Sharpness in the Low Register on Small Tubas

[Stephen Shoop]

Thanks Curmudgeon and Bloke. All this is very good information.

[PaulMaybery]

Think about this and see if it what is going on. Sometimes it is not so much the horn as it is the chops. On a couple of other threads, the issue of "Up stream" vs "Down stream" embouchure has been discussed. Doug Elliot has contributed some very valuable insight on this. I'm very appreciative of his willingness to share his expertise.

I'm assuming that the readers here understand the concept of "up stream" "down stream"

Many of us, myself included, used the "down stream" for most mid to upper range playing and then would shift to "Up stream" for the low register. For me the shift automatically occurred around F or E just below the staff. Something in my early training told me I needed to do this. I think I simply did not have the confidence that continuing the "down stream " could produce a big sound down low. The result of making that shift was that I played my low register a bit flat in comparison to the octave above.

Somewhat later (with the aid of a clear mp) I was able to detect that shift and decided to work at keeping the embouchure direction the same as I approached the low range. For me the kicker was to push the lower jaw out, without changing the musculature or direction of the blow. However, (and here's the problem) if I would 'lower' the jaw instead of 'pushing it out', then I played flat. There can be a big difference between 'lowering' the jaw and 'pushing out' the lower lips. Not sure why, but there seems to be.

I found by continuing the DS as I descended, my upper and lower octaves lined up nicely in tune. And by incorporating some of Chris Olkas drills, I was able to get an enormous low end, that was also pleasantly in tune.

Well, this worked for me, and as we say so often, we're all different. I hope this might be helpful to someone.

The embouchure is rather mysterious. It is often very difficult to detect what is actually going on both in the MP and physiologically in the musculature and nervous system. For me it is a kick to fine tune my playing. It is then a delight to make music and be able to express my ideas.


Edit: After rereading the OP the issue is sharpness (not just intonation) in the low register. I do believe the same issue may be somewhat involved. In which case the opposite jaw movement might offer some correction.