Off horn practice poll: If so and what kind?

[TheTuba]

I am going to india tomorrow
what should I do other than buzzing? or is that good?

[Leland]

What do you mean by "air tube"? A short piece of [usually] rigid tubing that you hold between your teeth (the idea is to reinforce keeping your mouth open when breathing)? Or a length of vinyl tubing attached to the mouthpiece?

[Paul Maybery]

What about finger technique exercises? Sometimes accompanied by tonguing behind a properly formed embouchure. Also, singing (accurately) while fingering a piece. All of these without a mp or any buzzing, but with good breathing habits.

[bigboymusic]

What about finger technique exercises? Sometimes accompanied by tonguing behind a properly formed embouchure. Also, singing (accurately) while fingering a piece. All of these without a mp or any buzzing, but with good breathing habits.

I have spent Soooooo many hours while driving just practicing fingering patterns. That is how I have kept all of my scales under my fingers. I do it all the time....

[Three Valves]

When I’m at home I play to relax.

When I’m at the beach, I look at the ocean.

And drink beer!!

[Bill Troiano]

Although, I've dabbled with some of the techniques / devices mentioned in the poll, I've come to think that on a regular basis, if you're going to spend time doing that, you might be better off just playing the tuba. I only use buzzing on a mouthpiece if I'm away from my tubas, like if I'm going out of town without them.

[Leland]

What do you mean by "air tube"? A short piece of [usually] rigid tubing that you hold between your teeth (the idea is to reinforce keeping your mouth open when breathing)? Or a length of vinyl tubing attached to the mouthpiece?

The first one that you mentioned.

Ah, ok.

[Leland]

Physical breathing exercises pulling up the rear on buzzing! I guess when people ask me about the air required to play the tuba my response shouldnt be "Air-Schmair" anymore. Oops.

Some buzzing routines are breathing exercises of their own, too. And, when I'm buzzing along to a recording, I'm also trying to use my air the same way.

[TheTuba]

For some reason, I have service in rural india

IM BACK

[Lee Stofer]

My off-horn practice consists of (1) studying tuba/bass parts, and not necessarily fingering or buzzing, etc., just studying the parts, and (2) a regular running regimen, which does more for my air supply and air control than all of the breathing exercises in the world.

I thought I'd just mention these items, as they did not fit exactly into any of the categories.

[Bnich93]

I put "Drinking Beer" because it's true, and what I actually do is not listed. I practice running scales with my fingers on any flat surface I find, at this point it has become a nervous habit or tick, but I think it helps me keep certain scales or runs under my fingers.

I also occasionally use the Warburton "P.E.T.E." I'm not super convinced that it does anything but I got it for free with a mouthpiece so I'm giving it a chance.

[Leland]

My off-horn practice consists of (1) studying tuba/bass parts, and not necessarily fingering or buzzing, etc., just studying the parts, and (2) a regular running regimen, which does more for my air supply and air control than all of the breathing exercises in the world.

I thought I'd just mention these items, as they did not fit exactly into any of the categories.

Ah yes, especially #2. Interval-type workouts and yoga both work my breathing, and in different ways.

(speaking of which, I gotta get a session in before it gets too late tonight!)

[Mark]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz5fow-pf68

[Leland]

If there's no tuba - and you are (~I am~) anywhere from 10 - 75 lbs. overweight and out of shape - work on physical fitness.
Being more physically fit makes "doing most anything" easier to do...and I believe "tuba playing" falls under the category of "most anything".

Heck, it makes it easier to lift my tuba in and out of the car. Within just one year of being off active duty (and all the PT that goes with it), I could tell that I couldn't move my tuba as well as I used to.

[Leland]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz5fow-pf68

I know that's Christian Lindbergh, but that's a garbage example (just as it was a year or two ago when it got posted in a different thread). His mouthpiece buzz demonstrated an idealized-for-a-mouthpiece-type of buzz, so no wonder it sounded awful when he put it on the horn.

I buzz often enough. Nobody who's been downrange of me has ever accused me of having a thin, nasal sound.

