So im stuck @ the high C... any suggestions?

[dopey]

I remember back when I had a hard time hitting a F in the staff confident, and over that year my range jumped from a not very confident E/F to a confident Bb and everything below. Since then i've been stuck @ the C, which seems to be there some days, and not others.

Any suggestions? I already practice scales, and other things up in that range but it just does not seem to want to go on up to C or D and so on very confidently?I've heard of embrochure "breaks" but i've always been against having to really shift extreme for different registers.

any suggestions? Im wanting to play a piece for spring concert that goes up to a high E in one part of the song, and would like to get up there.

Anyone else have this problem?

Jacob"who can hit the notes if he cheats and makes a wierd scrunched up face.. but that doesn't count"

[JayW]

Sing the note, Buzz the note, Become the note

May help in terms of embochure to do a little bizzing with trumpet mouthpiece. I know that it is perhaps not ideal...but It has helped me a great deal in just getting the concept of what my embochure needs to be doing in the upper register.

[daktx2]

actually, being in the jazz band on bass trombone has helped my high register immensely, so cross training might help.

[dopey]

I dabble in euphonium and thats really what kicked my range up to Bb I imagine. I still dabble in it some and even play it with our "concert" band when I can, its helped me learn treble since thats all our euphs know how to read.

As far as singing, I cant' sing worth a flip. I do however play things down a octave which tends to help when I bring it up.

But, the high C and up is just wierd, its like going along play Bb and go to high C and it just doesnt' come out, its like a wall.. no matter how tight I make my embrochure I Cant' get past that darn Bb.

[mog976]

Have you read Roger Lewis's post about the high range? It was of immense help to me. Here it is: <viewtopic.php?t=4051&highlight=high+range>.

Another thing you could try think about (although not too hard, remember, paralysis by analysis) is the shape of your oral cavity as you play. First, play your low Bflat (not the pedal, just the low one) with the most wonderful relaxed and easy tone you can muster. Notice how everything stays nice and relaxed and easy? Now, try play your high Bflat (not the ridiculous one, just the one at the top of the staff). Notice anything in regards to how easy it feels? Try to maintain a nice, relaxed playing style using as little pressure as possible as you ascend into the high register, pressure actually restricts your high frequency buzz. To test for high pressure playing, have trustworthy and helpful friend (if you listened to Pokorny's masterclass broadcast, this would be your guardian angel) gently pull the horn away from you as you play. Hopefully from here you can figure the rest out without concentrating too much on physical phenomenon.[/i]

[adam0408]

actually, being in the jazz band on bass trombone has helped my high register immensely, so cross training might help.

AHHHH this is absolutely the opposite for me. I played bass trombone for a while and my tone went down the toilet, taking my range with it. When you play an instrument with a different mouthpiece size, you are using different muscles to get your results. The muscles for tuba playing are not far away, and any modifications you do to your face will affect those too.....

So, my advice to you is STICK WITH YOUR TUBA!!!!! you are trying to play high on your tuba, so use your tuba.

Too often we make the mental mistake of thinking that those high notes are hard. High notes are not hard in and of themselves, they are hard because we do not practice them. When you play high, use the mental mindset of coming to rest on top of the note instead of shooting from underneath it.

There are things that you can do with your face that will help hit high notes. Make sure that you don't use more pressure to hit your high range, because that will just lead to poor indurance and tone. You may be able to squeeze more notes out but you wont last long at all. Try directing your airstream toward the bottom of your mouthpiece do this DRASTICALLY and see what happens. Almost use an overbite type of idea, but with your lips, not your teeth.

Extend your range by playing long tones and getting control over your usable range. As you play long tones in your upper range, you will eventually just extend your range that way.

[chevy68chv]

it might simply be an issue of air. its very tempting in the upper register to tighten up, which restricts the air flow. make sure you are providing enough air to support these notes with a good tone.

[tubeast]

I´ll second those comments on large amounts of air needed up there.
To my (admittedly non-professional) experience high notes shouldn´t be worried about a great deal. I used to have a somewhat limited range and figured that it was most important to extend it on the low end, ´cause that´s the tuba´s job, after all.
(Trumpets have piccolos to cheat on high notes, we got euphs for that matter, but there is no brass instrument lower than the tuba, so what´s the deal?)
Playing real low and trying to gain flexibility down there obviously helped me build up facial muscles, and unconsciously my higher range improved greatly in the process. Try quick slurs exceeding one octave, remaining below the staff all the time.
This way it was possible to increase range from about 3 to 5 by almost two solid octaves. Something that restricts my higher range, though, is trying to whistle around up there for a while.
The chops will get very tense, but who needs that, anyways ?

Hans

[dopey]

thanks for the tips i'll start practicing them right away.

Some other things I already do in warm up, I'll do octave jumps starting @ low
Bb then mid Bb and so on going up the Bb scale as far as I can. Also do chromatic runs as fast as I can and high as I can starting in different places and going up.

As well as different scales, and just long tones and as well as things from memory I know to just good around.

I'lll defiantly try these techniques and practice tips, I really want to extend my range up to a high F then that would make me feel comfortable(I Think..) playing the high E. I've learned that normally whereever ure cut off note is, your comfort range is a note or two below.

Thanks for the tips,

Jacob"whos not ashamed to admit what his limitations are"

[adam0408]

I'lll defiantly try these techniques and practice tips, I really want to extend my range up to a high F then that would make me feel comfortable(I Think..) playing the high E. I've learned that normally whereever ure cut off note is, your comfort range is a note or two below.

