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well (as a biggun myself), smaller people in better shape generally do have an easier time taking in large quantities of air. If you think about it, it makes quite a good deal of sense. When you breathe in, the diaphagm moves down and pushes all the lower organs down so that the lungs can expand in the chest. For a skinny person these organs are just pushing at skin, so they'll move easier than if a very horizontally challenged person trries to breathe against several inches of fat on their mid section.

I think there is a median.. I know a bigger guy here who can flat out move some air! he may not be the best sounding/playing tuba player but as far as air and volume hes got alot!..

small people tend to have problems with large quantities, but at the same time I think if you were large and unhealthy you would have problems.


Jacob"who thinks its a matter of how healthy you are, large or small, that affects the ability of playing"Morgan

Jacob Morgan wrote:I think there is a median.. I know a bigger guy here who can flat out move some air! he may not be the best sounding/playing tuba player but as far as air and volume hes got alot!..

small people tend to have problems with large quantities, but at the same time I think if you were large and unhealthy you would have problems.


Jacob"who thinks its a matter of how healthy you are, large or small, that affects the ability of playing"Morgan

Yes, but let's have him lose 20 pounds and see if he breathes even better.

Not that I play that often now (once a week or so), but over the summer I dropped 30 pounds and found that I had a ton more air when I do play. How do I know? The phrases I used to have to break up were now done in one breath.

After speaking with a few of the bigger low brass players at my schools in the past, I can state my observations. These are NOT facts, just what I think.

Skinny people have an easier time taking air in, with no resistance from fat in the pushing out the the lower organs. But unless you have very toned abdominals (which not many very skinny people do) you have a very tough time of getting the air out.

Fatter people have a tougher time taking air in, because of the resistence of the weight. The fat does help push the air out of your body though.

Something that not many people think about is chest size and flexibility. I'm a pretty average sized guy, but small tuba player. I'm about 5' 9", 170 pounds. My lung capacity is about 5 liters because my chest is pretty big, and your lungs are up there in your ribs. I'm sure many great players, either fat or skinny have big chests. As for flexibility, alot of people just don't stretch enough or at all. This elasticity and moving all parts of your body is just as important as regular exercise, and it helps you get more air into you because you could expand just that little bit more.

Something that helped me with my breathing, either learn something about anatomy and function, or find someone who already knows about it and get them to explain the respiratory system. Knowledge is power, but don't analyze too much, AJ-Paralysis by Analysis.

I just sat in on a couple of numbers at my alma mater's community Christmas program today. I wore my school tux that I had used with that ensemble (circa 2002-2005) and the waist had mysteriously shrunk several inches; it would have taken the jaws of life to button the pants. Thank goodness for cummerbunds!

the elephant wrote:Stay fit, eat right, die anyway.

Stay obese, die sooner.

Stay obese, die happier...

windshieldbug wrote:Stay obese, die happier...

Stay obese, start dying sooner and take more time getting there.

But back on topic, I have ranged from fat couch potato to Ironman triathlete. I was not a better tuba player when I was ultra-fit, for the simple reason that to be that fit I had to train 15 hours a week and that left no time for the tuba. If you have time to do both and still fulfill the responsibilities of life, fine. But if you don't, then you have to seek out that word so hard for most people to find: Balance.

Rick "on his way back to fat" Denney

Rick Denney wrote:Stay obese, ... and take more time getting

everywhere! (there included!)

Stay obese, drink red wine like the obese lab rats who, after imbibing all the good anti-oxidant extracts of the red wine fed to them, showed none of the supposed negative health effects of being obese, and developed none thereafter, and so enjoy life a long time!

As a somewhat chubby (5'9"/225 lb) amateur, I can state for certain that playing standing allows better air flow (low F's and Eb's come out better -- BBb 3v sousa) than seated... I think that implies pretty clearly that less (of me) around the middle would be better.

Because of my Drum Corps upbringing I've varied weight quite a bit.


Before DC i was close to 300 pounds, went down to about 175 for a few years, back up to about 210, and now I sit firmly at an athletic 235 (powerlifter but still a chunker).


I can say without a doubt I felt like my sound deteriorated GREATLY when I was under 200 pounds. I'm not sure why. Physically my embouchure is a little quirky and I have affectionately termed "bird lips". I"m not sure how much that factors into it, but it seems like weighing more I have indeed sounded better.


That being said, I'm heavy because of my powerlifting regime, jimmy johns sub sandwiches, bad cafeteria food, and Thunderhead Brewery. NOT because I think it makes me sound better.

iiipopes wrote:Stay obese, drink red wine like the obese lab rats who, after imbibing all the good anti-oxidant extracts of the red wine fed to them, showed none of the supposed negative health effects of being obese, and developed none thereafter, and so enjoy life a long time!

haha, i heard about this too. when asked how much red wine a human would have to drink in order to get the amount of that handly little chemical the mice did in a concentrated formula, they replied that it was like over a hundred bottles a day. But i'm sure noone really sees a problem with that. hah. Bottoms up! I'm betting it would really help my chances of getting into grad school.

i'd like to comment on this issue with all seriousness.

i was an obsese child and had some difficult weight issues during my transition to college.

a year ago i began to exercise for an hour to hour 1/4 everyday. i'm 5'9 and i went from 200 lbs to 170 and gained alot of muscle mass.

has it improved my playing? i'd say so....we all can take bigger breaths and i'm working on that and i still am a relatively tense player.

however, we're not "tuba players", we're musicians.
and about a year i began to become a new person. i feel wonderful all of the time, i'm tired less, more able bodied and have a stronger mental focus. being a good person and musician will create a better tuba player so i would advocate for progression of one's physical capabilities.

i'm not saying to start down creatine and lifting til you bleed, just be active. it's made me a better person and tuba player.

thedeep42 wrote:


haha, i heard about this too. when asked how much red wine a human would have to drink in order to get the amount of that handly little chemical the mice did in a concentrated formula, they replied that it was like over a hundred bottles a day.

I'm game!

Yeah, what's new in the world. Cyclamates were banned as a sweetener in the 60's because it caused cancer in lab rats. Only years later did anybody figure out that the amount in question was the equivalent of drinking multiple cases of original Fresca at one sitting every day over the course of several years. And Fresca has never tasted as good to me since. And neither has root beer since real sassafras extract ws banned for the same reason. At least in the woods around here you can still get sassafras if you're a mind to go root harvesting.

You can be assured that: It ain't over 'til the fat tuba player plays.
(while the skinny lady sings.)

I'am a big'un too . According to my ENT guy ( Ear,nose and throat) when you are fat you are fat everywhere !! There are folds of skin in your throat that will grow fat as the rest of you does and it will restrict airflow . This condition contributes to Sleep Apnea . It only makes sense it will make it harder to play a wind instrument .

Living life LARGE !!! 6' and 300 + pounds