Head position when playing tuba

[MaryAnn]

I've also put quite a bit of time into looking into what I can find about the Reinhardt system. It has a lot of help available for someone who is struggling, and the concepts are sound. I got so damn tired in the horn world of "use more air" whenever some poor slob asked a question about range, and the amazing attacks on people who wanted to actually discuss embouchure. I remember it was either here or on Facebook someone posted a picture of, I think (?) Roger Bobo playing a pedal tone. Talk about change of angle!!! He was doing what he needed to do for his facial setup to make it work. Yet students are told to stay within a very narrow range of what is "correct," and I think many give up because what is "correct" simply does not work for them. There are videos on Youtube by Wilktone demonstrating how the mouthpiece plus lips are pushed around for playing throughout the range, and it isn't fantasy. It's just that most who succeed at playing don't realize what they are doing, and (some of them) hence deny they are doing it and tell their students to adhere to the "correct" way of playing. Hot button....oh well.

[royjohn]

Hi MaryAnn,
Thanks for posting...I see it less in the tuba world than in the trumpet world, but it does seem that old adages like "50-50" or "2/3-1/3" on mpc placement die hard even though they are right for almost no one. And there also seems to be a lot of "don't confuse me with the facts" when you can clearly see, as you mention, what's happening on Wilktone's videos. There are some videos on his site of a tuba player who developed an embouchure problem and you can clearly see him shifting his pivot from one style to another and the attending problem. I thought that was very instructive and persuasive.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[swillafew]

It's just that most who succeed at playing don't realize what they are doing, and (some of them) hence deny they are doing it and tell their students to adhere to the "correct" way of playing.

In the spirit of agreement with the quote: I had more success with articulation than other aspects of my own playing. I was certain I was doing it as I was told, since the result was good. Decades later, a little time with a clear mouthpiece and a mirror revealed that I was certainly not doing what I expected to see.

As for the pivot comment, I never heard anyone dispute the benefit of the motion. I was also directed to learn to control my sound while slurring over expanding intervals. A lot of time was invested in that practice, and the instruction came from mature players in a consistent fashion.

[Leland]

I don't know what my face does or what angle it takes.

(not that I'm a playing god, but still...)

The direction I've heard about using less "pivot" is, if the player begins to rely on it for whatever range they can play now, they'll run out of pivot when they have to expand their range further.

Just throwing numbers at it -- let's say your "max pivot" for your top note, which is Bb on top of the staff, is 15 degrees, and if you try using more than that, you sound worse. Then you get music that goes to the D above that Bb, but you're "out of pivot", and you're kinda screwed.

[Leland]

Update!

I self-diagnosed, asked the boards, got advice, made adjustments, and am happy to report I fixed my head position with no ill effects. Three valves advice was helpful as the problem was not tilting the tuba forward enough so i was compensating with my jaw structure of giving a slight tilt of my neck/head sideways. The conn bit made it easier as well since that IS adjustable. Duh.

This head position thing also developed from being squashed in a corner in a substitute rehearsal space with barely a place to move and unable to see the conductor holding a 6/4 horn.

Anyway, i played the carnival of the animals elephant solo to much acclaim this past sunday. Think i'll continue my stubbornness and not get the playing stand. Although I appreciate the PM's suggesting stands!!

Ah, yes --

Sideways tilt is very uncomfortable for me. Whether I'm marching or sitting down, I've always done my best to position my body normally and adjust the horn's placement to me, not the other way around.

Good to see that you've made a change.

[Slamson]

I'm a little surprised that no one has mentioned the benefits of the Alexander Technique.
We used to have a Certified Alexander Technique specialist here on campus, and after I had had a critical injury he was really helpful in getting me "straightened out" (that's an Alexander Technique joke, not to be confused with one by a chiropractor), as well as helping me with head positioning. For those of us who practice too long continuously (jeez, guys - take a break after an hour!!!) the neck muscles can get so aggravated that they get numb and the neck (especially if you've broken yours, like i did) can become extremely painful. Alexander Technique has plenty of great exercises/therapies for this stuff!

[timothy42b]

I don't know what my face does or what angle it takes.

.

I know what my motion is. (probably a better term than pivot) The advantage is when things don't work, I can usually spot what I'm doing wrong.

The direction I've heard about using less "pivot" is, if the player begins to rely on it for whatever range they can play now, they'll run out of pivot when they have to expand their range further.

Some people need a lot of motion, others very little. If you force yourself to use little or none, you will inevitably do something else to get your range. Whatever that something is, it is probably a worse habit than the motion. Like pulling the mouthpiece off and resetting - we've all seen people do that.