Double Buzzing Issues

[TubaNerd88]

Hello TubeNet,

I've been having some problems double buzzing certain notes lately, and I cannot seem to figure out what I am doing wrong.

I play on my Thor mainly, since it is the only horn I own at the moment. I have no problems with playing notes cleanly on it. The problem I run into is on my instructor's horn, which is a Miraphone Petruschka model. I use his horn for our school tuba/euphonium quartet.

I seem to double buzz the 2nd space C and the B natural right below that. I've tried every method possible, in my opinion, to fix the problem. I can stop the double buzzing at certain times, but the sound becomes pinched because of that.

What is the best method, in your opinion, of remedying a double buzz?

- Matthew Gray

[Ed Jones]

Before anyone else jumps in, I will advise you to play for your teacher and listen carefully to his advise. Then Ignore the cyberteaching that will no doubt accompany this thread.

[averagejoe]

Before anyone else jumps in, I will advise you to play for your teacher and listen carefully to his advise. Then Ignore the cyberteaching that will no doubt accompany this thread.

Sound advice.

[Frank Byrne]

Arnold Jacobs diagnosed this problem as one of constricted air flow, starving air to the embouchure. Most often this is a result of the tongue crowding the air column and can be alleviated by the conscious use of "OH" or "AH" syllables when playing.

[ThomasP]

I can create a double buzz with great reliability whenever I want.

It all started because I had a double buzz and I didn't know why.

I came to the conclusion that it was because I had too much top lip in the mouthpiece. The fix was to either play with a larger diameter mouthpiece (the rim resting on the bottom of my nose kept me from putting too much upper lip in the mouthpiece) or simply move closer to a 50/50 top/bottom lip mouthpiece playing set-up

My double buzz always happens on 4th partial. 2nd space C on CC tuba, 4th line F on an F tuba, 3rd space Eb on EEb tuba, and top of the staff Bb on Euph/Trombone.

Your mileage may vary...

btw, I chose to go to a more 50/50 setup, and I have to remind myself of the placement. It's my habit to put lots of top lip in the mouthpiece when I get tired.

[Roger Lewis]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Double buzz refers to a multiphonic effect on the trumpet or other brass instruments. During normal play, the upper and lower lips will vibrate together at the same speed. If, however, the lips are set to vibrate at different speeds two pitches may be perceived.

While a brass player can train to play two identifiable pitches at harmonic intervals the sound is generally unpleasing to the ear and usually dissonant. The phenomena is commonly an accidental occurrence when a player's lips are tired, or when a player switches to an unfamiliar mouthpiece. Some players find that the double buzz goes away within a week or two of practice without paying any special attention to it. For others it may worsen with time. When the latter is the case, the technique used to produce the effect is stored into muscle memory and occurs consistently on particular notes or places of an often played piece of music.

In many cases, a double buzz may result in a perception of octaves. This is common when students are learning to play above D6 (concert pitch). In these cases, it is most common that the upper lip is buzzing at a rate two times faster than that of the lower lip. This effect is additionally sometimes called for in modern music.

A double buzz results from an uneven balance of pressure between the upper and lower lips. Tilting the horn either up or down will balance the pressure. Others suggest focusing on producing a clear tone on the mouthpiece only. It can be helpful to experiment with the double buzz and learn to produce it on demand. Learning to control it may help in learning to "turn it off" during regular playing.

A completely different approach, favored by pedagogue William Adam and others, is for a student to not pay any attention to the physical aspects of the phenomena and focus only on producing a clear, focused sound on the instrument.

The double buzz can sound similar to a technique called growling, in which additional noise is produced from the throat while playing. The double buzz is distinctly different in that all noise and vibrations are initiated by the embouchure."

Thought this might help.

Roger

[DelVento]

Don't look for help on tubenet...please.

I had one earlier this year and I worked out of it by playing with my aperture, making it larger or smaller and making my air long and forward.

[imperialbari]

Some lipstick mark!

From kissing or biting?

[imperialbari]

How were your holidays in Detroit? Please don’t tell me : No sweat.

K

[Michael Grant]

Arnold Jacobs diagnosed this problem as one of constricted air flow, starving air to the embouchure. Most often this is a result of the tongue crowding the air column and can be alleviated by the conscious use of "OH" or "AH" syllables when playing.

I had this same issue, only one different notes (fourth line F and top space G). I attended a week long Arnold Jacobs seminar and approached him with this problem. He diagnosed it as stated above. I told him it happened when I got tired and/or played too long in the high register (especially when I had not warmed up). He already knew that! Anyway, he explained that when I got tired, I would tighten my neck muscles in an attempt to keep the pitch up. This would close my throat, constricting the air flow and thus, creating the double buzz. He had me think of the the syllables "OH" and "AH" when playing the aforementioned notes. "BAM!" It worked. It took some practice to perfect it but it did the job. I struggled some time with this and he fixed it in about 4 minutes. He explained how it all worked via physics but stressed to me and the audience to not be concerned with that. For my playing, it was important to use the syllables to help me focus on the sound/tone that I wanted to come out the bell. The result would be no double buzz. Leave the analyzing for when I am not playing. I only state that so you don't spend your time trying to "feel" the throat opening up or trying to "command" the throat muscles. Focus on the sound, imagine the sound with the open syllables "ah" and let the brain naturally correct the muscles and the air to create the sound. "Song and wind".

Best of luck.