Is it bad to switch mouthpieces often?

[GhostlyBoy08]

Will it throw off my embouchure? Sometimes I like to use my Lm-12 to get a loud midrange and at other times when im in the mood i like to use my Helleberg 120s for a Fat tone and pedal tones. Answers will be greatly appreciated.

[k001k47]

No

[Billy M.]

Switching mouthpieces isn't as bad when you keep the same rim.

If you continually switch rims (different size, shape, contour, etc ad nauseum) you prevent the muscle tissue from building properly. Changes of even so much as 1/10 of a millimeter means more or less of your muscle tissue that vibrates freely or is restricted by how it sits upon the mouthpiece.

I recommend finding a rim you like and sticking with it. There are plenty of options for screw rim mouthpieces like Houser and Doug Elliott. These allow you to keep the same rim while having the option to change cup/throat/shank sizes.

[pwhitaker]

For the past 40 years or so I have been using a variety of mouthpieces wirh inner diameter sizes ranging from 32.6 mm to 36.5 mm with shapes ranging from the Helleberg flat style to the fat rounded 24AW style and with various cup shapes ranging from the LM12 to the Dr. Young funnel. I find this seems IMHO to strengthen different parts of my embouchure and improve my flexibility. This allows me to tailor the effect I want in different musical situations and ensemble configurations. I just go with what seems comfortable to me in any given situation. Generally I'll take 4 to 6 mpc's with me to gigs. YMMV.

As Phil Graham said when asked about how many guns he owned my mouthpiece philosopy is: "I have more than I need but not as many as I want."

[iiipopes]

YMMV. I used to have two or three mouthpieces for each horn I ever played, as much out of curiosity how they played and just having fun exploring different tones and responses. But as I get older, I'm settling more and more on one mouthpiece: my blokepiece Imperial with a lexan modified helleberg 32.6 rim, and a modified cup extender.

Now, I have kept the custom 1.28 Bach-18-style that Jim @ Kanstul made for me, and I keep my two Kelly 18's for spares and trying out other instruments, but I've come back around over the decades from the single mouthpiece that was issued to me on my high school souzy, to having a shelf full, to back to playing basically one mouthpiece.

It was really highlighted when I had two concerts back-to-back, one outdoor, one indoor. I played the Kelly 18 outdoors for one community band, and really pushed the air, since I was effectively the only tuba playing. Then Monday I was in the concert hall in section with the Imperial with another community band, and even though I could back off and focus on blend, I was cracking it seemed like every other note on the metal rim of the Imperial, even though the rim diameter and geometry are almost identical. So I decided to get the matching lexan rim for the Imperial and just practice, practice, practice. Everything feels and sounds much better now. That may change if I ever get another souzy to play outdoors, but it will probably be something like 36K or Selmer Signet, and I already know that for me the Kelly 18 sounds good with those souzys, if the Imperial ends up not sounding good with them.

I guess it is kind of the Zen approach to mouthpieces: every time a significant change occurs in either instrument, ensemble or repertoire, a mouthpiece safari is probably indicated. But then after the safari to find out who you really are and what you really play, both instrument and repertoire, settle on a mouthpiece and stick with it. I did that before with the Curry 128D with the modified rim I used to have that I played for years on my Miraphone when I had the detachable St. Pete Bell. But when I changed out to the Besson bell, the Curry did not intonate well, hence the safari. The safari is over. With the Imperial, lexan rim, cup extender, and the Besson bell, I approach the tone, intonation and response I enjoyed when I had my Besson 3-valve comp and the Wick 1. It is actually better now, since with the smaller throat of the Imperial (@.323 instead of @.332) it takes less air, and if anything, it is more consistent from register to register for me.

This extends to tubas as well. Let's see, over the years, starting in high school, I've played concerts on: King 'glass souzy, Yamaha YCB621, King brass souzy, Olds 'glass souzy, Buescher large bore 'glass souzy, Conn Cavalier souzy, Conn 2J, Besson New Standard 3-valve comp, Conn 38K, Reynolds 'glass souzy, and my Miraphone with its original recording bell, the St Pete bell, and now the Besson bell. And that doesn't count the many tubas I've tried or borrowed for rehearsals when something was in the shop. That's more than some have played, and others have played many more tubas than that.

Did I say I am really enjoying my Bessophone and Imperial?

[michael_glenn]

Arnold Jacobs would switch mouthpieces depending on how he wanted his monstrous CC to sound. If he wanted it to be big and enveloping, he would use a larger mouthpiece. If he wanted a smaller or lighter sound, he used a smaller mouthpiece.
That being said, I don't think it hurts if you have a purpose behind it.
Hope this helps!

