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At 66, I notice two differences: The first is lung capacity. But when playing beside much younger players, it seems that I don't do noticeably worse than a lot of them even though I certainly notice that I don't have the capability on long low notes that I used to. The second difference pertains to arm strength and shoulder arthritis -- to the point that I felt I was spending too much effort wrangling and wrestling with the horn. So I made a semi-adjustable sit-on tuba stand (out of plywood, cushion, some 1 1/2" PVC pipe, and hardware to adjust the height), and that problem is totally solved. I'm surprised that more tuba players don't use a stand of some sort. But a number of young ones I know do use stands -- even for relatively small tubas. It just makes things a lot easier.

My tentative plan is this:

1. Play the EEb as long as I can horse it around and manage it.

2. At that point, retreat to the smaller 3-valve Eb or get a similarly sized 4-valve horn. If I were playing BBb, I might get one of them BBb travel tubas .

3. If I get to the point that I can't handle a small tuba or euphonium, retreat to a flugelhorn (though it's hard to believe I could hold one of those up if I couldn't hold a euph or tuba on a stand).

As an arthritis sufferer, psoriatic like Mickleson, I have come up with various contraptions to take the strain off weaker more painful parts of my body which have helped a lot. Going to a smaller, lighter tuba also helped. At 67 my main problem is my brain. It's hard to get to the right side of the page and remember what the key signature is. My parts have "accidentals" written in everywhere. My lung capacity is reduced but I can still keep up with the kids thanks to some excellent early training from Bruce Nelson. Quite frankly, over all I think I am a much more complete musician than I have ever been. Experience seems to outweigh or at least cover up these other things.

As I get older (now 66), I mainly notice the following:

1 - Diminished breath capacity. I mark where I need to a 'BB' or 'BAB' as a reminder to tank up. Our dir hates for anyone to take a breath at the bar. He'd rather us breathe in the middle of a measure if necessary.
2 - I have to mark my music more as my memory suffers as I age. I may forget what the dir told us about a phrase in earlier rehearsals unless I mark my part. (wish everyone in the band would actually do the same)
3 - Manual dexterity of fingering is a bit slower, but practice helps to improve this.
4 - Eye sight as we age gets worse so glasses are a necessity for me. I use special music glasses (exec-levels bifocals with a high line) so I can see more of my part (and less of dir).
5 - Hearing gets worse for most as we age. I wonder if I'm still blending properly or playing on pitch. I still have a good tone as long as I remember to use enough air (see item 1 above).

As I get even older I hope that someone will tell me when it's time to hang up the horn. Just hope that's not too soon as I love making music.

Curmudgeon wrote:Here we are, the TubeNet low brass section...

PERFECT......

Mark

I'm 67. I spend my entire day 'on my feet'. No naps. No sitting while in the shop. I play at least two hours seven days a week with as many different groups ranging from oom-pah stuff to high-end brass band music. I don't get 100% of the notes but feel I can run circles around most kids half my age. They would be a worn to a 'frazzle' if they tried to follow my daily activities.

Yes... I sometimes struggle. I've have severe tinnitus due to damage incurred in The Navy back in the 60's. I suffer from poor breathing habits more than anything but that's mostly my own fault because I've played only tuba music for waaay too many years.

I used to switch fluently back and forth between BBb and Eb. I picked up an Eb yesterday afternoon for a rehearsal and basically fell all over myself when I encountered some stuff with six flats! This is probably my own fault too for not having kept up with my BBb/Eb regimen.

I do not leave home without a gig light. I also do not leave home without a tuba rest. The cases for my larger horns all have 5" diameter wheels.

I still hear thirty-five year olds complaining about stuff that I do as routine.

Old guys rule!

My sousaphone sectional movements with the California Repercussions are a bit more restricted than they were 20 years ago, and I don't do as well marching up hills while playing, but other than that I think I am doing OK for 63 years old...

I don't play much bass guitar anymore because of joint pain in my left hand. I'm also having some hearing issues that can sometimes make singing in a choir difficult when I struggling to hear the other parts.

tbn.al wrote:It's hard to get to the right side of the page and remember what the key signature is.

I thought it was just me. Never used to have the problem with this that I do now -- even when I highlight the key changes.