[David Zerkel]

I would recommend exercising your ears, your brain, and your soul. Focus on being a good musician rather than being a good tubist. Listen. If you pick off this list one at a time, you will become a better musician.

Some Great Classical Pianists
Martha Argerich
Glenn Gould
Alfred Brendel
Leon Fleischer
Rosalyn Tureck
Vladimir Horowitz
Evgeny Kissin
Emmanuel Ax
Alicia deLaroccha
Arthur Schnabel

Some Great Jazz Pianists
Art Tatum
Thelonious Monk
Oscar Peterson
Bill Evans
Marian McPartland
Ahmad Jamal
McCoy Turner
Keith Jarrett
Dave Brubeck
Herbie Hancock

Some Great Violinists
Joshua Bell
Gidon Kremer
Yehudi Menuin
Janine Jansen
Itzhak Perlman
Gil Shaham
Pinchas Zuckerman
Jascha Heifetz
James Ehnes
Anne-Sophie Mutter

Some Great Violists
Kim Kashkashian
William Primrose
Lawrence Power
Antoine Tamestit
Nobuku Imai
Yuri Bashmet
Lionel Tertis
Some Great Cellists
Yo Yo Ma
Mstislav Rostropovich
Pablo Casals
Janos Starker
Jacqueline du Pre
Mischa Maisky
Pierre Fournier
Lynn Harrell
Leonard Rose
Heinrich Shiff

Some Great Double Bass Players
Edgar Meyer
Eugene Levinson
Gary Karr
Oscar Zimmerman
Teppo Hauta-Aho

Some Great Guitarists (Classical)
Andres Segovia
John Williams
Christopher Parkening
Pepe Romero
Julian Bream
David Russell
Craig Ogden

Some Great Guitarists (Jazz)
Wes Montgomery
Joe Pass
Pat Metheny
Bill Frisell
Kenny Burrell
Grant Green
Jim Hall
George Benson

Some Great Flutists
Emmanuel Pahud
Jean Pierre Rampal
Jeanne Baxtresser
James Galway
Marcel Moyse
Ransom Wilson
Carol Wincenc
William Bennett
Jeffery Khaner
Julius Baker

Some Great Oboists
Heinz Holziger
Albrecht Mayer
Alex Klein
Richard Woodham

Some Great Clarinetists
Sabine Myers
Julian Bliss
Martin Frost
Richard Stoltzman
Karl Leister
Harold Wright

Some Great Bassoonists
Bernard Garfield
Klaus Thunemann
Dag Jensen
Christopher Millard
William Winstead

Some Great Saxophonists (Classical)
Tim McAllister
Joseph Luloff
Eugene Rousseau
Donald Sinta
Frederick Hemke
Kenneth Tse
Otis Murphy

Some Great Saxophonists (Jazz)
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane
Coleman Hawkins
Lester Young
Stan Getz
Sonny Rollins
Cannonball Adderly
Phil Woods
Wayne Shorter

Some Great Trumpet Players (Classical)
Maurice Andre
Wynton Marsalis
Phil Smith
Adolph Herseth
Gerard Schwarz
Hakan Hardenberger
Alison Balsom
Ryan Anthony
Allen Vizzutti

Some Great Trumpet Players (Jazz)
Dizzy Gillespie
Miles Davis
Clifford Brown
Chet Baker
Wynton Marsalis
Freddy Hubbard
Arturo Sandoval
Louis Armstrong
Clark Terry

Some Great Horn Players
Dennis Brain
Barry Tuckwell
Dale Clevenger
Hermann Baumann
Erik Ruske
Doug Hill
Alan Civil
Gail Williams

Some Great Trombonists (Classical)
Joe Alessi
Christian Lindberg
Ian Bousfield
Jorgen van Rejin
James Markey
Ben van Dijk
Nitzan Haroz
Randy Hawes

Some Great Trombonists (Jazz)
Wycliffe Gordon
JJ Johnson
Frank Rosolino
Bill Waltrous
Slide Hampton
Carl Fontana
Kai Winding

