Tuba and Tricks

[Cobra1502]

I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of notable tricks or tips players have discovered over the years. For example:

When playing a BBb tuba you can read treble clef Eb scores the same as Bb bass clef by adding 3 flats.

Or

When playing high notes direct your air stream downward into your mouthpiece.

Let’s hear yours.

[acemorgan]

I don't know if this is really a tip as much as an observation. I tend to regard notes in "clumps," consisting of an open note, and all the valved notes immediately beneath it. When we consider that every valve lowers the open bugle, we use the appropriate embouchure to sound the open tone, and that same embouchure is theoretically used for all the valved notes immediately below, down to the 123 above the next open. What's the point? I think it is human nature to think that aiming for a note immediately above the open tone does not require significant embouchure adjustment. We know better, but . . .

About 47 years ago, I was playing "Touch of Tuba" with my college concert band. There is a cadenza at the end, which I don't completely remember, but I know it went scale-wise upward to a C4. It was toward the end of the concert, I had already played 90% of the concerto, and I was tired. I hit the open Bb3, just below the C4, then repeated the very same note with with 1st valve instead of open, because in that range, fingerings are rather like "serving suggestions." To the audience, it probably sounded like a lame cadenza, with the same high note repeated three times in a row, as in, "Check.This.Out." My embouchure should have been aiming at the D4, which would have given the correct result. Anyway, lesson learned and still remembered 47 years later.

Obviously, I can't speak for everybody, but for me, playing downward scales are easier than upward, because I am "already there," and simply need to lengthen the tubing. I am not suggesting that there are not subtle shifts in embouchure within the "clumps," but to me it is somewhat analogous to moving your hand from one position on a piano to another. Do I always play middle C with my right thumb? Of course not, but I certainly know what other notes are within reach when I do.

[acemorgan]

Okay, one more thought I had to share:

I currently play the 1/4 tuba (sometimes called euphonium), and have been trying to pull my range up out of the contrabass tuba repertoire. I have noticed it is significantly more challenging to play a G4, than an F4. Why? Because the F4 is an open tone--at the top of its tonal "clump," and that G4 is toward the bottom of the tonal clump that "starts" (looking downward) at Bb4. So, going from that F to G is going from F to Bb, with a couple of valves depressed.

[Worth]

I was getting bad irritation on the underside of my left wrist where it rests on the top bow right by where I grab my first valve slide. I cut the top part off a black cotton crew sock and wear it on my left wrist to avoid leathery irritated skin under my wrist.

[iiipopes]

On a good Conn sousaphone, relax, drop the jaw, and moderate the air flow as you approach the privilege tones from low F 1+3 on down and they can be remarkably seamless, as if you had that 4th valve, as on the really good ones you can go all the way down in tune to open BBb true pedal.

[windshieldbug]

sometimes I would go out on the dance floor and twirl my sousaphone and then waltz or polka with it...
...but those are probably not the types of tricks to which you are referring…

Depends on how much you had to pay it...

[bone-a-phone]

I don't know if this is really a tip as much as an observation. I tend to regard notes in "clumps," consisting of an open note, and all the valved notes immediately beneath it. When we consider that every valve lowers the open bugle, we use the appropriate embouchure to sound the open tone, and that same embouchure is theoretically used for all the valved notes immediately below, down to the 123 above the next open.

Try this on trombone. Play any note in first position. Then slowly gliss down to 7th position. You feel the horn dragging your embouchure with it. If you fight that, you'll start cracking notes eventually. Your embouchure changes as you go down. So notes lower on the same partial actually do require a slightly different embouchure. Your job is to know where that is for each valve combo or position.

Using this principal, I've been able to lower my range on bass trombone by just learning what those low notes require on instruments that play those notes more easily, like euph and tuba. I was not able to play pedal F on bass bone, but I could do it on Euph, and the same note on tuba. After training my embouchure to produce that note on those other instruments, I was eventually able to do it on trombone too.

[acemorgan]

I get what you're saying, and generally agree. There are subtle embouchure changes as you go downward. But looking at the open note as the anchor point can help target the notes below. That's where I think my keyboard analogy comes in: with my thumb on middle C, I know where to find the G with my little finger.

I would also agree that the embouchure changes are more pronounced in the pedal range. I can roll down from Bb1 to F1 on my 1/4 tuba fairly easily, but I feel like I have to consciously "reset" my chops to go down to the E and D below. Still working on reaching C1.

[oleirgens]

I make myself an "intonation chart" for my tuba, with one row for each note in my playable range.
For every note, I write down the intonation issues for that individual tone, for instance arrow up or down, which means lipping up or down, alternate fingerings and also 1st slide pull for every combination with the 1st valve.

Quite helpful, especially with a new instrument, and over time the horn will more or less tune itself, because the lipping and slide pulling and finger combinations will be an integrated part of playing the instrument.

[tbonesullivan]

The round wire screen to keep things from falling farther down the bell is definitely a good trick. Also you can store small water pistols in there for when people annoy you.

[Leland]

"Air and valves" -- so many problems with phrasing and tempo are due only to airflow and tonguing technique, and these get masked by all the noise made by playing normally.

