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So on #36 in the kopprasch book, my teacher recommends I take out an unimportant note in the longer phrases so I can take a breath there. One example is m 3-5, where I have chosen the a in m 4 in the 4th 16th note group. By doing so I can achieve more dynamic contrast as well as better control so it doesn't seem like I'm rushing to finish the line so I can take a breath.

I have an audition in a few hours and I feel this is super risky. Any opinions?

As Mark wrote.
Omitting a note to the benefit of overall musicality of a performance, rather than messing up a whole passage, turning blue in the process, seems like a sign of quality to me.

Time, tone, tuning.

Everything else is negotiable.

As Bloke suggests,transposing these studies into different keys is a good move. Obviously too late for your audition - hope it went well.
Get one of the free notation programs and tanscribe an exercise into it. Then just hit transpose and print. I have done that so that they can be played in several different keys covering a broad range. It is helpful!

Ken Herrick wrote:
Get one of the free notation programs and tanscribe an exercise into it. Then just hit transpose and print.

"free notation programs" such as...

Thanks!!

bloke wrote:again, my point being...

It's actually a "study", and not a "competition piece".
"Studying" it (maybe?) could have begun earlier.

But here in Texas, everything is a "competition piece."

This likely won't help for the audition, which may have come and gone by now. But keep in mind that these etudes were originally written for horn, which is a low flow rate instrument (from an air flow perspective). The tuba, on the other hand, is a high flow rate instrument. In order to find music that will challenge us as musicians, we have often been required to "borrow" music written for other instruments. However, we should not be expected to play the same length of phrase because we will run out of air much more quickly than a horn player will. Therefore, we must be masters at learning how to find musical sub-phrases where we can catch a quick breath. In some instances, as your teacher suggests, it is perfectly permissible to drop an unimportant note here and there in order to create a place to breathe.

The important thing to understand, as a brass player, is that we never want to play using the last bit of air in our lungs. Many bad things happen when we do this. First, the air is moving too slowly to provide enough fuel to the lips to allow them to vibrate efficiently, adversely affecting the tone quality. Also, because we are literally having to squeeze the air out of the lungs at that point, it is extremely difficult to get a large, fast, replacement breath. If we do not refill the lungs adequately, we end up in the bad air portion of our capacity more quickly, and this becomes a vicious cycle.

Think of the lungs like the gas tank of a car. It is much better to keep the gas tank between 1/4 full and 3/4 full than it is to stay between 1/2 full and empty. In both cases, we are using approximately 1/2 of our usable capacity, but in the first instance, we avoid the problems associated with that last 1/4 of the tank.

Here is a link to an interview with David Fedderly where he discusses what Arnold Jacobs taught him about sub-phrases (among many other interesting topics).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4lyya6sQng" target="_blank

Got news for you: they were using that same book for region/area/state for Texas waaay back in the 70s when I was a 'combatant'. I'd love to see 'em switch it up!

Be careful what you wish for...

If not Kopprasch, it will be Blazhevich.

58mark wrote:

Tom wrote:Be careful what you wish for...

If not Kopprasch, it will be Blazhevich.

nothing wrong with Blazhevich

I love Blazhevich. But I don't live in Texas.

What's wrong with throwing in a Bordogni now and then? Maybe let the kids make a little music...

bloke wrote:Eyes of Texas - in lowest possible octave as fast as you can play it
Yellow Rose of Texas - same

Deep in the heart of Texas??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJEwrw4VEls" target="_blank