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treddle wrote:I have just purchased a Conn 21J after not having played for a very long time. I am using a Conn #2 and a Bach #18 mpc. I am having a terrible time hitting clean F's and G's with acceptable consistancy. Any suggestions about what I can work to make these notes. Most of the time it is as though my lip is vibrating in more than one place creating a dual tone.

Which F and G? If you are talking about the ones on the staff, this might be a little high for someone who has not played in a very long time. Give your chops a chance to catch up. If you are using pressure at all to make up for lack of chop strength, the things you mention will plague you just as they do me.

The G on the staff is notorious for BBb tubas in any case, tending as it does to be out of tune. That can create false vibrations as your chops try to buzz at a different frequency than the horn's resonance peak.

If you are talking about the bottom of the staff, then you should expect a 21J to play the F quite flat. The third partial is usually very flat on these instruments. The interval between the F and the G will be too open, and that may mess up your sense of pitch on both notes. Try playing the F 1 and 3, which is the usual fix for this note, and the G 3 alone, which is likely a bit flat. If that makes it much easier, then you have your answer.

Of course, check to make sure that the instrument is doing the right things. Something jammed into the one of the branches can cause missing notes in the resonance of the instrument, as can really leaky valves.

Rick "who hopes the notes in question are not the ones above the staff, heh, heh" Denney

treddle wrote:I have just purchased a Conn 21J after not having played for a very long time. I am using a Conn #2 and a Bach #18 mpc. I am having a terrible time hitting clean F's and G's with acceptable consistancy. Any suggestions about what I can work to make these notes. Most of the time it is as though my lip is vibrating in more than one place creating a dual tone.

If you're talking about the F just below the staff, you should know that the 20J was designed to play with a tuning bit between the mouthpiece and the leadpipe. It really does seem improve that overly flat 3rd partial somewhat.

treddle wrote:I have just purchased a Conn 21J after not having played for a very long time. I am using a Conn #2 and a Bach #18 mpc. I am having a terrible time hitting clean F's and G's with acceptable consistancy. Any suggestions about what I can work to make these notes. Most of the time it is as though my lip is vibrating in more than one place creating a dual tone.

Are your valves in good shape?

These gallery pages might have your interest:

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/yo ... 20page.jpg

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/yo ... on+Pistons

More photographic documentation on the Conn 2XJ series can be found via the index of my galleries.

However your searches will only succeed, if you replace the X with a real digit in your search engine (for this type of searches I recommend the downloading of the Word format index version).

Klaus

try doing octave jumps.. start on a low Bb, or lower if u want and just do low Bb high Bb low C high C.. and go up from there.

It helps me, another thing that helped me with G in particular is to actually think its a -bigger- gap then u assume, this helps me get the pitch right on. Its always been a funky note for me (high G in staff..).

Also, scales help with range as well. Once I started doing scales my range increased greatly just this school year i've gone from a range of bout a F in the staff, to the D above the staff, given its not a solid D but its like the F was beginning of the year.

I thank this to scales, and the octave jumps. I also dabbled with baritone some, but not a whole lot.


Jacob'who would feel dumb if your speaking of the low Gs and Fs'Morgan

Try to buzz the problem notes on the mouthpiece alone. That will force you to focus your chops on the proper pitch. Then try it on the horn. sometimes if you have a bad note on your horn, this will help you to "lip it" in tune. and find the fullest tone possible.

ken k

One of the best little books that I know of for a BBb player to develop some strength is the "Embouchure Builder" book by Lowell Little published by Warner Bros.

It's about $6.

Another thing that it could be thats slipping past your senses is the amount of air you're using. Check to make sure you are actually getting a good breath and some strong support because 9 times out of 10 its the air not the hardware.

treddle wrote: Playing the tuba sure is a blast...

Now there's something almost everyone on this list can agree with. It is truly a blast.