Resonance

[clarke]

during rehearsal today i was wondering if how you hold your tuba, like how firmly you grip, if that has any influence on your tone and resonance...would the sound resonate more with verly light grip?...just wondering if anyone has ever heard or seen anything on this

[IkeH]

I've experimented with protective wrapping on various horns the last several years and have noticed a definite effect on response, especially if the wrapping is tight around the bell side, so I can see where there could be one in this case. I don't think it's going to enough to persuade me to have to carry another gadget around though.

[UDELBR]

Unfortunately, my problem is that the leadpipe is too HIGH...i think I just need to get that neck shortening surgery, what do you think? Good idea?

Much easier to have the leadpipe moved. Ain't no thang.

[tubapress]

Some good posts here already. Another way of looking at the "gripping too tightly" issue is that when you grip the instrument very tightly, this produces tension which can spread like wildfire. Tension really is the enemy when it comes to brass playing. Tension can spread quickly to the abdomen, shoulders, neck, throat, tongue. This can drastically affect one's ability to breath freely and to produce an easy relaxed tone.

I've worked some with the DEG tuba stand and have been pleased with the results. The only thing I don't like about it is that it takes some time to find the right height setting each time if you aren't using the same chair every time.

[Steve Marcus]

I know of a player that rests his F-tuba on a small block of wood that has been carved out in order to hold the bottom bow, seemed to work great for him and a cheaper alternative to a tuba stand.

Ted Cox, formerly of the University of Oklahoma, does that.

Unfortunately, my problem is that the leadpipe is too HIGH...

Like you, Rose, I am also "vertically challenged." I purchased a K&M tuba stand because its construction and longevity were reported to be superior to the DEG stand. But the K&M stand would not adjust LOW enough for my needs. I posted this on the old TubeNet, but the only suggestion that I received to make the stand work was to move the leadpipe. The folks at K&M were no help. I now use a rubberized shelf liner on my lap, which I find quite comfortable. However, the points mentioned above about the other advantages of using a stand (less contact with the horn for better sound response, etc.) merit consideration...

[imperialbari]

As for the K&M stand, I didn't see your posting on the sadly late true TubeNet. Sorry!

I have one myself, K&M stand that is, which I use for my BBb and Eb tubas as well as for my euph and some of my baritones/oval-Baritonen. With the latter I put a lined foam pillow between the two forks holding the bottom bows of the tubas.

The former owner of the K&M stand is really tall, so he exchanged the inner tube of the telescope for a longer one, so that I even could use it at standing concerts during the last years, where I could stand unsupported myself (I am a seated musician in any context now).

Initiated by your posting I took another look at my K&M stand. To get it low enough you should follow an advise, that I would not want every young TubeNet reader to follow personally: spread the legs maximally.

If you find that the rubber feet may loose their grip, you might have to replace them. Small massive rubber balls may do the job. And so may synthetic wine-bottle-corks.

If that is not enough, some handyman friend of yours may be able to cut some length of both telescope tubes. I could give you a step by step "how-to" guidance, but only in my own language. And if your man is handy enough, he wouldn't need my advises.

As for the initial subject of this thread: I concur with those advising minimal body and leg contact with the instrument. Resonance certainly is a motive for that. But so is blood circulation in the legs of the players. And even the slightest trace of arthritis will get worse, if ones legs are locked into a fixed position.

And Steve, if you want to feel really high, then let your 10 piece outfit play my arrangement of "Es ritten drei Reiter". You will flow above the 4 trombones as well as the horn.

Klaus

[scottw]

As far as the K&M stand, I was one of the folks in that discussion on the old board. My suggestion was to cut the extra 1" off the top tube of the stand (where the rubber "saddle" goes); this makes a big difference in the height problem, although I really would like it just a tad lower still. Funny that this discussion came up when it did: I was speaking to David Fedderly on the phone Saturday evening about a tuba I am looking to buy, when the conversation turned around to playing stands. He uses a stand which is apparently no longer made, one that he has improved upon and hopes to market in the very near future. As he described it, it will put a real hurting on the K&M and Deg products, being better, more adjustable, lighter, more compact, and cheaper than either! I, for one, cannot wait! Whatever the merits of one stand over another, though, I will never again play without one.

[IkeH]

I've seen used, one of the oddest things to hold up a horn, but not really once you think about it. A friend of mine had an '63 186(that he had since new) with the big 'blade' on the bottom. It wasn't quite tall enough for him, so he drilled a hole in the big ridge and rigged up an endpin like you might see on an upright bass for it, kept in in the bags' pocket and hooked it up for the gig. I actually had the horn for a short while, refurbed and resold it, but kept the peg just as a momento(I had the blade ground down to prevent an "accident").

[CJ Krause]

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[WoodSheddin]

during rehearsal today i was wondering if how you hold your tuba, like how firmly you grip, if that has any influence on your tone and resonance...would the sound resonate more with verly light grip?...just wondering if anyone has ever heard or seen anything on this

As long as you are comfortable, relaxed, and using generally good posture then I don't believe that a light grip will make an audience perceivable difference overall in how you sound. If that lighter grip allows your body to better stay out of tension then it will help. The physics of the horn itself may change, but the change will be little more than MAYBE noticable in a feedback sense by the player. You will not be enhancing the horn itself.

There are MANY other ways to enhance your product which WILL make a REAL difference over the long haul.

[Lew]

Gene Pokorny gave a talk down at the army band conference in January and he mentioned that holding your tuba with your legs can kill resonance. He proved that by playing with a tuba stand so only a very small area (the surface of the pad on the stand) actually touched the horn. It definately made a difference. ...

I was there for that demonstration and can honestly say that I couldn't tell any difference when he played with or without the stand. I was in the back of the room so maybe I was too far away, but I heard no difference. Either way it was better than I could ever hope to sound.

I can tell a difference if I get lazy and rest my left arm on the side of the bell next to the top branch when playing vs. holding the left branch. That will definitely deaden the sound. I always hold my tubas on my lap, but only on one leg, so the contact area of the bottom bow is probably about the same as if I used a stand.

[WoodSheddin]

Gene Pokorny gave a talk down at the army band conference in January and he mentioned that holding your tuba with your legs can kill resonance. He proved that by playing with a tuba stand so only a very small area (the surface of the pad on the stand) actually touched the horn. It definately made a difference. ...

I was there for that demonstration and can honestly say that I couldn't tell any difference when he played with or without the stand. I was in the back of the room so maybe I was too far away, but I heard no difference. Either way it was better than I could ever hope to sound.

I did not hear a difference either.