Some Great Euphonium Players
David Childs
Bob and Nick Childs
Demondrae Thurman
Ben Pierce
Thomas Reudi
David Thornton
Steven Mead
Jukka Myllys
Fernando Deddos

Some Great Tuba Players
Michael Lind
John Fletcher
Arnold Jacobs
Oystein Baadsvik
Walter Hilgers
Gene Pokorny
Les Neish
Pat Sheridan





Some Great Percussionists
Evelyn Glennie
Colin Currie
Cloyd Duff
Keiko Abe
 
Some Great Orchestras
Berlin Philharmonic
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
New York Philharmonic
Cleveland Orchestra
Concertgebouw Orchestra
San Francisco Symphony
Boston Symphony
Philadelphia Orchestra
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic
Dresden Staatskapelle
London Symphony

Some Great Chamber Ensembles
Emerson String Quartet
Juilliard String Quartet
Gaurneri String Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Turtle Island Quartet
Empire Brass
Center City Brass Quintet
American Brass Quintet
Aurelia Saxophone Quartet
Prism Saxophone Quartet
Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet
Dorian Ensemble
Alarm Will Sound
eighth blackbird

Some Great Wind Bands
The United States Marine Band
Dallas Wind Symphony
Tokyo Kosei Wind Ensemble

Some Great Jazz Ensembles
Woody Herman Big Band
Buddy Rich Band
Louis Bellson Band
The Bill Holman Band
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra
Lincoln Center Big Band
Stan Kenton Band
Rob McConnell Boss Brass
Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band

Some Great Singers (Classical)
Renee Fleming
Kiri TeKanawa
Jessye Norman
Cecilia Bartoli
Anna Nebtrebko
Jussi Bjorling
Luciano Pavoratti
Placido Domingo
Jonas Kaufmann
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Bryn Terfel

Some Great Singers (Jazz)
Sarah Vaughan
Ella Fitzgerald
Diana Krall
Dinah Washington
Billie Holiday
Kurt Elling
Joe Williams

Great Entry Level Operas
La Boheme
La Traviata
The Magic Flute
Tosca
Barber of Seville
 
Composers to Try
Contemporary
John Adams
John Corigliano
George Crumb
Jennifer Higdon
Phillip Glass
Gyorgy Ligeti
Arvo Part
Krzysztof Penderecki
Steve Reich
Joseph Schwantner
Eric Whitacre
Aaron Jay Kernis
Henryk Gorecki

Twentieth Century
Samuel Barber
Bela Bartok
Leonard Bernstein
Benjamin Britten
John Cage
Aaron Copland
Claude Debussy
George Gershwin
Alberto Ginastera
Percy Grainger
Paul Hindemith
Howard HansonGustav Holst
Charles Ives
Leos Janacek
Olivier Messiaen
Darius Milhaud
Carl Orff
Carl Nielsen
Francis Poulenc
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Maurice Ravel
Ottorino Respighi
Arnold Schoenberg
William Schuman
Dmitri Shostakovich
Igor Stravinsky
Richard Strauss
Michael Tippett
Hector Villa-Lobos
Anton Webern

Romantic
Hector Berlioz
Georges Bizet
Johannes Brahms
Anton Bruckner
Frederic Chopin
Antonin Dvorak
Edward Elgar
Gabriel Faure
Cesar Franck
Franz Liszt
Gustav Mahler
Jules Massanet
Felix Mendelssohn
Giacomo Puccini
Nicolai Rimsky- Korsakov
Giacchino Rossini
Camille Saint Saens
Erik Satie
Jean Sibelius
Bedrich Smetana
Robert Schumann
Pytor Tchaikovsky
Giuseppe Verdi
Richard Wagner
Hugo Wolf

Classical
CPE Bach
Ludwig van Beethoven
Joseph Haydn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Schubert

Baroque
Johann Sebastian Bach
George Frideric Handel
Claudio Monteverdi
Henry Purcell
Alessandro Scarlatti
Georg Phillipp Telemann
Antonio Vivaldi

[TheTuba]

I would recommend exercising your ears, your brain, and your soul. Focus on being a good musician rather than being a good tubist. Listen. If you pick off this list one at a time, you will become a better musician.

