Need help teaching a newbie

[Mandalf]

Hey all! I've been put in charge of teaching a student euphonium at my school as I'm part of the band's student leadership and the principal euphonium player. I've only helped kids who are between 7th-10th Grade, so I'm a bit at a loss on how to start someone playing. What are some good ways to teach embouchure and explain partials to someone who's only musical experience is guitar? Any and all help is appreciated!

[sweaty]

I am an elementary band director. On the first day of band class, I teach:

1. How to open the case- laying flat on the floor, lifting up on the latches.
2. How to make a sound on the mouthpiece.
3. How to hold the instrument.
4. Making a sound on the instrument, open notes first. Some may get the low Bb first, some the F, some the high Bb. Everyone is different. To go higher, use tighter lips and faster air. To go lower, use looser lips and slower air. They will all make funny sounds at first. Eventually, show them how to make clear, steady sounds. Their lips will feel funny after a short time because they're not used to buzzing them.
5. Show them fingerings and some other notes. Start with whole notes.
6. Show them how to handle the instrument, i.e., not breaking or denting it.
7. I show them how to tongue on the second or third lesson.
8. They should have a good method book.

[Michael Bush]

Seems to me that talking with the kid about partials could wait quite a long time. Filling a new player's head with technical instructions seems like a distraction to me.

[arpthark]

I am an elementary band director. On the first day of band class, I teach:

1. How to open the case- laying flat on the floor, lifting up on the latches.
2. How to make a sound on the mouthpiece.
3. How to hold the instrument.
4. Making a sound on the instrument, open notes first. Some may get the low Bb first, some the F, some the high Bb. Everyone is different. To go higher, use tighter lips and faster air. To go lower, use looser lips and slower air. They will all make funny sounds at first. Eventually, show them how to make clear, steady sounds. Their lips will feel funny after a short time because they're not used to buzzing them.
5. Show them fingerings and some other notes. Start with whole notes.
6. Show them how to handle the instrument, i.e., not breaking or denting it.
7. I show them how to tongue on the second or third lesson.
8. They should have a good method book.

Do you start kids on tuba?

[Tubajug]

I am an elementary band director. On the first day of band class, I teach:

1. How to open the case- laying flat on the floor, lifting up on the latches.
2. How to make a sound on the mouthpiece.
3. How to hold the instrument.
4. Making a sound on the instrument, open notes first. Some may get the low Bb first, some the F, some the high Bb. Everyone is different. To go higher, use tighter lips and faster air. To go lower, use looser lips and slower air. They will all make funny sounds at first. Eventually, show them how to make clear, steady sounds. Their lips will feel funny after a short time because they're not used to buzzing them.
5. Show them fingerings and some other notes. Start with whole notes.
6. Show them how to handle the instrument, i.e., not breaking or denting it.
7. I show them how to tongue on the second or third lesson.
8. They should have a good method book.

Do you start kids on tuba?

I also teach elementary band and my first few lessons appear very similar to what was mentioned above. In response to the tuba question, this is my first year starting anyone on tuba (I'm in my 6th year). I have typically started someone on baritone, then switched later. But this year I had a kid who tried out the tuba and actually got a very good sound on it, so we started him on it and he's doing very well.

One trick I learned from other band teachers is that if you plan on having a kid play tuba later, but start him/her on baritone, have them read out of a tuba book right away so they're seeing the notes where they will be when actually playing the tuba. This was one of those "Why didn't I think of that before??" moments for me because one of the hardest things was teaching the kids to read all those ledger lines after they'd been used to reading things in the staff.

[timayer]

Teach them the basic theory alongside the instrument. When I started teaching "beginners" (kids who switched to tuba/euph in middle school), I was appalled at their knowledge of basic theory. They didn't know the lines and spaces. They didn't know basic dynamics. They didn't know anything beyond quarter notes/rests.

When I started piano (my first instrument), I had a piano book and a theory book that were written in conjunction with each other. For some reason I've never seen that with other instruments.*

Anyway, there's going to be a lot of technical advice on this that I won't add to, but my biggest frustration teaching youngsters has always been that they can't even speak the language, nevermind interpret it on an instrument. Either make your own exercises (that's what I did), or buy the theory book for a piano method** (I think Alfred is the one I had lo these many years ago).


*Now, this is complicated when kids start on Bb tubas, because they have to know the lines, spaces, flats, AND key signatures right off the bat. I'm not advocating starting kids on CC tubas, but it would certainly allow for a better flow with tuba and theory if they could just start on the "white" keys like piano students.

**This has the added benefit of providing a visual aid when confronted with the "Why is Cb a B?" which is a relatively impossible question to answer when the student has no knowledge of theory OR keyboards.

[tubeast]

Starting on tubas in different keys:

I don´t get the Problem.
While I agree that it sounds reasonable to start with "open notes" first, I haven´t found a rule that says that the first scale one learns must be one that starts and ends with "no valves depressed".

Suppose You need to teach the whole Group early on: SOMEONE may start on C Major or a minor scale, but most likely most others won´t have that privilege if they are to play together.

Also, I experienced the less of a "big deal" one makes out of notes, accidentals, and keys, the more a kid will adapt these concepts as something natural that simply needs to be dealt with.
Once You´ve planted the idea in them, that there are "easy" and "hard" scales, You (and they) are sold.

Good luck.