Need some practice advice!

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PseudoSea
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Need some practice advice!

Post by PseudoSea »

Howdy, I'm a college student who, more or less on a whim, decided to join my school's marching band (playing the tuba, of course!).

But, as you can guess from this being slightly a whim - I'm in a bit of a pickle. While I played the euphonium (baritone? I'm not exactly clear on the difference) for two years in high school, it's been more than a few years since I've played, and though I love the folks that i've already met in the band - it's very clear that as of right now, I'm pretty far out of my depth. Fortunately, I do have access to a sousaphone, and have been going through just a basic tuba book I found online to at least get the basics down in that regard.

I do plan to find some scales that I can practice to try to expand my range (the difference in air usage between the two instruments is insane!), but I need some help with more general drills and training bits if anyone has any advice! I do plan to be practicing just about every day from now until mid august, when my school band starts up.

Thank you very much, in advance!
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ronr
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Re: Need some practice advice!

Post by ronr »

Get hold of the Aruban book for either tuba or trombone.
GeoffC_UK
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Re: Need some practice advice!

Post by GeoffC_UK »

Morning,
Don't panic!
The fact you have asked for help tells me you'll be ok.
Firstly, don't tire your lip by over-practising. Keep to sessions of 10 minutes or less. Then take a break. Let your lips recover, say for 20 minutes, minimum. Then you can practise again.
Secondly, playing a member of the tuba family is all about the sound quality you make. This is mostly derived from good breathing.
An experienced tuba teacher would be best to discover how to breath correctly, but, otherwise, I would recommend John Ridgeon’s book, “How do brass players do it”.
This can be bought off Amazon and is not that expensive.
Thirdly, start each practice playing long, slow, and not too loudly. Do your scales this way. Also, end each practice session the same way.
Concentrate on making the best sound that you can make on each and every note. Long and slow, say 40 bpm or slower.
I even watch TV whilst I’m am doing this, because it’s not the most interesting thing in the world, but it provides the foundation for everything else.
Between this opening and closing of your practice session, do everything else, eg. playing loud, playing your band music, but do mix it up.

Hopefully, this will get you started along with advice from others?

If you’re really serious about it, then do find a specialist tuba teacher. These days that can even been done remotely, although face-2-face is best.

G
Charlie C Chowder
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Re: Need some practice advice!

Post by Charlie C Chowder »

Hey, and after you have practice, close the books, and just play what ever comes into your head. Nobody says "I practice the ….." Have fun with her and make her your friend.

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nathan.dial
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Re: Need some practice advice!

Post by nathan.dial »

If you played Euphonium for a couple of years I would guess you know the basic scales and fingerings. To fill up a tuba with air you'll want to make every breath big.

Every time you take in air during a practice, try to open your mouth wide and take an intentionally deep breath by pushing out your stomach, sides, butt, anything. Get all your internal and external organs of the way to make room for lungs.

On the way out, try to open your teeth behind your lips so your air is coming through an open mouth. Push it steady on a long tone. Even you're working on sound, is about long tones and being clear steady, and in tune.

Lip slurs help as a warm up for a muscle and control workout. Scales and scale exercises like Clark studies or scales in thirds help with facility, and... Just work on it. Try to do your best.

Oh and when tubas are featured in marching band, there's pretty much no such thing as too loud. The sound mellows out over distance and even when I played what felt like comically nasty "tell me to play louder, I dare you" volume, I got a "yeah, just like that" and later listening to the recordings it sounded great from across the football field.
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