I think I found out a SUPER BAD habit.HELP!

[Jobey Wilson]

Speaking of Tonguing & geography: When I met Roger Bobo a few years ago (Yay!!!), he said something very cool during a masterclass... "Blindfold me and put me in a room of tuba players, and I will tell you what region of the world each is from based on their articulation." I thought that was sooo cool, and since then I've definitely been much more aware of this while teaching international students...a little "speech therapy" goes a long way! Personally, the only time I am currently "conscious" of my tongue is while double-tonguing... I switch my syllable from T-K to Duh-Guh which helped me with clarity & sound quality while double-tonguing. Jobey

[timothy42b]

Back in the 70s Rafael Mendez came to our area twice and I was able to play in the band accompanying his solos.

His articulation was incredible, and I wondered at the time if being a native Spanish speaker had anything to do with it.

[timothy42b]

I had been using, as you say, mostly a teeth/gum point of contact which slipped to the tips of the front teeth in the low register.
After the dental work my sound and articulation change, which was NOT the case when I had my wisdom teeth removed.

If you are using dorsal tonguing, depending on the length of your tongue the tip might on the front teeth, between them, or behind the lower teeth in the gully.

Many people use dorsal tonguing unawares. Not saying you were, necessarily, but that's a possible cause of what you experienced.

[TheTuba]

Ok, I just had a lesson with a private teacher, and he agrees that my tonging is wrong. I went home and practiced with my 7B Helleberg, not my Bach 18. Articulation is way better, although its not a doo,toh,doh,or too tongue. Should I switch to my 7B? Also, how do you learn to re-tongue? To give you an idea, I previously can tongue 16th notes at 120 bpm (which can get better I know).

Thank you!
-Raghul

[Donn]

Though ideal cup diameter probably does vary from one person to the next. Maybe that private teacher would have some insight into the question.