TubeNet

OK. I've finally had enough of busting my head against the wall re: my high register. I have a very solid good sound up to d above the staff. Then it just quits. And I've been working to get over this for some time (2-3 years off and on - hit it hard for 2-3 weeks, then get frustrated and leave it alone for 3-4 weeks).

What I've been doing:

Arpeggiating up to the high register and holding the top note i.e slur up; C E G C.....B D# F# B....Bb D F Bb....etc. Also chromatic slurs; G G# G....Ab A Ab....A Bb A.... etc. Along with a few other exercises here and there.

Since I have absolutely no trouble whatsoever up to the D, and then it all goes to he!!, I think there is something going on with my embouchure up there. The center of my embouchure feels weak once I get to the Eb. D feels fine, Eb feels weak. Wondering why a 1/2 step makes that much difference?

I have heard on a couple of occasions that when you start getting above middle C, your lower lip starts to roll inward to achieve the higher notes. And this works insofar as the "notes" will come out. That is...something resembling the notes, with poor sound, lack of center and little control; unusable. And I really haven't decided if this is a parlor trick, or an actual usable technique.

I have approached the air issue, and am certain that I'm not changing my air up there.

Something I don't do is pivot a lot, but that doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference between a D and an Eb.

Would buzzing a bone mpc or even a tpt or horn mpc help in strengthening the center of my embouchure? Would that cause other issues in the lower registers? I like how I sound from the D down, so I don't want to bollix that in trying to fix the upper register.

I'm not a student, I've been playing for nearly 30 years. 15 years ago, this wasn't an issue, but I don't have a clue what changed. I don't take lessons for a number of reasons, not the least of which is financial.

So any advice you can give (aside from "go get a lesson") would be helpful and appreciated. I guess I'm looking for philosophical approaches to high register work, and concrete facts and techniques to achieve it. My bag o' tricks is empty.

Thanks

Check out my posts on this topic from a while back.

It's simple and it works. I ain't no rocket surgeon.

Roger

viewtopic.php?t=4051&highlight=high+range

Roger is absolutely right. Focusing and directing the air stream was one thing that my teacher did for me (and changed my life!)

In all of my illustrious career as a student of A. Jacobs' most famous pupils, hearing Song and Wind week after week, no teacher of mine mentioned the possibility that a shift in mouthpiece placement might aid in facility and endurance in the high register. It was not until I've recently owned only an F tuba, trying to play Benvenuto Cellini to a high standard, that I made the discovery that shifting the mouthpiece upwards so as to have more top lip actually in the mouthpiece, brings a whole new level of control in that vulnerable tessitura. This may be specific to me as I have a shorter top lip than most, making natural tendency to have the mouthpiece rim not block or touch the nostrils.

How I got high register: I quit worrying about how high it was. I practiced scales in thirds to a point higher than I needed to go. This works, too.

The more you do it...... the easier it gets. You'll have good days and bad days. Funny thing: good days happen when you're not forcing it.

By the way, did you know, in relative terms, if you can play up to a middle C (the one between the bass and treble clefs), you are playing higher than most trumpet players are expected to play? This is true on both BBb and CC tubas.

Greg wrote:

tuba wrote:The more you do it...... the easier it gets. You'll have good days and bad days. Funny thing: good days happen when you're not forcing it.

This statement should have been prefaced with something like "Playing in the high range is like sex..."

" ... they make pills for that now!"

think about the issues I brought up in the earlier post and don't try it for a little while. Then, once your brain has had a chance to get "around" the concept give it a try. We're talking an immediate improvement, not beating your head against a wall for days or months - it happens right away. Just remember to use more air than you think you need to and it will work. I've seen dramatic improvements in less than 5 minutes once the concept is presented to the player.

The usual thought process on high range is that you try it yourself and fail, then believe that it must be hard. It's not. It's just different. It's just another tool in your bag of tricks.

Roger