How to start playing the tuba?

[aaronliu]

Thanks to all--I'll get a beater tuba, B flat, 4 valves--how about his one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/old-Bb-tuba-wit ... 3641.l6368" target="_blank

[Three Valves]

That's good, you can train yourself to be a repair tech and play the tuba at the same time!!

[michael_glenn]

I would not suggest that horn. You would be better off with an old four valve King for a starter horn.

[Donn]

I have to guess that "how about this one" wasn't intended to be taken seriously, but taking the rest of it seriously, the old four valve King you're talking about is probably bigger and heavier than he wants. Though as has been pointed out, ergonomics isn't necessarily that simple.

[aaronliu]

I was serious, actually...the point being that I could get it fixed up if it were a nice instrument...but it was also a feeler.
Appreciate the feedback as always. I am hoping to find a used tuba for sale so I don't have to go to a store.

[aaronliu]

I shouldn't worry about weight. I can leave it at home if my gig will supply a tuba. If not, I will just carry it. It will be good weight training. And I'll play with a stand. Can't get the sound I want without a big instrument. So I am in the market for a stand, too. Will take the first reasonable deal that comes along for either a tuba or a stand.

[Donn]

Going to a store would be very informative.

When g.mu6 says that's an "old" tuba, he means it. Well, I guess he doesn't really know how old it is, but it's an old style with clockspring valves. He hopes it's old, because if so that would be the only thing about it that would possibly be of value. The fourth valve is broken. Slides are frozen. There's a bad dent in the leadpipe, the first length of tube that connects to the mouthpiece receiver -- dents aren't always a big deal, but that one is very bad. The tuba is in Germany.

[aaronliu]

Thanks, Donn. I need to learn how to find a tuba, and you're getting me started.

[aaronliu]

For anyone reading, here is a summary:

Looking to buy:

--used 4 valve B flat tuba;
--a beater tuba
--no case
--one that can be taken to gigs in the back seat of my car
--looking for a stand too

I understand it would be advisable to go to a store, but I don't have the kind of time it would take to drive a couple of hours to one.

I am going to rely on word of mouth. I am hoping to find a playable first tuba at an affordable price. I don't care what it looks like; in fact, the less I have to baby it, the better. I just want something to play until I outgrow it. Something I can sell later. I don't mind losing two or three hundred bucks at resale in a few months. To have had something to play in the meantime will have been well worth it.

I hope to prequalify tuba leads so that when it's time to travel to see one, I will be seeing a tuba that I might buy. I'd like to buy from an owner who is honest and fair. I am going to wait a couple of weeks and see what I can find through this forum and local contacts. If that doesn't work, I will probably try a physical store: either Dillon or Baltimore Brass, whichever seems a better bet.

[aaronliu]

I think I will buy the Mack tuba that @michael_glenn suggested. Mack Brass has sold many tubas, and they have an excellent warranty policy. They offer 7 day free shipping returns if not satisfied.

I think it's a no-lose deal. The tuba Mr. Glenn suggested is about $1900 plus tax for the base model in lacquer.

That seems like a no-brainer to me. I will have a tuba soon, a new one, and I won't have to look for one.

I am pretty sure I will be happy with a CC tuba. I am thinking that the valve combinations involving the second and third valves may be awkward and out of tune to play, but I still think that I will be happier playing a CC tuba than a B flat tuba.

I always wanted a horn in C, and now I'll have a chance to have one. I love the idea of being able to play in C major (or A minor) using the short lengths of the horn, instead of the long ones.

[aaronliu]

Would someone like to give me lessons over the internet?

[iiipopes]

The 2+3 and other valve combinations are only out of tune if you let them be. Part of playing any brass instrument is learning the intonation quirks of your particular horn and setting the valve slides accordingly.

[aaronliu]

Thanks, iiipopes and bloke. I am going to look at the YouTube clip tonight, bloke.

I would like to update folks that I made a deal with Tom Mack at Mack Brass in Petersburg, Virginia.

He was extremely nice and extended himself to me.

Here is what he offered me, and I accepted.

