TubeNet

Hi all,

I am very soon going to be going through a pretty long period (2 years) where I will not have access to a tuba or be able to play one. What I'm wondering about is the benefits/anti-benefits of doing buzzing exercises on the mouthpiece during this time. Will this have any negative impact on the actual tuba embouchure? Thanks for any help!

Jim Andrus

A long time ago I took a two year hiatus from playing. I didn't touch a horn or even a mouthpiece the entire time. The first time I dug out my horn from storage I freed it up, played (or tried to play) one note, and put it away for another week. It felt horrible!

The good news is that when I got back to practicing in earnest I was back to where I left off in about a month, without any of the really bad playing habits that I was having so much difficulty shedding before. If your reasons for taking two years off from playing are the same as mine, I would suggest devoting your full attention to that and don't even think about the tuba until you get back to it.

From one who has been there...

Buzzing the mouthpiece might annoy the warden, and you won't get time off for good behavior.

To answer your question:
Buzzing for a short amount of time each day is ok. I'd say no more than 20 minutes a day, but feel free to buzz scales, flexibilities, beautiful sounds, etc. The lips are muscles and they must be worked out to stay in shape. Buzzing a mouthpiece a little bit each day will at least let your lips remember what it feels like to buzz. Take care to remember that buzzing the mouthpiece is different than playing the tuba, so don't overdo it with buzzing. Doing breathing exercises is another good way to stay in shape while being away from the horn.

When I took 2 years off during college to be a missionary, I didn't try at all to buzz while I was gone. (I think it would have seriously annoyed my missionary roomates.) When I got back, it was a couple of months before I felt like I was back where I had been. I started slow, playing lots of long tones and slow melodies, but it really didn't take long to get back in the swing of things.

Buzzing can be helpful if you're careful and focusing on the right things, but it can also become a re-inforcer of bad habits. If during your two years of no playing you're also not going to have access to a good instructor, I suggest that buzzing on your own might help and also might hurt.

Yeah, that's what I'm doing is serving an Lds mission. I figure since I'm going to Germany I'll bring a mouthpiece along but I doubt I'll even have time to worry about it!

Over the last 18 years I have taken several 6 to 24 month breaks from playing. If I consistently buzz on break...I can typically make a reasonable sound the very next time I pick up the horn...but have very little endurance. So...buzzing might be the difference between 3 weeks recovery versus 6 weeks recovery..