Stuck on the tuba plateau?

[ThatTubaPlayer]

I've been playing tuba for the past 6 years now, and I have made great progress(in my opinion.) I am currently the principle player in my school's wind ensemble, and I was 1st alternate for the all-state honors band. Everyone tells me I have great tone and that I use all of my air, but I feel like I'm just not good enough. I want to pursue a career in music, whether it be a orchestral tuba player or even a band director. How do I increase my ability to play in the range above Bb above the staff? I do not have a professional tuba player in my area. My teacher says I am the most qualified person to give lessons. I listen to all of these philharmonic orchestras and I hear all of these tuba solos and the soloist just nails it. I especially like Bass tuba concerto by Vaughan Williams. My good range is from pedal Bb to C above the staff. How do I get past this plateau?

[bort]

Sounds like you need to move! You're a big fish in a little pond. Time to find a bigger pond, my friend. I'm guessing that wont be until college, but depending on your age, you might get into some good summer programs or be able to drive some distance for other opportunities.

Highly successful people rarely live in one place their entire lives in one place. Always follow the opportunities. Good luck!

[Josh Calloway]

If you're in Newport, NC, then you are really close to two Marine Bands (Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune). Either of those bands likely have experienced tuba players you could take lessons with. ECU has a great tuba professor. It would definitely be worth the drive if you could get lessons with him. There are musicians in your area but you have to search them out. Get out there and meet them. You never know what doors it could open for you in the future.

[swillafew]

A good musician on another instrument might give you a great lesson. A lot of non-tuba players sought out lessons from Arnold Jacobs, no reason it wouldn't work the other way.

[Michael Bush]

ECU has a great tuba professor.

This.

Take the reasonable drive. This is an excellent opportunity for you.

[windshieldbug]

Music is not simply about instrument gymnastics.
Music is a language in which one can always get better at expression.
If nobody can help you currently with technique, is there nobody that can help you with expression? You'll need BOTH to succeed at either playing or teaching...

[PMeuph]

If you work on "stuff you can't play", are you certain that you have "perfect" or "near-perfect" recordings in your head (i.e. sonic mental concepts) of how you want those events to sound, once accomplished?

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This!

Honestly, I progress the most on my own when I set a goal and record myself everyday. Take any passage that you're working on, record it (use a laptop, Zoom, phone etc) and then criticize it.

If you don't have any criticisms of your playing, then you need to work on your mental conception of sound more. That will be accomplished by listening to many recordings, both good and bad, and then determining what is good and what you want in your playing.

[MaryAnn]

Seek out Roger Lewis' posts about embouchure (search engine should find them eventually.) He talks about using different lip tissue for different ranges. Baiscally, you roll in one or both lips to play high, and you roll out to play lower. For the vast majority of people. It's not difficult, it's just a technique. You should be able to play an effortless middle C on any tuba by just forming your mouth and breathing into it. If I can, you can.