If youre playing a hard piece that requires you to hit that high e, make sure you are REALLY comfortable hitting that f as well (maybe even the g) meaning that you can do it with good tone consistently. Perhaps not pick it out of the air, but be comfortable with it. Keep in mind the extra nerves that go on in a performance setting. I say why stop at the f? Just keep on going.....

[Charlie Goodman]

Have you read Roger Lewis's post about the high range? It was of immense help to me. Here it is: <viewtopic.php?t=4051&highlight=high+range>.

Another thing you could try think about (although not too hard, remember, paralysis by analysis) is the shape of your oral cavity as you play. First, play your low Bflat (not the pedal, just the low one) with the most wonderful relaxed and easy tone you can muster. Notice how everything stays nice and relaxed and easy? Now, try play your high Bflat (not the ridiculous one, just the one at the top of the staff). Notice anything in regards to how easy it feels? Try to maintain a nice, relaxed playing style using as little pressure as possible as you ascend into the high register, pressure actually restricts your high frequency buzz. To test for high pressure playing, have trustworthy and helpful friend (if you listened to Pokorny's masterclass broadcast, this would be your guardian angel) gently pull the horn away from you as you play. Hopefully from here you can figure the rest out without concentrating too much on physical phenomenon.[/i]

Haha, Edman, where's all this stuff when you ask me how to play high?

[mog976]

Mr. Good Man, I have no idea. I still can't play any of that high stuff nearly as well as you can, regardless of whether or not I've been working on it for six times as long . But these are some of the things that Doc, Roger Lewis, Bob Whaley, and Stephen Molnar (my primary teacher and my primary musical influence) have used to aid me in my quest for the high register.

You'll find out on Friday whether or not these high register techniques can carry over to my sousaphone playing .

[rascaljim]

try to keep your airflowing like another comfortable note. Try not to think about hitting the note if you are doing so try to think of the sound of the pitch. Best is to relax as much as possible (and clear your mind of any preconcieved notion of how to make your lips do it) while maintaining posture and buzzing the note up there without tension. I know it seems like you gotta try hard, but really, the harder you try, the worse it usually gets

Give it a shot
Jim Langenberg

[Ames0325]

I had theses struggles earlier this year and now can hit f or g above the staff ( not pull out of the air). What worked for me was first read and study dilligently Roger Lewis's post on range. Practice the techniques outlined by him just buzzing on the mouthpiece. I warmup by buzzing sirens and simple tune chromatically while doing this I can focus on just where I am buzzing and the quality of the buzz this has helped immensely. I next warm up by playing long tones chromatically DOWN fron Bb to as low as I can go usually D or C. Playing low has really helped expand my range in both directions. Also has a tuba player those lows note are way more important to us than anything above the staff although it is best if you become comfortable with both extremes of your register. I then do lips slurs chromatically up to as high as I can slur comfortably too ( notably lower than what I can actually play) this helps improve my air support and reminds me to keep my air going. the third section of my warmup which has also helped immensly with my range is scales. I start usually at Bb but you can start anywhere and play scales as many octaves as I can and come back down then going up chromatically to B and play a B major scale as far as I can etc. Usually when I get to D or Eb I drop my starting note down and octave and work upward from there. Scales have really helped to smooth out my range. As I play scales I work on playing every note with the same volume, tone, and consistancy as well as intonation.
This is what works for me.

Amy

[MaryAnn]

Amy, good for you....it sounds like you have made immense progress this year. People say it takes practice, but it takes thoughtful practice, which you have discoverd.
MA

[tubatooter1940]

I play Eb tuba in a trio with harmonica and rhythm guitar.Eb above the staff has never been a problem but anything above that is decidedly iffy.
I was working furiously on my high range when the guys decided that most of the solo work would be done on tuba.I assumed that most solos
should be high-maybe an octave above the vocal line.That idea did not work out because tubas thin out as they go higher.The sound has no edge
and the horn sounds mellower with fewer overtones as you go up over the top of the staff.Wussy sounding.
I quit worrying about it and started playing solos in normal range.The guys liked it better because the bottom didn't go out of the band when the solo began.The horn has more choices of tone down low and an edgy sound I like that I can't get up high.I play high when the arrangment calls
for it but I sure like to blow down low.Some speed is lost in the extreme low range but that is something I can work around.
Dennis (happy down on the bottom) Gray
www.johnreno.com/

[MaryAnn]

Hurts like a b#@%h at first, but is definately worth it. DON'T TENSE UP, just let it happen.

Well, Ern, borrowed or not, it seems oxymoronic. If it "Hurts like a b#@%h" I don't see how you could possibly not be in the tense state that you say to avoid.

MA, who says "look up oxymoronic if you don't know what it means"

[Tabor]

Your question made me think about my own horn and back when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with my middle C. It plays very well in tune with itself most of the time but has a somewhat quirky middle C. I could sing it easily, and would check my buzz and find it to be right on but would sometimes miss it on the horn. It would come out sharp or want to frack. The D above it was solid, as was the Bb or the B, but middle C gave me fits. I learned to power through it, but later I found that on my particular BBb horn, the fourth valve just works better.

One thing I sometimes tell my students (but this is always on a case per case basis, but usually does the trick) is to make sure the airstream moves downward for high notes.

Tabor