1. Sale of a TU410 CC at the regular advertised price, approximately $1900, reserved with a $200 deposit, to be delivered when his next container arrives in approximately 10 weeks. The lot of tubas is now being manufactured in China.

2. Immediate shipment of a rental tuba that he has in stock, a B flat horn with 3 valves, new, of the same brand. This is being rented to me for $250. However, if I am able to return the tuba to him in new condition without blemish, he will apply my rental fee towards the purchase of the horn I am ordering from him.

I really enjoyed the conversation. He seemed very approchable and helpful. He told me he had taught tuba as a tuba professor. This business started from his desire to help get tubas for his students, and it's taken off. He has taken the risk to make this business his full time occupation, having left his former job.

I told him that I wished him the very best of luck with his venture. He seems very serious about it and dedicated.

I think that I will receive my rental tuba in a few days, probably over the weekend or early next week. I will let you know when I play it. It's being delivered via Greyhound for a shipping fee of $112.

I have received an offer from someone on this forum to teach me tuba by skype, and I've accepted provisionally. With the player's permission, I will tell you who it is. I think it's a really nice gesture on his part.

I'm very excited to begin learning the tuba, and I've mentally taught myself the fingerings for both B flat and C tuba, and I'm thinking about the physics of the valve lengths with respect to intonation.

[aaronliu]

Tom Mack recommended a Hercules brand tuba stand. I'd like to buy one. Please contact me if you know a good place to get one.

[aaronliu]

Sounds good, bloke. [put your lips together and blow] The lovely Lauren Bacall...

[scottw]

Tom Mack recommended a Hercules brand tuba stand. I'd like to buy one. Please contact me if you know a good place to get one.

Maybe okay, but you will do much better buying a Baltimore Brass stand, in my opinion. They are just much better made, and are rock-solid. the legs are almost flat to the floor and thus you or someone else is less likely to trip over it or have the tuba knock it over.$85. is a small price for quality.
http://www.baltimorebrass.net/index.php?cat=11" target="_blank

[aaronliu]

Chris Olka interview -- great story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a0xqe0gG7A" target="_blank

[aaronliu]

Thank you, scottw! I will look at it right away.

[aaronliu]

scottw, thank you so much. It's a beautiful stand, and simple. I will buy it.

[aaronliu]

Does anyone have mouthpieces they don't want? I will buy a few.

On the trombone, I gravitated towards a larger mouthpiece.

I discovered that I can buzz notes on my lips without a mouthpiece down to pretty low. My lower limit is F sharp with 4 ledger lines, but it would be harder with a mouthpiece. Point being that maybe I should use a larger tuba mouthpiece.

Tom McGrady (Mack Brass) is going to include a mouthpiece for tuba which is the standard issue. This will be a great place to start. He referred me to a mouthpiece maker whom he knows. I don't have his name in front of me. Those mouthpieces have interchangeable parts.

In the meantime I would like to try a few mouthpieces.

For example:

--a middle of the road mouthpiece
--a mouthpiece with a larger rim diameter
--a mouthpiece with a funnel shaped cup. I seem to like those on the trombone. My sound is naturally fat, I think because I have thick lips. Also my upper and lower teeth are uneven (i have a large overbite) and my upper lip vibrates predominantly. A funnel shaped cup seems to focus my sound and emphasize the core of the sound. I used a Denis Wick mouthpiece on the trombone for a while, and I liked it. I could play jazz and concert band stuff on it. But I switched to a Bach 5 GL after that and it was comfortable. That was after Slide Hampton was a guest artist at my college, and I tried his big setup. I loved his big, dark sound. Slide played on a Bach 5 or 4, I think. Man, was he fast. He used to demonstrate the saxophone tutti parts for the sax section. I loved it.
--a mouthpiece with a thicker rim. My first trombone mouthpiece was on an Olds student model horn, and I loved that mouthpiece. It was great for endurance, and great for high notes. Very comfortable. Had a fat, flattish rim. The Denis Wick mouthpiece had a fat, flat rim too.