TubeNet

Greetings Tubameisters!

I am a middle school band director - and a trumpet player.
My daughter is a pretty darn fine high school tuba player. The college student who she had been taking lessons from isn't really a good fit for her - he's a great player, just not right for her. She asked me if I would give her lessons . . . . I agreed, and now I realize that I am over my head (or maybe under my basement!).

I think I would be pretty competent giving lessons to a middle school tuba player, I have taught high school baritone players privately - but mostly kids on the struggling end of the spectrum. I certainly cannot play her parts if I pick up a tuba (right now she is working on Pucchini's Witches' Sabboth, The Hindemith March, Grainger's Shepards Hey, and Carmina Buranna). I can obviously help with rhythm and interpretation. I can sing pitches when she misses a partial, I can bang her part out on a piano - but I really feel like she needs more than I can give her.

She has no desire to major in music, more of a math/science gal, but she is first chair tuba in the top band of a school that has a truly amazing band program, and I'm trying to give her the best help I can.

So I throw all that out to ask this question . . . . Is there a method book I should be looking at (the Arban method of tuba?)?, do you have any great warm-ups you would suggest?, can you point me toward some good resources? What do you guys wish high school tuba players knew (maybe like when you judge Solo and Ensemble festival for example)?

I read the playing tips page, and the recordings page - but I feel like there are some basic things I should be looking for.

Thanks,

John

Arban is excellent - but really needs a teacher as a guide.

I'm partial to the Rubank series. I would start there.

Don't be afraid to start with page 1 of the "Beginner" book.

There are several good methods out there. The rest of the forum will give you good guidance.

Having started on trumpet in elementary school and having switched to tuba, the only thing I can say is that as far as breath support, trumpet is more about maintaining velocity of air over the embouchure, while tuba playing is more about the constancy and control of air. This is because of Bernoulli's principal: the faster the velocity, the lower the pressure, and the more rapid the oscillations of the system, in this case, the buzz of the embouchure.

Having taught private lessons on tuba for a living for 28 years, I think I have a grasp on your situation. I would recommend these:

1. The Rochut (Bordogni) Studies (book 1). These have to be read down an octave (an essential skill), but there is an edition edited for tuba. Lyrical studies are critical to developing sound, style, flexibility, nuance, and many other things. Ask any student of Emory Remington.

2. Blazhevich Etudes (book 1). Too many benefits to list, including some you may not perceive.

There are certainly many other important books, like Arban, Kopprasch, Clarke, Pares, and Tyrrell (and other posters will give you more), but IMHO, skipping over the ones listed above would be a mistake.


SK

There´s indeed a Tubaversion of the Arban, published some 10-15 years ago by Dr. Jerry Young and as far as I remember Wes Jacobs. Not on the cheap side, but as a trumpet player I wont have to tell you about the benefits.
That other Bordogni book mentioned above originally came from the Robert King company, and presently my second replacement starts to fall apart due to use. Great stuff!
Apart from that my own tubastudents mostly have to endure me through a good portion of the following names: Grigoriew (Robert King), Blahzevich Interpretations - Bill Bell, Bordogni- Rochut (originally t-bone, reading it down 1-2 octaves will do your daughter real good, the actual title is "Melodious Etudes For Trombone, selected from the Vocalises by Marco Bordogni, Selected and arranged for trombone by Joannes Rochut).

Others might still throw more material at you

My five cents

i've got a copy of the blue devils warm up book from the late 70s / early 80s

Hi - I'm going to chime in with my biannual recommendation of Mastering the Tuba by Roger Bobo. The text is excellent (not anything like the "stir-the-pot" stuff he likes to post) the basic warmup section is the heart of the book and focuses like a laser on breathing and tone. Actually the focus of the book is breathing which 1) is the foundation to mastering the tuba, and 2) the thing that most of the other etude books ignore. IMHO in the absence of a solid tuba player to assist your daughter through the other etude books, Mastering the Tuba is the one to get. (also the section on how to work up a difficult passage is fantastic - both for the basic technique and for the realization that even RB had work stuff up one note at a time).
Also check out the recent post by Bloke regarding scales which has a video of Chris Olka playing scales in several octaves to let her know what the possibilities are (or maybe not, I found it both inspirational and humiliating at the same time... although I am Canadian so that might just be me )

Bob Sadler