[bort]

No, it's not terrible. A mouthpiece is a tool, and you have to use the right tool for the job.

But of course, there is a limit -- you should probably be comfortable on one mouthpiece *most* of the time (whatever that means), and if you need something else for the other times, that is okay. I'm not even sure that it's a matter of embrochure problems, I just don't have that knowledge... But practically, it would just be a pain in the butt to keep switching mouthpieces all the time, and probably just easier and about as successful to just use one mouthpiece for almost everything.

[windshieldbug]

No, it's not terrible. A mouthpiece is a tool, and you have to use the right tool for the job.

And since a tubist may be required to play several different-keyed instruments in different situations, you may require several different combinations for each.

Having and using only one mouthpiece/rim would be a luxury few tubists would find practical.

[iiipopes]

After my rambling pre-coffee rant, I realized I forgot one item:

All of my mouthpieces had/have roughly the same internal cup diameter - 32.5 to 32.6 mm, or 1.28 to 1.29 inches, with a moderate rim in both width and geometry.

There is a prior post that talks about exercising different muscles of the embouchure with different cup diameter mouthpieces. Now, everyone is different. Some folks have good muscles at the "corners," and their facial ergonomics are such that they can play everything from a Bach 32 to a Tilz T5. Mine are not. If it is smaller than 1.28, I can't get a tone, range and flexibility to suit me, and if it is larger than 1.29, then I lose upper register, in spite of everything. It just isn't there. A man has got to know his limitations, and it is one of the reasons I did not mind switching from trumpet to tuba in school. It became very apparent that no mouthpiece could get the range and endurance I needed to play trumpet after school, in spite of taking lessons from the university high brass professor and working my @$$ off. So when I have to play trumpet (or preferably, cornet) I am content to use my early-Selmer Bach 3C for trumpet or 2 1/2 C for cornet and play third section parts, or the occasional taps at a military funeral or remembrance. A 1 1/2 C just makes me blubber. A 3D with the right leadpipe and good breath support will get me approaching those ledger lines above the staff, for about one concert piece or jazz band selection. Then I'm done. But I digress.

This is an often overlooked aspect when considering mouthpieces or a range of mouthpieces: can the person's fundamental embouchure handle it? Many can. Mine can not. It may take quite an extended safari to determine what cup diameter and rim profile are most complementary (that's with an "e") to a person's embouchure.

Did I say I have sold almost everything else in favor of my blokepiece Imperial with the 32.6 modified helleberg lexan rim and extender modified to .080?

[chronolith]

I don't think switching mouthpieces often is harmful. There is something to be gained (to a greater or lesser degree) by consistency though.

The question is why are you switching mouthpieces often? Just can't find that perfect combo? Switching horns? Styles?

If you simply can't pin down the right mouthpiece for your horn then it is likely the mouthpiece is not the issue... or the horn.

[pwhitaker]

Gee ... if it's not the horn and not the mouthpiece I guess (gasp) it must be me. I'll try to get some therapy.

[Z-Tuba Dude]

I match a mouthpiece to a horn and only use that mouthpiece with that horn. ....These mouthpieces are what seen to make each horn sound and play the way I want. I *rarely* deviate from these once I have a combination dialed in. These mouthpieces have nothing to do with one another. Rims are different diameters and profiles. Cups are wildly different in both depth and shape.

+1

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

I could imagine that switching for every other note might possibly have an effect on legato/cantabile playing.

I think I will invent a double-leadpipe tuba to remedy this problem.

[Donn]

Bloke's comments were a wow moment with the sax comparison. Makes so much more sense! Bigger tubas should probably have larger mouthpieces.

Well, to be fair, a sax player is only helping out the tone generating reed, where a brass player is generating the tone directly with just lips to work with. So it's an interesting but not compelling analogy.

I can't say why, but some very skilled players don't do well at all with rim size changes. I mean, my playing suffers in some ways if I go to something real big, but I'm talking about any changes at all, like people who will try to put a tuba mouthpiece on a euphonium so they won't have to adapt. There has to be a reason why some of us are like that, and others aren't, but I doubt it's anything obvious. I'm proof that it isn't about having a strong embouchure.

As for bigger tubas having larger mouthpieces -- I can't tell if you're serious. If you're talking about bass vs. contrabass, sure. 4/4 vs 5/4 ... not so much.

[Z-Tuba Dude]

There is a school of thought that says using a smaller mouthpiece on a larger (6/4) tuba creates more clarity of playing.