Oh, Good Grief!
Here's a bit of different view.
I'm 82. Have two horns…. Miraphone 182, King helicon from 1909, in nice shape
Play in two bands… Old Retired guys band and a rather upscale community concert band
Had cataracts replace in both eyes, can see both conductor and the music.
Have been working on air…. can now hold notes longer than the younger player who sits next to me.
Yes, music is all marked up…. but the number of wrong notes per concert is going down!! (and Dan Schultz will remember how bad I used to be)
Have been working on pitch… learned to hear accurately about 4 years ago.
Agility suddenly got good after I spent a lot of time with a Yamaha practice mute.
Yes, the darn things are a pain to drag around, but I've been standing with the helicon for two hour concerts all summer.
Yes, I don't play fortissimo as loud as I might have when I was back in school, but I'm playing way more musically.

I'm playing the best I ever have in my life.

And I still spend a lot of time between rehearsals thinking I should quit.

John Roberts, Massachusetts
Oldbandsman

eyesight...need dedicated "Music reading glasses"

I cant hold my bass bone so I bought an ErgoBone.

I have noticed the lung capacity issue also, glad to hear others are experiencing that as well. Well I mean I am glad it is not just me, not that I want others to have the problem...

damaged discs in neck prohibit long stints with the helicon or sousaphone.

ken " man this getting old sucks" k

I'm not old, but my age limitation is that I have too much else going on in my life right now to have the time to play very much.

The 89 year old sitting down a few seats from me seems to be doing great... I'll be happy to make it to 89, tuba or not!

I'm a mere child of 62, but have noticed issues. I can't think nearly as quickly as I did when I was young, so I can't read the really difficult stuff on first sight like I once could. Carrying a heavy horn up stairs along with XX pounds of useless flab is no longer easy. My fingers are even slower, and all physical motions, particularly tonguing, are slower. When playing bass, mild arthritis in the hands wears me down more quickly.

Still, my ear is good. Reading glasses take care of the presbyopia, and a stand light helps with low-light conditions. My lungs are holding up, fortunately; it's the encroaching flab that's lowering my capacity. I'm playing in really enjoyable (mostly) groups. After 47 years of tuba and 41 years of bass guitar, I finally understand the role of bass, especially the role of style. I consider myself a better musician than I ever was before, even if nobody else does (aren't delusions wonderful?). Life is mostly good, and I can handle the rest.

I frequently do breathing exercises with students. Tonight I was working with a new student and had him on all the breathing gadgets out of my toybox. I finally decided to put myself on the spirometer, hadn't measured myself in ages. I was surprised with my three attempts that my capacity at age 42 is virtually the same as it was at age 17, within less than .25 of a liter different. If I dropped the 40 pounds I have gained since then, no doubt it would be equal. I credit much of this to the different breathing exercises.
Biggest change for my has been my consistency in playing, but that is directly related to my consistency in practice.
(Work,work, work, and family usually means a few hours of practice on a good week instead of a few hours a day.)

bloke wrote:I'm still in good enough shape to throw any of my tubas (when I get frustrated with my practicing) through a window and shatter all of the glass, but the entire window *frames* no longer break away (as they did when I was young).

Eventually, I can see a day when I might *only* be able to throw *5/4* tubas through *open* windows...but I'm not there yet.

I suggest that everything would be fine if you stop practicing.

In my case it's... I'm sorry; what was the question again??

dwerden wrote:In my case it's... I'm sorry; what was the question again??

I love this thread. The best thing I keep hearing is that we are all still playing and enjoying it as much or more than ever, despite our limitations. Damn! That's a good thing!

I still remember one of my first public performances with The Los Trancos Woods Community Marching Band (dedicating a new visitor center building at the Alviso Baylands Preserve in 1978.)

A grizzled Popeye the Sailor looking sort of guy came up to me after we played and said "I used to play one of them tuba things back in 1915 - can't do it anymore cuz I ain't got too many teefus left."

He sure didn't have more than one or two that I could see!

So I see my dentist twice a year and take good care of my teefus...

There are a lots of comments about breathing and lack of air. After 50 our capacity goes down and in the past many orchestras lowered the retirement age for brass players to 55 because of this.

A few months ago I went in for a pulmonary function test. At age 59 I came in at 98% of projected capacity and was pissed! The tech could said that there are a lot of people that would be very happy at 98% but I was not happy because it was not over 100%.

Guess I had a good teacher.