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I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions for me regarding how best to line up my mouth and horn. I am six foot eight inches tall with a long sitting height. I find that I am leaning forward about 15 degrees or so when playing and tilting my head back to get my mouth to fit to the mouthpiece. This is murder on my neck and back after a while, and my playing suffers accordingly (not that it is that great anyway, but I enjoy what I can do). I am only an amateur player in a community orchestra/band, but would really appreciate any advice. I have tried using a single tuning bit from a sousaphone, but still can’t quite get a comfortable alignment. Using more than one bit looks a little too odd (even for odd-looking me) and still doesn’t quite line things up comfortably.

You might try one of the new tuba stands. It might be long enough to adjust to your height. Not sure but it would be worth checking out. As i recall they don't cost much.

i use hockey pucks. i super glue a piece of non slip stuff ont he bottom of two of them. and then stack them accordingly and set my tuba on there no problems after there. I found some really cheap ones that were like a dollar a piece. might check into that. plus they are easy to transport. plus fun to play with non the less. hope this helps.

josh wagner wrote:i use hockey pucks. i super glue a piece of non slip stuff ont he bottom of two of them. and then stack them accordingly and set my tuba on there no problems after there. I found some really cheap ones that were like a dollar a piece. might check into that. plus they are easy to transport. plus fun to play with non the less. hope this helps.

I can attest that this works like gangbusters.

A tuba stand is certainly one idea to pursue. Also a good repair/tech might be able to alter the leadpipe of your existing horn to better suit you. A different horn is another option. You might be somebody that a Besson/Boosey & Hawkes top action tuba might not be too tall for. If it has the ball on the bottom and that makes the horn too tall you can have that removed.

I am 6' 6" tall.

Before I had my leadpipe adjusted by an excellent repairman (this is a
job only for excellent repair technicians) I used a small pillow.
I had no problems with slippage, but it was yet one more thing to forget.

Also, I think that Wade's post was right on the money.

good luck,
Mark

When I was able to start playing after the crash, I too, had to use a tall pillow-like object (PLO).

Use something soft enough and big enough not to cause slippage like pucks.
And soft enough on the edges that you can just store it in your bell. Don't worry, your lap will remind you, and so will the resistance, until you remember to take it out automatically at a gig!

I'm 6' 6" and back when I was in college I went to a building supply store, like Home Depot, and got some 1" thick cork strips and glued enough of them together to make just the right height for me. Cork is great, you can cut it to shape to fit between your legs so it will stay on the chair. It won't slide on the chair and it grips the bottom of the horn. But now, with the extra weight I have put on over the years, the cork won't fit on the chair anymore, so I use a DEG playing stand.

Crotch blocks and hockey pucks work well, but tend to get lost or disappear just when you need them. Changing the leadpipe also can work well, but there are limits to what it can accomplish. Here's what I came up with:



It is inexpensive, adjustable, and involves no modification of the tuba itself. (I could remove it in a minute and you would never know it had been there.)

Details are here:
http://www.galvanizedjazz.com/tuba/tuba-support.html

Schlepporello said :

I just let it rest on my leg and go to town.

What town do you go to ?

Anyone remember the Stewart Stand? I think one of our board members even had his permanently soldered on to the horn.
http://www.wwbw.com/Stewart-Tuba-Stand-i79617.music
At barely 5'7", I have used a DEG stand with a few mods on and off over the years... to LOWER the horn!

I'm not sure if this has been said or if you have already tried this but K&M makes a "Tall Tuba Stand." It's easy to find and that might help.

Buy an older Besson Sov 4-valve BBb comp. The leadpipe is so high you should not have any problems!

Seriously, I didn't see what kind of tuba you play, or if it is the band's tuba or your tuba. You might just have to have the lead pipe and receiver repositioned with a good tech. If the tuba is yours and fits you otherwise, especially if it is a rotary with longer leadpipe, that is the best solution.

Try using a Tubassist stand. It will position over the chair if that is desired.

With that you should be able to get the tuba the height and position to suit you.

In grad school my teacher was the late Ev Gilmore, who was extremely tall (maybe 6'7", maybe even taller than that!) At 5'10" I am the height that is considered the optimal size for a tuba player. I can put almost any tuba in my lap and it feels just right. Anyway, Ev said all he needed for him to make a tuba work right was a couple of back issue volumes of the Dallas white pages phone book. He even used these (the books covered with black cloth) when he performed with the Dallas Symphony.

I've been out of town for a while and would like to express my thanks to all who have graciously post suggestions. As things settle down, I will try some of these idea and let you know what happens.

Thank you again to everyone. This is such a nice community, but what else would you expect from tuba players?

Bloke - Very interesting old pictures. Any info to go with them? Thanks -

Another fine post by The Elephant above on this issue. I use a makeshift consortium of tuba boosters, myself. Perhaps I should get more scientific about this. Like The Elephant, I am a 6'-2" guy and a little long in the trunk area. Hence, the inevitable stoop towards the lower mouthpiece. I had thought of altering leadpipe location, but have also noticed that, depending on whatever there might be to sit on at the gig, the height of the leadpipe/ mouthpiece might vary. So I fix that from below by some type of cushioning mechanism.

But some of you REALLY sizable guys seem to be heading towards a good body of solution on this. The stand seems to be a good weapon of choice. Going to road test a few and see what fits best.

One good stand example is the small one used by Dr Fredrick Young on his large EEb tuba shown on the left in bloke's post. Can't quite see it here, really, but there's a little booster underneath there, I'm pretty sure. I believe that is Gerard Hoffnung on the right, though I could be wrong, though Mr Hoffnung's ventures with over-sized tubas -- not to mention others seen in this forum and elsewhere -- lead to some good ideas about stands/ levelers/ balancers, esp when lowering the instrument from lap to floor. Different types of options, depending on what you need to do.

One of my section-mates uses his wife's yoga block. It's essentially a very lightweight foam, but fairly rigid. You have to wrap it in fabric or the brass moving against it squeaks.

keronarts wrote:...
One good stand example is the small one used by Dr Fredrick Young on his large EEb tuba shown on the left in bloke's post.
....

Dr Young's tuba is actually a double tuba in BBb and EEE.