TubeNet

I practice in my bedroom every once in a while and hear a whole lot of strange "stuff" when I play certain notes. It's "stuff" that I've never heard before, so I go to a different room in my house (larger and less "crap"-filled) and I sound just fine when I play the same notes in the same way. I just attribute those anomalies it to the acoustics of my bedroom.

That said, I really like practicing in a very spartan practice room that is usually pretty small in size. I also like those practice rooms in schools that are specially designed in their acoustic properties.

If I could, I'd love to practice outdoors all the time. Nothing to get in the way of the sound. On my Marzan, Low G, F#, and F can all start to growl at pretty low volumes when I'm practicing in my tiny New York apartment. I'm sure there is something behind it, but in a larger room, or a gigantic church (where my last concert was), that is either not there or evaporates quickly.

Maybe if I moved to Montana, like Rev Rob, I'd have enough open space to practice outside all the time?

bloke wrote:It is a common belief that practicing outside all the time will cause a player to gauge the loudness of their playing too high.

Indeed, the only person I ever knew who did this ALWAYS practiced out-of-doors...

...and they ALWAYS played too loud.

Since they QUIT practicing out-of-doors, they got a much better gig and (yup) no longer play too loud.

What is this "too loud" you speak of?

I like to play facing a wall sometimes, about 2 feet away, especially with sousaphone where what I hear is normally quite different from what the audience hears.

I tend to prefer practicing in a room with few direct reflections.
In my bedroom some notes sound boomy, and on e-flat above the 3rd line, quite a few things of
my stuff starts to resonate, annoying the crap out of me.

Bort, unless you have a lexan mouthpiece, there will be a number of months when a metal mouthpiece will freeze to your face.

Since I have access to the church, I like to practice in church - cuts down on the swearing. The church sanctuary has wonderful acoustics; a real pleasure to practice there. So far I have not been accused of being to loud.

bloke wrote:It is a common belief that practicing outside all the time will cause a player to gauge the loudness of their playing too high.

Indeed, the only person I ever knew who did this ALWAYS practiced out-of-doors...

...and they ALWAYS played too loud.

Since they QUIT practicing out-of-doors, they got a much better gig and (yup) no longer play too loud.

Was that a person whose mum named a sousaphone an outdoor toy?

Klaus

tuben wrote:Thoughts?

Yes. Record your practice sessions in the practice room and in larger rooms with a consistent positioning of microphone (quite close to the bell if possible).

While I completely understand the need to hear "the truth," I think there is an aspect of this that has not made this thread. As tuba players, we must always react to the room in which we are performing. We need that feedback in order to produce the type and amount of sound necessary to enhance the music we perform. When performing in a "new" room, that is one of the first things I try to read. This is further complicated when using a microphone, as I often must do when performing with certain groups.

Therefore, I would recommend a mix of "the truth" along with practicing in acoustically different rooms. That's my take on it, anyway. Since this is TubeNet, I know there is no need to say, "Feel free to disagree." So, I won't.

Because fundamental pitches of tubas are the low end with long wavelengths, tubas more than any other instrument (no, string basses and bassoons have so many overtones that the timbre isn't affected as much), are more affected by the room dimensions. Remember, an open BBb has a fundamental wavelength the same length as the bugle: roughly 18 feet. So in a smaller room, about all that is going to be heard are the overtones. It sounds like to me the OP is doing just fine since some "are worse than others." To me this appears to be room resonances, probably on the 3rd overtone, whanging out the tone completely.

I am in favor of practicing in a variety of rooms in order to get to know how the tuba sounds in different circumstances, all the way from broom closets to concert halls, so that the necessary adjustments can be made. Just recently I took my 186 to an ensemble rehearsal in a room with a low ceiling and rather rectangular shaped. The upright bell and funnel mouthpiece did not have any definition or lend the proper support for the ensemble. The next rehearsal I played the recording bell and the bowl mouthpiece and with more overtones that were not affected as badly by the small space everything knit much better.

bloke wrote:It is a common belief that practicing outside all the time will cause a player to gauge the loudness of their playing too high.

Indeed, the only person I ever knew who did this ALWAYS practiced out-of-doors...

...and they ALWAYS played too loud.

Since they QUIT practicing out-of-doors, they got a much better gig and (yup) no longer play too loud.

Qu'est que c'est " too loud " ? Je ne comprende pas ....


actually - I occassionally gig with a small marching band - 9 players - and its full throttle !!!
I practice in a small, low ceilinged room . No choice in this . So , back into the rehearsal room or concerthall requires some memory and a thorough work thru with the electronic tuner . Further adjustments are necessary to a correct to the relative intonation of the group .
Yes, the small room creates some squirrely stuff...most of it I try to ignore...