Some Great Classical Pianists
Martha Argerich
Glenn Gould
Alfred Brendel
Leon Fleischer
Rosalyn Tureck
Vladimir Horowitz
Evgeny Kissin
Emmanuel Ax
Alicia deLaroccha
Arthur Schnabel

Some Great Jazz Pianists
Art Tatum
Thelonious Monk
Oscar Peterson
Bill Evans
Marian McPartland
Ahmad Jamal
McCoy Turner
Keith Jarrett
Dave Brubeck
Herbie Hancock

Some Great Violinists
Joshua Bell
Gidon Kremer
Yehudi Menuin
Janine Jansen
Itzhak Perlman
Gil Shaham
Pinchas Zuckerman
Jascha Heifetz
James Ehnes
Anne-Sophie Mutter

Some Great Violists
Kim Kashkashian
William Primrose
Lawrence Power
Antoine Tamestit
Nobuku Imai
Yuri Bashmet
Lionel Tertis
Some Great Cellists
Yo Yo Ma
Mstislav Rostropovich
Pablo Casals
Janos Starker
Jacqueline du Pre
Mischa Maisky
Pierre Fournier
Lynn Harrell
Leonard Rose
Heinrich Shiff

Some Great Double Bass Players
Edgar Meyer
Eugene Levinson
Gary Karr
Oscar Zimmerman
Teppo Hauta-Aho

Some Great Guitarists (Classical)
Andres Segovia
John Williams
Christopher Parkening
Pepe Romero
Julian Bream
David Russell
Craig Ogden

Some Great Guitarists (Jazz)
Wes Montgomery
Joe Pass
Pat Metheny
Bill Frisell
Kenny Burrell
Grant Green
Jim Hall
George Benson

Some Great Flutists
Emmanuel Pahud
Jean Pierre Rampal
Jeanne Baxtresser
James Galway
Marcel Moyse
Ransom Wilson
Carol Wincenc
William Bennett
Jeffery Khaner
Julius Baker

Some Great Oboists
Heinz Holziger
Albrecht Mayer
Alex Klein
Richard Woodham

Some Great Clarinetists
Sabine Myers
Julian Bliss
Martin Frost
Richard Stoltzman
Karl Leister
Harold Wright

Some Great Bassoonists
Bernard Garfield
Klaus Thunemann
Dag Jensen
Christopher Millard
William Winstead

Some Great Saxophonists (Classical)
Tim McAllister
Joseph Luloff
Eugene Rousseau
Donald Sinta
Frederick Hemke
Kenneth Tse
Otis Murphy

Some Great Saxophonists (Jazz)
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane
Coleman Hawkins
Lester Young
Stan Getz
Sonny Rollins
Cannonball Adderly
Phil Woods
Wayne Shorter

Some Great Trumpet Players (Classical)
Maurice Andre
Wynton Marsalis
Phil Smith
Adolph Herseth
Gerard Schwarz
Hakan Hardenberger
Alison Balsom
Ryan Anthony
Allen Vizzutti

Some Great Trumpet Players (Jazz)
Dizzy Gillespie
Miles Davis
Clifford Brown
Chet Baker
Wynton Marsalis
Freddy Hubbard
Arturo Sandoval
Louis Armstrong
Clark Terry

Some Great Horn Players
Dennis Brain
Barry Tuckwell
Dale Clevenger
Hermann Baumann
Erik Ruske
Doug Hill
Alan Civil
Gail Williams

Some Great Trombonists (Classical)
Joe Alessi
Christian Lindberg
Ian Bousfield
Jorgen van Rejin
James Markey
Ben van Dijk
Nitzan Haroz
Randy Hawes

Some Great Trombonists (Jazz)
Wycliffe Gordon
JJ Johnson
Frank Rosolino
Bill Waltrous
Slide Hampton
Carl Fontana
Kai Winding

Some Great Euphonium Players
David Childs
Bob and Nick Childs
Demondrae Thurman
Ben Pierce
Thomas Reudi
David Thornton
Steven Mead
Jukka Myllys
Fernando Deddos

