TubeNet

Okay, this isn't a "I can't play high wut do I do to plae high lol" thread.

Lately, my high range has getting worn out very quickly in my playing sessions.
I'm talking anything above E4.
After an hour or so, It's just not there...

My lips can't vibrate and all that comes out is alot of "fast moving" air.

What am I doing wrong and does anyone have any drills to help with this?

A professor once told me to lean my upper body and instrument forward to place more lower lip into the mouthpiece. It works most of the time if you take time to practice it. I somtimes use it in a pinch and have moderate success. Usually when I am playing soo high that I need to use this technique it's out of the ordinary playing range. I then work on the "Money" range.
If I REALLY am having trouble I switch from my faithfull PT-88 to my Helleberg 7B. It's a bit easier to squeek them out.

the elephant wrote:High playing must be countered with plenty of low playing. Not only will your chops thank you for the break, but playing *well* in the low register requires that you do the same things correctly that will allow you to play freely and relaxed in the upper register.


Wade

This is pretty interesting. I've always had a great low register ... never any problems there.
How are they related?

Noel -who wishes his high range was as good as his low

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If you are going to be playing for multiple hours and want to develop high chops that will allow you to play high for hours ... you need to take the sage like advice of Alan Raph. Watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4QO5apEMTs" target="_blank


BTW I believe arnold jacobs said most of his practice time was spent playing in the middle register. That would go nicely with this advice I think.

Listen to your teacher. Rinse, repeat.

What I do to develop a stable high range is spend time playing looong notes. Across the whole range. Very quietly. Over and over. Listening to the quality of the tone at all times. Concentrating on creating a good sounding steady sound. And it's a permanent part of my practice. I'll spend 30 minutes of my practice sessions doing just that.

It's like any other muscle building exercise. You have to do it regularly over a period of time. It won't happen overnight. But if you keep practicing it will happen (to the extent that your physiology allows).

Did I mention practice, practice, practice?

ztuba wrote:

BTW I believe arnold jacobs said most of his practice time was spent playing in the middle register. That would go nicely with this advice I think.

Yeah. I was reading all the "play low, play low" comments and thought I'd skip inserting Mr. Jacobs' advice to me ("if you want to play in the high register, you must learn to play in the middle register with ease.") UNTIL I read yours. I should mention that the esteemed teacher at UNT (a friend of mine) also studied with Mr. Jacobs and knows very well how to teach his students to play high AND low AND in the middle. All part of the problem of trying to adequately address a performance problem in print.

Well, regardless of all of our good intentions, we simply cannot adequately address the problems of the original poster in print. What I mean to say is we simply cannot adequately address the problems of the original poster in print. So if we simply cannot adequately address the problems of the original poster in print and I believe that there is no answer the to the problems of the original poster in print, we should refer him to a teacher close by. So let's all simply admit we cannot adequately address the problems of the original poster in print. At least, I would.

Take a day or two completely off. Seriously. Your body will thank you for it. Maybe your facial muscles are just worn out and need the recovery time. May also be the same for the other "muscle" in your head.

Another idea to tigten up a flabby high range to to buzz high slurs on a small mouthpiece once in a while. Isolates the center of the lips. A Kelly 12C trombone piece is an inexpensive choice for such use. Some guys even use a trumpet piece once in a while for the same purpose, but even the 1's feel too small to me.

* Legal Disclamer: Do both of these in moderation.

bloke wrote:Just getting those muscles in shape ("boring" flexibility exercises, long tones: <>, scales, an hour or more of etude study, etc., etc.,) will condition the face muscles enough to be able to play around "middle c" for more than a few minutes.

Simply *playing* around "middle c" for as long as you possibly can (and another minute or two beyond) - just like weight trainers do...and adding time in this range to subsequent practice sessions - will increase your face muscle strength.

This is the only thing that actually works for me.

For me, it really is this simple.

