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I’ve been having (and have always had) trouble slurring a G major arpeggio on a BBb tuba, not sure why or if it’s just present on my particular instrument. Does any have any suggestions for ways to attack working on this?

Thanks!

The key is to hear those notes G->B->D->G clearly in your head before playing them. And doing lots of lip slurs, keeping the airstream constant & smooth thru those slurred arpeggios

owen.hans wrote:I’ve been having (and have always had) trouble slurring a G major arpeggio on a BBb tuba, not sure why or if it’s just present on my particular instrument. Does any have any suggestions for ways to attack working on this?

Thanks!

I'm not sure if you have a Private lesson teacher, but find one.
If you can't find one, go on Tubenet like I did and post a topic. People will surely contact you.
These are the type of questions that should be asked to the teachers.
do not depend on tubenet, as there are many people who get on, and what they say may/may not apply to you, and at worst, introduce some bad habits.
I'm not purposely being mean, but I got wayy better after I got a competent teacher.
Finally: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=16622" target="_blank
hope it helps!

Practice it using legato tongue. Gradually make it more legato and less tongue, but don't abandon the tongue entirely.

Art Hovey wrote:Practice it using legato tongue. Gradually make it more legato and less tongue, but don't abandon the tongue entirely.

I confess to using, on the fewest occasions possible, the lightest possible legato-tongued "slur" to an exposed note if there was a confidence issue on the slur. Mind you, I am amateur and don't get in all the practice I should.

You get the best at the keys you spend the most time playing. Playing a routine that evenly divides your time in every key signature is good way to go. A publication called the "20 minute Warm-up" by Hip Bone music does a nice job of addressing slurs and including more key centers.

swillafew wrote:You get the best at the keys you spend the most time playing. Playing a routine that evenly divides your time in every key signature is good way to go. A publication called the "20 minute Warm-up" by Hip Bone music does a nice job of addressing slurs and including more key centers.

+1

When I bought my (French) horn, my then teacher hated it because it was "slippery." That was one of the things I liked about it...ease of slurring. Being a string player, my concept of slurring is a bit smoother than most hornists' concept; they tend to "wah wah" on slurs and I sound more like a bowed instrument in results. I decided it was a musical cultural phenomenon.

This may or may not apply, but: I found that even with different (French) horns, that I needed my chops to arrive at the new pitch as the valve lever hit bottom, and that timing was different on different instruments. You wouldn't think so, but it is. Many maybe wouldn't make the connection.....but it may be part of your problem, timing when your chops arrive at the pitch with when the length of the tube wants to resonate with that pitch, precisely.

There are a lot of good contributions here. Without sitting with you, it's hard to say anything definitive. I would say only that more air fixes a lot. If you don't have a teacher, you might want to google "breathing gym." It's a place to start.

mjrctuba wrote:Without sitting with you, it's hard to say anything definitive. .

But...............we could sit with him.

Post a link to a youtube video, playing that arpeggio. Smartphone is your friend.

It is not just the breath support and embouchure conditioning. In the mid to upper octave, the G-B-D-G can be lip slurred fingered 1+2 with relative ease. Especially since the D on a significant number of BBb tubas, when played open is the 5th partial and many times flat, the 1+2 fingering can actually help intonation. On the lower octave, the B nat played 1+2+3 with a quick pull uses only one valve change and will alleviate the burble of trying to get the horn to speak trying to play the lower arpeggio with conventional fingerings, B nat 2+4.