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tubaboy wrote:should i keep it?

Sure. Experiment and learn. Pressure can be a sign of tension. Tension absorbs energy. The more relaxed you can be while playing the easier things will become. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I have had a coulple of private teachers and both of them discouraged pressure with the mouthpiece against my face. it took me a while to break the habbit once it started, I had read in a bugling book from the early 1900's to press harder to go higher, this seemed to work at first but it made my sound thin and you can only push so hard. The other thing is it can cause tissue damage after doing it for a while. I think that Louis Armstrong had a problem with this, you would have to look into that. I know he plays trumpet, but it's all in the same family of instruments.

I should probably also add that you probably need a little pressure because you don't want air leaking out from the seal between your face and the mouthpiece. I would recomend asking your band teacher or private teacher or whatever resource you have in this area. It would be easier for someone to help you find a good amount of pressur in person. Good luck and keep playing.

Ben

Doc Severenson graduated from Julliard and practiced with a trumpet hanging by a string from the ceiling.Pressure for a brass player is a no no.
I was a self taught trumpeter and used pressure to compensate for lack of practice for 20 years until I lost four teeth on top and four front teeth on the bottom and had to call it a career at that point.
I had lower implants to hold a lower denture and was able to play tuba but trumpet or bone was out of the question.I learned to play with little or no pressure but have to be careful not to get too excited because the old habits are easy to creep back.I have to play two or three trumpet solos a night out of necessity and because I never practice trumpet,pressure is the only way to get thrugh them.My guitarist is a fine trumpeter but he thinks he would have a problem playing guitar and trumpet at the same time.Silly boy.I'll talk him into it.
tubatooter1940

the standard is that you use only enough pressure to ensure that the seal is sufficient between the mouthpiece and your face. Any more is counterproductive.

With smaller mouthpieces, even in high level players, the amount of pressure does go up with range. However, it still should not be more than is needed to ensure the seal. The rest is chops and air.

Go back and find Roger Lewis' post a month or two ago about technique and range.....it's all there, how to play, and it's straightforward. I wish the competent players of instruments with smaller mouthpieces would be as clear about technique as tuba players are.

MA

P. Farkas wrote of this many years ago. His books ("The Art of French Horn Playing" and "The Art of Brass Playing") are readily available. His trick was to put his horn on the piano and then walk up with his hands behind his back and play. You could not tell the difference in his playing from "normal". A. Jacobs also refers to this a bit in "Song and Wind". Another aspect of this is equal contact between upper and lower lip. Tuba leadpipes and the size of the instrument can make it very hard to equalize contact. Mr. Jacobs talks about thrusting the lower jaw forward a bit to help. Most of us have a bit of an overbite and an angled leadpipe could help, but then it also needs to be at the correct heighth. Once you become acustomed to not using too much pressure, it really opens up your flexibility and other lip related technical tasks. Also, your endurance goes through the roof. Pedal tones start speaking, etc.
One thing to try is to hold your mouthpiece with only your thumb and forefinger and buzz with as little pressure as you can manage. Have a friend look at your position and angle as you do this. Then put your MP in the horn and play. Have your friend observe and note differences in the angle of the MP and this will help you equalize upper and lower lip if you work a bit to create the same basic angle. When they are equal, it is easier to play with minimal pressure as you do not need to push to make lower lip contact, thereby creating excessive pressure on your upper lip. I have also been told that if you stop playing and there is a MP ring visible on your mouth then you are using too much pressure.
Anyway, this works for me and my sound improves greatly.