TubeNet

It should! If it doesn't, you might want to switch brands ...

It doesn't if you brew your own. And the better quality the beer, the better quality playing you do. It is far better to drink Guiness before a concert or audition than a beer full of crap like Budweiser.

Vitamins B and C are good when drinking beer and playing tuba.



Brewing my "Berry Strong Ale", the most chick-friendly beer on the planet. In addition to being a good strong Belgium that any tubist would enjoy. 13% alcohol. Lookout!

Best picture ever...

the more you have beer, the more you'll play worse thinking you're playing better...

Beer helps all brass players "feel the buzz"

-T

One or two shouldn't cause a problem. Once you start "having a good time", be carefull that you don't begin doing things with your emboucher. Alcohol will affect your ability to recognize blatty tone, straining the lips, too much pressure, etc...

Been there, done that.

Ok, seriously now, nearly anything can become a problem if it is interfering with your life and goals. There have been many alcoholics, however, who have had performing careers. Swedish tenor (and probably one of the best singers who ever lived) Jussi Boerling sang beautifully all through his career and was a practicing alcoholic. I, nor anyone else I'm sure, would suggest it as a life goal.

When I was younger, I went to see a couple of gigging jazz musicians that I know who were playing at a bar. The bar's policy was to give them free drinks, as many as they wanted while they were playing. These guys were downing the hard stuff and pretty fast too, but it seemed that their playing was tighter and better as the night went on. I wondered at the time why they just seemed to get better and better.

There was a study done on college students who drink and those who don't. It was found that those who studied while intoxicated actually did better on tests when they were intoxicated. Those who studied while sober did better when sober. It had to do with practice and state of mind. This isn't to say that anyone should go to a class, jury or audition drunk. It is just an interesting article I read in the 1990's.

So, I guess the point is that practice affects performance on many levels.

-T

Tabor wrote:Jussi Boerling sang beautifully all through his career and was a practicing alcoholic.

I was practicing to be an alcoholic, but couldn't afford the lessons. Gave up and have stuck with social drinking instead

Tabor wrote: The bar's policy was to give them free drinks, as many as they wanted while they were playing. These guys were downing the hard stuff and pretty fast too, but it seemed that their playing was tighter and better as the night went on. I wondered at the time why they just seemed to get better and better.

-T

Maybe because you were drinking too?

Tabor wrote:...and was a practicing alcoholic.

Hmm...a practicing alchoholic

Some things should be left to the professionals!

Good brass playing is like a good night of drinking...once you've got a good buzz going, you're all set!

tuba4sissies wrote:IMO, tuba and beer.. a match made in heaven.

Sorry, this is a 21 & up thread.

TMurphy wrote:Sorry, this is a 21 & up thread.

You talkin' IQ points

JB wrote:

TMurphy wrote:Sorry, this is a 21 & up thread.

You talkin' IQ points

Heavens no!

Then, none of us could participate...

I'll go on record as one who would never drink before I play. 100 years of research tells us that our reaction time decreases, our perceptions become less accurate -- everything about drinking alcohol would have a negative impact on performance as a musician. If someone is good enough to take a step downward and still sound great, more power to 'em; I'm not that great in the first place and alcohol would just make me worse. As to the perception that the jazz players got better as they got more intoxicated, I would ask whether the listener was ALSO becoming more intoxicated. What's the old saying? "The more I drink, the better she looks"? Doc, as a police officer do you ever encounter someone who drives better after drinking? So why would anyone play better?

I can't help thinking that most of you who are saying this wouldn't really drink enough to affect you at all when you're about to perform. That kind of false bravado might be okay if there weren't impressionable youngsters around who are gullible enough to believe it.

I apologize if I come off sounding like anyone else's nanny. I just wanted to present an opposing viewpoint. Those of you who are adults, and aren't driving, do whatever you like as far as I'm concerned.
________________________________________
Joe Baker, who might, on occasion, enjoy one after driving home...

Joe Baker wrote:Doc, as a police officer do you ever encounter someone who drives better after drinking?

Dr. Phil did a New Year's Eve show in which they took a group of 15 or so and gave them an open bar; then the ones who claimed they thought they were still competent to drive, were given a driving test in a simulater. They all flunked really badly, killing pedestrians, running over dogs....bad stuff. The point was that your judgement goes when drinking, even a little bit, and that you have to have a "personal rule" that you won't drive, knowing before you start drinking that your judgment will be off.

MA, who agrees with Joe both that drinking doesn't help any coordination-required activity, and that adults are free to imbibe as much as they feel like as long as they're not behind the wheel. And who tried drinking and skiing once and just damn near killed herself WHAM on the slope.

Joe Baker wrote: everything about drinking alcohol would have a negative impact on performance as a musician. If someone is good enough to take a step downward and still sound great, more power to 'em;

Agreed with most of the post.

But I can see a few drinks helping one relax, and loosen up. Think about inhibitions, you might not talk to stranges well when sober, but after a few drinks, you'll tell your life's story.

Henry wrote:..its beyond debate that alcohol increases mental acuity. Perhaps a simple analogy will help. Herds of animals, left free of predators will- over time- develop severe problems as aged and infirm animals remain with the general population instead of being removed through predation. Just so the brain, composed of millions of brain cells, will over time suffer from worn out cells dragging down the overall performance level. Beer-alcohol in general, it is generally acknowledged, removes some brain cells when consumed. It stands to reason therefore that the sick, lame, and lazy cells go first. That's why you always feel smarter after a few cold ones.....

Wasn't this theory proven on Cheers? Let's see, Cliff Claven, I believe did the research. No, wait! I think that was with buffalos. My memory seems to be having some difficulty. May I have another beer, please?