Tuba clamming

[corbasse]

Clamming is usually a problem associated with French horn players, but I am a sad exception, having clam problems with a BBb tuba. It happens mostly within the fifth above Bb just above the staff, so it is not in a range where space between partials is extremely narrow.

I would appreciate your guesses as to what might cause this. I don't have this problem on my F tuba.

Sven

I don't know what notation you normally read, but in the notation "they" use on this board (i.e. concert pitch), you're in a region where the partials are only a tone apart. That's quite narrow on any brass instrument. (and the reason why we french horn players clam so much more than other brass. For us this is only middle register)
If you read European transposed parts, this is probably just a bad region on your instrument. On my tuba the concert C on the staff (notated D above staff) is almost non-existant, and the whole region between Bb and F takes a lot of effort to sound good.


Anyway, the key is to hear the note before you play it. Sing the notes, buzz the notes on your mouthpiece.

If you clam on a certain note, get your mouthpiece out and buzz that note. More often than not you'll find on the first try you'll be on a completely wrong pitch. Buzz the right pitch several times and then return to the instrument.

[Rick Denney]

Clamming is usually a problem associated with French horn players, but I am a sad exception, having clam problems with a BBb tuba. It happens mostly within the fifth above Bb just above the staff, so it is not in a range where space between partials is extremely narrow.

I would appreciate your guesses as to what might cause this. I don't have this problem on my F tuba.

Sven

It happens to me most when my tuba is not well-tuned on the note that wants to clam. I try to play it in tune, but it doesn't want to resonate there and the vibration gets pulled to the wrong partial (or it can't find any resonance at all).

But the partials aren't close together in the fifth above Bb just above the staff? They seem mighty close to me!

I have trouble on my big tuba with G and Gb on the staff (1-2 and 2-3 on the 8th partial), and with C above the staff, which can be played 1, 4, or open, none of which are right on the money. I can usually do better with the Eb and F above middle C than with those notes, though using that instrument for those notes is a violation of purpose.

Rick "who also plays that stuff on F tuba with much greater security" Denney

[windshieldbug]

FWIW

Rather than buzzing the wrong note, it may be that your horn is not in tune on those notes, and that you ARE trying to buzz the right pitch, but as Rick says, the horn does not act properly if you try "lip" these notes into tune.

Try playing them as your horn wants to, and check the results on a tuner. Oft times, especially when the notes are close together, there is some combination of alternate fingerings which will make the horn both more consistent and in-tune.

[MaryAnn]

and / or slide - pulling / pushing, to get the tubing the right length. If you're using a monster mouthpiece cup, one of the results can be a flat high range.

buzzing the right pitch on the mouthpiece is good advice but you also need to know that you'll need more air (gut) pressure to get the tuba to respond on that pitch, than you do just the mouthpiece. One of the more interesting experiments I did once was playing a high note on my horn and pulling the mouthpiece out while still buzzing; the pitch the mouthpiece played was a minor third higher than what the horn was playing, due to the lesser resistance. This wasn't true for low notes. Gunther Schuller in his book "Horn" notes this same phenomenon.

MA

[windshieldbug]

Rather than buzzing the wrong note, it may be that your horn is not in tune on those notes, and that you ARE trying to buzz the right pitch, but as Rick says, the horn does not act properly if you try "lip" these notes into tune.

Try playing them as your horn wants to, and check the results on a tuner. Oft times, [especially when on other horns these notes are perfectly fine] there is some combination of alternate fingerings which will make the horn both more consistent and in-tune.

No problem! I still stand by what I've said and I think the advice that you've been offered by others is likely still valuable, as well.

[LoyalTubist]

For me, clamming was always a result of lack of focus and centering. Sometimes, events in our lives can cause this (not the events themselves, but rather our attitudes towards them). Relaxing always helps, unless you're in the middle of a gig.

[iiipopes]

Even then, try to relax as much as possible between pieces/movements/entrances, and lightly and I do mean lightly, blubber your lips quietly to keep them flexible and the blood moving through them.