Is this normal?

[Tubaryan12]

When I play notes C below the staff and below it appears that the tv and my computer monitor image shakes. Anyone else in the room doesn't see this happen. Is this normal?

[Dylan King]

I thought I was having acid flashbacks.

[Will]

When I first started taking lessons on the tuba back in middle school, I would notice this on my teacher's computer screen. It always distracted me until finally he moved me to another room.


-heads

[TexTuba]

[Captain Sousie]

Well, normal is a relative term (it doesn't apply to any of my relatives or to tuba players) but what you are 'seeing' is normal.

[JayW]

and to think I thought it was some kind of super human power....... that i could make the world shake.......oh well

[Bill Troiano]

Yes! I noticed this when I was practicing in my bedroom and watching THE USA/Russia Olympic hockey game. What year was that? I asked my dad to watch the TV when I played low notes because I was seeing the same thing. He said I was drinking! I don't think so as that game was on pretty early in the morning for eastern standard time! I

[Alex Reeder]

This happens to me also. Your head is vibrating when you play those low notes. Why it looks funny when you look at a TV, computer screen, or digital clock is because those things are actually flicking on and off.
Remember that a movie is made of lots of frames that go by really fast? The TV and computer screen work the same way. A lot of times a second, the picture refreshes, like a new frame in a movie.
Your head vibrates at a similar frequency which causes you to see only certain patterns of frames. It's like how car wheels look funny on TV- sometimes they look like they are turning backwards or standing still. It's the same interaction between the frequency of the wheels turning and the frames in the camera.

Alex "better watch your back, Rick Denney! " Reeder

[WoodSheddin]

When I play notes C below the staff and below it appears that the tv and my computer monitor image shakes. Anyone else in the room doesn't see this happen. Is this normal?

Has to do with the vibrations from the tuba and the refresh rate of your TV interacting. You notice the same thing when a TV camera films a computer monitor.

[humphrey]

The first time I really noticed this effect was when I was practicing bass guitar without an amp. You can use your skull as a soundboard if you clench your teeth then place your chin on the top horn of the bass whilst playing! it can be quite good fun trying to get the picture to shake at different rates depending on what note you're playing! Works particularly well with the words on subtitles.

(maybe I should get out more?)

[tubatooter1940]

Tuba and electric bass rattle my skull too.Thats why I still love 'em after all these years.
In my rock and roll days,I enjoyed seeing people's hair move as they
danced past our speakers.On one occasion an entire tray of glasses vibrated 5 feet down a bar and then crashed to the floor.We were so loud that my ears would ring until late afternoon of the day after a gig.
A tuba needs no amplification to part people's hair.Cool!

[Tabor]

TV screens, heck, sometimes I have trouble reading sheet music from the vibration.

[Doug@GT]

Yep, it's all about refresh rates. It's why certain people get headaches using a CRT monitor under florescent lighting (like me). Of course, even under "normal" lighting, I can see anything under about 70 Hz on a TV or monitor. I guess this is from using an LCD screen most of the time, which I understand does not refresh the same way, so my eyes are no longer used to the constant blinking. This is especially annoying at the movies, where it takes me about 15 minutes to adjust (in other words, the longer previews and commercials nowadays are fine by me ).

[Kevin Hendrick]

and to think I thought it was some kind of super human power....... that i could make the world shake.......oh well

And so you do -- but not a lot. Note that Archimedes never said how far he'd move the world (given a place to stand and a lever long enough) ...

[Leland]

TV screens, heck, sometimes I have trouble reading sheet music from the vibration.

Remember, that's why we held the basketball pep band music in our hands rather than use music stands like everyone else. I know that I couldn't read that stuff if it was farther away than arm's length.

[Steve Inman]

Actually, it's not at all normal. You're being victimized by a secret alien plot. I would recommend you all stop playing tuba immediately, and ship your horns to me. I will store them in a EMI-shielded facility to protect you from further annoyance due to this phenomenon.

Contact me off line to make the necessary shipping arrangements!

Steve Inman
Kokomo, IN

PS:

[TubaRay]

Actually, it's not at all normal. You're being victimized by a secret alien plot. I would recommend you all stop playing tuba immediately, and ship your horns to me. I will store them in a EMI-shielded facility to protect you from further annoyance due to this phenomenon.

Contact me off line to make the necessary shipping arrangements!

Steve Inman
Kokomo, IN

PS:

You would do that for us? What a guy!

[Tubaryan12]

Thanks, guys for the input, however, I think I will decline the "help" you offer for my situation.

[TubaRay]

Ryan, how could you be so ungrateful. Your buddies on TubeNet offer to help and you turn it down. This is really disappointing!

[Benjamin]

I think it is because your face is vibrateing so it looks as if the screen is to.