TubeNet

Hello All,
I was contacted recently by a trumpet player who is a student of the Reinhardt method. He's beginning to double on tuba and wondered if I knew any tuba players who studied directly with Doc. Reinhardt. I didn't, but I got to wondering if any tuba player here is one of his students or knows of someone who was. It would be fascinating to talk with them, and perhaps even get a lesson. Of course, there are lots of low brass players (trombone) who studied with Doc and the principles are the same, but it would be interesting to know if he taught anything peculiar to tuba. I don't see anything in the Encyclopedia of the Pivot System that relates specifically to tuba...
TIA,
royjohn

I was never aware of any, but I have made good use of the principles in my teaching of tuba students and now that I own a tuba I have a lot better understanding of how it all applies.

Hello Doug,
Thanks for your reply. I'm a little surprised at this, given that Reinhardt had a fairly long career, but the silence of others, coupled with your response may mean that there really weren't any Reinhardt tuba students.

That said, I'm interested in your response...I wonder if you'd enlarge a bit on it...your better understanding of how it all applies on tuba. For myself, switching from trumpet to tuba makes me more aware of the embouchure motion and I find that it's much more noticeable than it is on trumpet. But your understanding may be different or ???
Thanks,
royjohn

My teacher Gary Tirey, who passed away earlier this year, was a student of Donald Reinhardt. He mentions his studies with him a few times in this oral history interview: http://www.windsongpress.com/jacobs/written/tirey.pdf

Kent Eshelman

Hi Kent,
I just read the whole Tirey interview, which was very interesting. On the Reinhardt references, maybe I am betraying my ignorance, but what is "embouchure rotation?"

Also, I wonder if there are any specific things Mr. Tirey did in your studies that you would identify as Reinhardt techniques?
Best,
royjohn

I only glanced through the interview but I didn't see that reference to "rotation." I find that interesting because I use that same description in my teaching but I don't recall ever hearing it directly from Reinhardt.

Hi Royjohn,

I don't know what embouchure rotation is, either. I recall Mr. Tirey suggesting to pivot forward and back in high vs. low-range playing, but that's the only specific teaching I can think of that I would know to identify with Dr. Reinhardt. (I studied with Mr. Tirey in middle and high school, from 1992 to 1998.)

All the best,
Kent

A post I put on the Trombone Forum earlier today, replying to a question about Reinhardt's Pivot System:

Doug Elliott wrote: It's all about finding the best embouchure configuration for your particular face, and then using that.  It is a mechanical approach to a musical end.  Playing in the most efficient form improves everything about your playing - yes it helps high range but it also helps mid and low range, opens your sound and gives you more endurance.  It's actually not just about embouchure, it's how the whole body functions toward efficient playing.

I was a very long term student of Reinhardt and he specifically asked me to carry on where he left off, so that's what I do, both in brass teaching and the low brass mouthpieces I design and manufacture.

The forward and back leaning that some players use and teach is a completely different thing, not what Reinhardt taught but that's a common misconception.

I talked with Gary Tirey several times about his lessons with Reinhardt. He let me make copies of his lesson reports a few years ago. The lessons were very personalized he told me, but I still found them useful.