Early in my playing days, I knew a local semi-pro tuba who would air and tongue his parts during band rehearsal -- during, say, when the woodwinds were being worked on -- and he always played great. I didn't quite put two-and-two together until we started doing it in drum corps, though ("Why are you singing your parts? You don't sing with the same air as when you play, do you?"). After that, I took the idea back to school, and it worked wonders. Even in our quintet, we sounded like we gained a week's worth of improvement after only a couple reps of air-and-valves along with a metronome click.

****
Here's some of what you notice:
- Uniformity of volume and dynamics. More airflow = louder dynamics, right? When you have a section of players and one is audibly using less air than another, then it's a guarantee that their sound output isn't going to be the same, either. So now you can get the players who are too loud down to match at soft dynamics, and the soft players to come up at loud dynamics.

- Tempo consistency. You'll always be able to hear the metronome because you aren't obliterating it with your horn's sound. You'll probably also discover that your attacks aren't late because you're slow, but they're late because you didn't stop playing the previous note soon enough. (this especially happens when trying to breathe between passages)

- Tonguing quality. You'll more easily hear the difference between "too" and "doo" and "thoo". You'll also quickly notice a "...*pop*" if you stop the note with your tongue.

****
What this doesn't help is pitch stability. That's where I like using a BERP or opening all the water keys.

[Charlie C Chowder]

Hey, you should have not shown him how good your Suosy danced in the first place.

C.C.C.

[anotherjtm2]

There's a comment on one of the 6000 BBb vs CC threads suggesting that when reading music you should pay attention to the intervals between notes so that you don't have to worry about which notes go on which lines. The gist was that if you know where you are in your tuba's chromatic range for the current note, then you can find the next note by the interval.

Remarkably, I've just picked up my first C tuba, and this actually helps, at least for this brief time before I start thinking in C fingerings.

[anotherjtm2]

...you know: You can only play pieces in G, D, A, E, and B on those things...either backin' up fiddles or geetars...

That’s why there’re five valves, right?

[anotherjtm2]

only with the bluegrass versions...The classic plectrum and tenor versions only feature four.

which brings us back to Roy Clark with a tuba.

[anotherjtm2]

(I don't C a tuba, though... )

My daughter proclaimed "tuba is a campfire instrument" yesterday as she sat cross legged on the floor with mine, trying to pick out some Jabba the Hutt music. So it could have been there.

[anotherjtm2]

Per typical, the tuba-guy is about seven feet behind Julie Andrews...just out of the frame, and with his microphone turned off.

That’s quite a tuba trick!

So .... American piston tubas on that soundtrack?

[JESimmons]

As for Dr. McKay, I’ve found that the yankees who infest us here despise the word “mash.” It’s quite funny.

[bone-a-phone]

I make myself an "intonation chart" for my tuba, with one row for each note in my playable range.
For every note, I write down the intonation issues for that individual tone, for instance arrow up or down, which means lipping up or down, alternate fingerings and also 1st slide pull for every combination with the 1st valve.

Quite helpful, especially with a new instrument, and over time the horn will more or less tune itself, because the lipping and slide pulling and finger combinations will be an integrated part of playing the instrument.

This is one I need to do. I've done this for most of the trombones I've owned, but with trombone it's a little different. I just map every partial (1st position), and then where each position lies is a separate issue. With valved instruments, I can see it's a whole world of difference.

I've also done this when I've changed things like a new mouthpiece, or a new leadpipe, or using a new mute. I generally write down the number of cents each partial is out of tune, and then add up the total number of cents for a given number of partials, and that number characterizes the horn, or the leadpipe change or whatever.

[MaryAnn]

"Air and valves" -- so many problems with phrasing and tempo are due only to airflow and tonguing technique, and these get masked by all the noise made by playing normally.

Early in my playing days, I knew a local semi-pro tuba who would air and tongue his parts during band rehearsal -- during, say, when the woodwinds were being worked on -- and he always played great. I didn't quite put two-and-two together until we started doing it in drum corps, though ("Why are you singing your parts? You don't sing with the same air as when you play, do you?"). After that, I took the idea back to school, and it worked wonders. Even in our quintet, we sounded like we gained a week's worth of improvement after only a couple reps of air-and-valves along with a metronome click.

****
Here's some of what you notice:
- Uniformity of volume and dynamics. More airflow = louder dynamics, right? When you have a section of players and one is audibly using less air than another, then it's a guarantee that their sound output isn't going to be the same, either. So now you can get the players who are too loud down to match at soft dynamics, and the soft players to come up at loud dynamics.

- Tempo consistency. You'll always be able to hear the metronome because you aren't obliterating it with your horn's sound. You'll probably also discover that your attacks aren't late because you're slow, but they're late because you didn't stop playing the previous note soon enough. (this especially happens when trying to breathe between passages)

- Tonguing quality. You'll more easily hear the difference between "too" and "doo" and "thoo". You'll also quickly notice a "...*pop*" if you stop the note with your tongue.

****
What this doesn't help is pitch stability. That's where I like using a BERP or opening all the water keys.

To me, this is the best advice here. People always say "practice!" but rarely do you find someone who will tell you HOW to practice. The above is one of those things. My own tip for intonation is learn about beats, what they mean, and spend time both with a drone and with your small ensemble working on getting the beats where they should be in those pieces tonal enough that it matters. I've been astonished at the amateur groups I've played in, both small and large, that rehearsal is centered on being able to make it to the end in one piece and little else. A five minute demonstration of beats could fix SO many things, and if you have a quartet or quintet, the above by Leland would be extraordinarily helpful.