There are no shortcuts and no secrets I've found. No mouthpieces or gizmos make it happen...it takes doing the work with the "boring" stuff bloke mentions.

do lots of scales , arpegios, chromatics, mouthpiece buzzing and long tones. take your time and dont dwell on it so much. try to work on other aspect of your playing as well. play etudes that constantly go higher and higher, also the arnold jacobs beautiful sounds.

i went through the same thing , but i never improved. now that i am working on improving my overall playing, my high range is getting better without actually working my self to death.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=31327#p274399" target="_blank

Alex C wrote:

Well, regardless of all of our good intentions, we simply cannot adequately address the problems of the original poster in print. What I mean to say is we simply cannot adequately address the problems of the original poster in print. So if we simply cannot adequately address the problems of the original poster in print and I believe that there is no answer the to the problems of the original poster in print, we should refer him to a teacher close by. So let's all simply admit we cannot adequately address the problems of the original poster in print. At least, I would.

Since we can't adequately address the problem in print what say we all agree to meet Noel at some tuba booth at TMEA and help him with this? That way we can have him playing in the exhibit hall higher than all the "wannabe" trumpet screamers...without the fatigue. Just kidding, Yutaka

See you guys next week.

Raul

People keep mentioning it but... I don't... have a teacher right now.
Certain situations that I won't list on this board didn't allow me to go back to Kingsville. I'm stuck at a community college near home right now, working on etude books and starting to build my interpretation of the Vaughan Williams to stay in shape.
I really need to talk to Kono about this but... I haven't. (shame on me) AND if you do happen to be reading this, I'll give you a call soon.
I remember him not talking about technique with me (except that I shouldn't squeeze my chops and tense up)... we discussed more of the mental aspect of it. He told me that sometimes it's there, and sometimes it's not; just be sure your worst gets the job done... or something to that extent. His philosophy on playing tuba is unique ; I wouldn't hesitate at all to recomend him as a proffessor for aspiring tubists.

Right now, I don't really have a soloist range... I can get up to F4 and G/G#4 on a good day, but my sound up there tends to suffer. My "money maker" range, however, is pretty good. I really love to crank those low notes on the big horn.



I'd be happy to have a chat or hornshop with any tubenetters that are going to enjoy the exhibit hall at TMEA. I'll be spending plenty of time there and maybe watch a couple of concerts. (my younger sister got first euphonium in the 4A band)

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tubashaman2 wrote:KoolKat, where is your hometown. I might be able to find you a good quality inexpensive teacher

I always thought that was a mythical beast...

The folks who are recommending more practice have it right. High range is simply an issue of muscle-building, and there is no "magic elixir" that any teacher can give you. Want to develop a strong, reliable high range? Practice more high playing and develop your embouchure muscles...simple as that.

[caveat]This advice is, like everything else I've ever posted on TubeNet, "my opinion." You are welcome to disagree.[/caveat]

tubashaman2 wrote:KoolKat, where is your hometown. I might be able to find you a good quality inexpensive teacher

I'm in Roma, in the far western part of the Rio Grande Valley. The current professor at UTPA should be okay, but I'm good with having my old high school teacher listen to how things are going. I'm open to any suggestions, though.

Todd S. Malicoate wrote:

tubashaman2 wrote:KoolKat, where is your hometown. I might be able to find you a good quality inexpensive teacher

I always thought that was a mythical beast...

The folks who are recommending more practice have it right. High range is simply an issue of muscle-building, and there is no "magic elixir" that any teacher can give you. Want to develop a strong, reliable high range? Practice more high playing and develop your embouchure muscles...simple as that.

[caveat]This advice is, like everything else I've ever posted on TubeNet, "my opinion." You are welcome to disagree.[/caveat]

I value this opinion of the high range... thanks to all that reassured my feeling that the high register would come to me with practice.
It's what I've been doing ... if I don't feel my high chops are up to par, I practice high stuff. Doesn't get any simpler than that.

Todd S. Malicoate wrote:

tubashaman2 wrote:KoolKat, where is your hometown. I might be able to find you a good quality inexpensive teacher

I always thought that was a mythical beast...

You mean the three-legged stool analogy applies here, too?

Price
Quality
Availability

Cut one, you have to cut the others to keep the stool level. If you cut the price, quality and availability (or lesson length) will be compromised. Sure there are exceptions, but those exceptions only last for so long.

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