo."

I know it can be done on E-flat tuba. I could have brought a euphonium or an E-flat tuba. But then I have to be paid a doubling fee. So, the orchestra guild pays more money to hire on a euphonium specialist. Go figure.

LoyalTubist wrote: So, the orchestra guild pays more money to hire on a euphonium specialist. Go figure.

Yeah... I have been that guy on many occasions, and I LIKE it!

LoyalTubist wrote:I know it can be done on E-flat tuba. I could have brought a euphonium or an E-flat tuba. But then I have to be paid a doubling fee. So, the orchestra guild pays more money to hire on a euphonium specialist. Go figure.

On the other hand, the so-called specialist assumed the entire risk of making it sound bad. If he plays it well, no harm to you. If he blows it, no harm to you. The question is not whether he got paid, but whether he would ever be paid again. You had the steady gig.

Rick "who would play it on a euphonium if asked, but who doesn't need the pressure of playing for money" Denney

You did not say if this was for a performance, which I'm assuming it is not. Soooooo, if you absolutely have to be ready on Saturday and you are desperate, here's what you do:

Play the excerpt on your mouthpiece. You may find that you are able to play it repeatedly on your mouthpiece (3-4 times) but don't take yourself to fatigue. Work to be at ease playing the notes in the staff.

You can do this three or four times a day but only allow yourself to play it on your tuba once per practice session. Never more than twice a day.

This has worked for me and for my students and I. If you follow the routine, it will work for you. If you continue what you're doing you already know the results.

Considering the time frame, don't let a single, missed note ruin the notes that follow it. Allow yourself the luxury of one or two missed notes. You can learn to eliminate those from the mouthpiece practice if you follow the routine but it takes off a lot of pressure and allows you to concentrate on making music.

Here's the exercise I did a while back when working this up for a concert: Start on F in the staff and GLISS up to a C just above the staff(middle "C") making sure to push down all the valves in between. Go up a half step and gliss Gb to Db and so on to as high as you can go comfortably. I went to F above the staff to C in the treble clef. Next, slur a minor sixth starting on F in the staff and glissing to Db....Get the picture? Expand the interval chromatically up to an octave(F to F, Gb to Gb etc.). When you gliss use all five valves and intentionally "smear" up to the higher interval. As it becomes easier, try and make it a true slur as opposed to the gliss. Pushing down all five valves during the gliss creates some resistance and will fool you into the more open fingering being "easier". I did this exercise about 10 minutes a day at the end of my practice session for a month before the performance and it did the trick. A week might be enough time to make it work but the worst thing you can do is beat this up for hours at a time. By the way...I warmdown with low, long tones following.

-james (who RARELY practices this in a public place)

Yeah. Glising/slurring up is a big help. It helps your to forget that playing high is nothing more than air control, and a little pressure on the mouthpiece with your face to keep the air seal.

You need a much larger amount of air pressure to play cleanly and openly up there. So you will need to reduce the size of gap between your lips by tucking in the lower lip and making sure the jaw is pulled in. In addition to increased air pressure, this reduction will also point the airstream at a more downward angle, which is also paramount to playing higher.

It takes practice to learn to keep the air stream steady and very well supported. Not to mention learning the proper direction the air should travel in, and the proper speed/pressure at which it should travel depending on which note you are playing as gap size, air direction and pressure vary between each note.

Although it can be useful to isolate the breathing process from the playing process as a learning (or unlearning) exercise, I think it's pretty difficult to isolate "air control" from the playing process. Playing relies on a balanced system of lungs/ribcage and embouchure. Just blowing more air through a too flabby or too tight embouchure doesn't really get you very far. If you blow from the lungs and the only resistance is your lips, air control has to be the result of the balance between the two. Roger Bobo's Mastering the Tuba is all about this. If you don't want to buy it your local university library will probably have it. Bloke suggested an exercise on the old tubenet that involved long tones at 60 bpm over 4 measures with crescendo and decrescendo through the cash register. Diligent work on this exercise in mid, low and high range will help to define what air control means to a particular individual. (and get the balance between lungs and lips worked out)

Bob

Yes. I felt the same way when I was typing the above. I mean, sure, it gives a rough explaination that can be helpful, but its no magic trick. It's just a baseline to work from that can get you to where you are going, as long as you throw in lots of practice. Words alone arent enough.

David wrote:You need a much larger amount of air pressure to play cleanly and openly up there.

I understand what you mean, but I prefer to think of it as increased airspeed (faster air) as you go higher, and slower air (more relaxed air) as you go lower.

Hmm. I agree. Although its a fact that there will be increased air pressure up there, the word "pressure" can be a little misleading. It goes along with the whole misleading theory of "lip strength" to play high.