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Long tones and legato etudes.

A "routine" can be very counter-productive as it leads to over familiarty, lack of concentration, sloppiness, and the formation and normalisation of bad habits.

Start with something melodic "musical" with the aim of producing a fine sound. SOMETHING SIMPLE, establishing a standard for the rest of your playing session. Expand the limits of your pitch and dynamic ranges with scale and arpeggio exercises ranging from "long tones" to velocity work. Touch on the limits within the first 10 minutes while always thinking about what you are putting into the horn.


That will make a decent maintenance program. You can then take your practice in whatever direction you want to go.

If you're looking for a bit more structure to your practice (that is not necessarily a rigid routine) I highly recommend David Vining's Daily Routines books (http://www.mountainpeakmusic.com/daily- ... flat-tuba/" target="_blank).

Each 'routine' is made up of numerous exercises focused on one aspect of your playing but combines other elements as well (for example, the routine for articulation would be broken into subcategories that also incorporate dynamics, flexibility, or range, etc). But there are so many exercises that you can switch it up daily or just pick and choose the exercises you wish to work on. The Flow Studies book is also great.

I usually do a few long tones, and then play a selection or two from the Snedecor Low Etudes book. My lips become flexible and my oral cavity opens up. I do my best playing after I run the low etudes.

A "routine" can be very counter-productive as it leads to over familiarty, lack of concentration, sloppiness, and the formation and normalisation of bad habits.

I have a severe issue with doing anything routine so I have given up on trying to maintain a very large or extended set of drills or exercises. I have a few things that I use to warm up on that will get me warmed up and loose and also work weak areas of playing. The rest of what I do is all fun music that I want to play that contains certain elements I need to work on .. i.e. range,tone,etc. That way I enjoy what little bit of time I have to practice and I get a good work out.

Long tones get mentioned a lot here and I use them to warm up on.Scale studies are too boring and tedious for me to stick with . I try to find etudes and such that involve a lot of scale work that will keep my interest. Slow melodic etudes for tone,musciality,vital lung capacity ... and they just sound pretty to play.

If being a good musician means putting in a lot work and playing is supposed to be fun I don't see why you can't have both at the same time.

If you're looking for something more fun, try this: http://www.hollywoodwarmup.com" target="_blank

Lots of fun to play, and covers all the basics of playing, and written by a tuba player.

http://www.olemiss.edu/lowbrass/studio/ ... level3.pdf" target="_blank


Here's a comprehensive routine.

As for the Hollywood product, a recorded example is a great investment. The sample looks very promising.
I own the "20 minute daily warmup" that includes a Gene Pokorny track. It is a great way to compare your own playing to a desirable performance goal.

The hollywood warm up is great. It was written by Kevin Sanders, Prof. of tuba at the University of Memphis. I use it all the time with high school students, but it covers all the basics needed for a good player. It's also available for all band instruments. I have a middle school band director friend who uses them for full band warm ups and the kids love it. Most of the exercises have multiple tracks in different tempos to accomodate more advanced players. Michael Davis' trombone routines with CD are also great and a lot of fun.

If you're a teacher I think you can get a free copy, check the website.