Some Great Tuba Players
Michael Lind
John Fletcher
Arnold Jacobs
Oystein Baadsvik
Walter Hilgers
Gene Pokorny
Les Neish
Pat Sheridan





Some Great Percussionists
Evelyn Glennie
Colin Currie
Cloyd Duff
Keiko Abe
 
Some Great Orchestras
Berlin Philharmonic
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
New York Philharmonic
Cleveland Orchestra
Concertgebouw Orchestra
San Francisco Symphony
Boston Symphony
Philadelphia Orchestra
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic
Dresden Staatskapelle
London Symphony

Some Great Chamber Ensembles
Emerson String Quartet
Juilliard String Quartet
Gaurneri String Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Turtle Island Quartet
Empire Brass
Center City Brass Quintet
American Brass Quintet
Aurelia Saxophone Quartet
Prism Saxophone Quartet
Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet
Dorian Ensemble
Alarm Will Sound
eighth blackbird

Some Great Wind Bands
The United States Marine Band
Dallas Wind Symphony
Tokyo Kosei Wind Ensemble

Some Great Jazz Ensembles
Woody Herman Big Band
Buddy Rich Band
Louis Bellson Band
The Bill Holman Band
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra
Lincoln Center Big Band
Stan Kenton Band
Rob McConnell Boss Brass
Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band

Some Great Singers (Classical)
Renee Fleming
Kiri TeKanawa
Jessye Norman
Cecilia Bartoli
Anna Nebtrebko
Jussi Bjorling
Luciano Pavoratti
Placido Domingo
Jonas Kaufmann
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Bryn Terfel

Some Great Singers (Jazz)
Sarah Vaughan
Ella Fitzgerald
Diana Krall
Dinah Washington
Billie Holiday
Kurt Elling
Joe Williams

Great Entry Level Operas
La Boheme
La Traviata
The Magic Flute
Tosca
Barber of Seville
 
Composers to Try
Contemporary
John Adams
John Corigliano
George Crumb
Jennifer Higdon
Phillip Glass
Gyorgy Ligeti
Arvo Part
Krzysztof Penderecki
Steve Reich
Joseph Schwantner
Eric Whitacre
Aaron Jay Kernis
Henryk Gorecki

Twentieth Century
Samuel Barber
Bela Bartok
Leonard Bernstein
Benjamin Britten
John Cage
Aaron Copland
Claude Debussy
George Gershwin
Alberto Ginastera
Percy Grainger
Paul Hindemith
Howard HansonGustav Holst
Charles Ives
Leos Janacek
Olivier Messiaen
Darius Milhaud
Carl Orff
Carl Nielsen
Francis Poulenc
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Maurice Ravel
Ottorino Respighi
Arnold Schoenberg
William Schuman
Dmitri Shostakovich
Igor Stravinsky
Richard Strauss
Michael Tippett
Hector Villa-Lobos
Anton Webern

Romantic
Hector Berlioz
Georges Bizet
Johannes Brahms
Anton Bruckner
Frederic Chopin
Antonin Dvorak
Edward Elgar
Gabriel Faure
Cesar Franck
Franz Liszt
Gustav Mahler
Jules Massanet
Felix Mendelssohn
Giacomo Puccini
Nicolai Rimsky- Korsakov
Giacchino Rossini
Camille Saint Saens
Erik Satie
Jean Sibelius
Bedrich Smetana
Robert Schumann
Pytor Tchaikovsky
Giuseppe Verdi
Richard Wagner
Hugo Wolf

Classical
CPE Bach
Ludwig van Beethoven
Joseph Haydn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Schubert

Baroque
Johann Sebastian Bach
George Frideric Handel
Claudio Monteverdi
Henry Purcell
Alessandro Scarlatti
Georg Phillipp Telemann
Antonio Vivaldi

Perfect list.
Thank you

[Mark]

I would recommend exercising your ears, your brain, and your soul. Focus on being a good musician rather than being a good tubist. Listen. If you pick off this list one at a time, you will become a better musician.
...

nice list of music in general but kind of spammy. listening to music is not off horn practice.