#20: Practical Concepts For Teaching And Playing The Tuba

Welcome back to the land of "All Things Brass." This installment of Brass Advantage is "Part Two" of an article written by Mr. Marty Erickson (a fabulous musician, tuba player and a world-class teacher) that was written for both music educators and tuba players seeking advice and counsel from a professional tuba player to improve their performance qualities this installment includes:

Practical Concepts For Teaching And Playing The Tuba

Breathing:

Wind is the fuel for vibrating the lips and supporting a robust sound. The higher the student plays the more air is required. The lower register requires a grater volume of air expelled at a lesser rate. I think of a trapezoid sitting firmly on the base when playing high and the trapezoid reversed or upside down when playing in the low register. In the first example you need a strong base of air support playing in the low register as well but mainly you need a greater volume of air in the oral cavity powered steadily and gently for the notes in the lower register. Here are some ways to present the issue of breathing to students.

One of the most simplest and most effective ways I've found to convey the use of air is in common use already by some band director friends and originated from Adolph "Bud" Herseth principal trumpet with the Chicago Symphony. Have the students say the word "How" aloud, next have them whisper "How" with strength. Then have them inhale the whispered "How" firmly. The next step is to have them inhale "How" for four beats and exhale for four beats with a hissing sound. This should be conducted or done with a metronome so the parameters are exact and measurable. Each event should be preceded with a relaxed natural breath. The next step is to increase the period of time of inhaling and exhaling the hiss. Then have them play a long tone or as a group a chorale. This is extremely effective for younger musicians as it generally makes them breath correctly and gives them immediate and measurable improvement.

For most students it helps to visualize air in various ways. For forte passages or for full sounds picture an archer. Draw a long full breath (as you would draw back the string on a bow) in the archer's position and then release or propel it quickly and fully at the target. Picture that the target is fifty yards away to enforce the idea of propelling air through the area. For sustained piano passages imagine you are gliding a paper airplane across the room. You draw you arm back gently and release carefully propelling the airplane straight and true. In practice the student would draw a long sustained breath and release gradually controlling the "flight" with a consistent embouchure and consistent airflow.

You've heard various way to focus air the most popular way being to hold a piece of paper against a wall wit the air stream. My picture for sustaining a focused air stream in the lower register is to imagine propelling s ping-pong ball across a long table top in a straight line using a concentrated air stream. You could start moving the ping-pong ball with a wide stream but to sustain it for any distance the air stream must be focused and steady. For upper register playing visualize the same scenario utilizing a golf ball. Imagine the intensity and focus necessary to move the golf ball several feet!

Some problems caused by poor breathing are bad phrasing (not enough air to sustain the phrase) poor sound, poor intonation and bad attacks (no air support for the muscles in the embouchure). Students may also lack stamina or endurance because they're using muscles of the embouchure instead of air to propel the sound.

The student must have conscious control of the air used through the use of the diaphragm, chest muscles, lips and tongue in order to play with a proper sound, good dynamics and excellent intonation. The breath is an essential element in supporting articulation as well.

Articulation:

For most playing the syllable, which provides the cleanest attack with a good body of sound, is the "Dah" syllable. The "tu" or "tah" syllable does not have the same passage of air and generally hinders the sound to some degree. In some cases I have told less experienced players to use the syllable "dot" in the extreme pedal register only to provide some separation and preparation for the next attack. This should be used cautiously with careful listening. The less tension present, the better the effort.

Warm Up:

The warm up should consist first of "buzzing" on the mouthpiece. Do not teach this concept by telling students to buzz their lips, particularly if the student has no previous experiences with brass playing. What you will get is a tight unresponsive sound, which will take more time and effort to unlearn. Buzzing should be done always with the mouthpiece and with a specific pitch in mind or with specific intervals being played. The mouthpiece should be held lightly in the hand and against the lips to reinforce the idea of playing without pressure. The buzz or vibration of the lips should be supported with a good air stream and played as in the horn with good sound and pitch. It may help to play notes on the piano or sound a tuning note on the horn first.

Long Tones:

The purpose of long tones in the warm up is to establish a plentiful supply of air in the lungs and to use considerable volume to move the air, preferably an "mf" or more as long as the sound is not strained. Sound is always of prime importance not the length of the phrase. Playing longer phrases should not be stressed until a warm focused sound has been achieved. It is also important to begin long tones in the most comfortable range of the instrument to ensure success.

Choosing a Tuba Mouthpiece:

For our purposes here we will discuss primarily the tuba mouthpieces to use in a band or orchestra setting. Here are some basic points to remember.

Match the mouthpiece to the instrument (e.g. large mouthpiece to a large horn). If the mouthpiece is mismatched you will notice problems with intonation, air leakage and more.

Avoid mouthpieces with enormous or thick rims especially if the rim is largely very flat. This tends to restrict the vibration of the lips and can adversely affect proper intonation. Some large-rimmed mouthpieces can help with stamina issues because they can be more comfortable initially. With the vast choices we have now there is no excuse not to find a comfortable fit.

Once again for our purposes here the beginner or novice tuba player should avid thin-rimmed or "cookie-cutter" mouthpieces. They may give more flexibility but generally have a much edgier sound. I feel that this type of mouthpiece can be damaging to a young player who tends to use too much pressure initially. This will cause a thin red ring around a person's aperture and should be avoided at all costs.

The rim diameter philosophy is pretty straightforward, the larger the rim the greater the depth of sound but it's less effective in the upper range. A smaller rim may increase range and clarity and clean up articulation but will give you a brighter sound.

The same goes with the bore size of the mouthpiece. Large bores are better for the low end and small bores enhance the upper end of the tuba.

The shape of the cup generally has the following effect: Cone shaped cups will give a darker sound and will also have more projection. Bowl style cups (large) will give a "pillow-like" warm sound but without much projection. Shallow cups with the bowl shape will have a brighter sound.

My preference is for a fairly medium to large mouthpiece, which has a comfortable rim, which is not flat but slightly turned in on the inner rim. The rim size is medium to large but never a "cookie-cutter". There are some excellent mouthpieces on the market that include but are not limited to the Bach & Schilke models. Others to consider are: Wayne Downey's WDTU 1, Perantucci, Erickson Signature model by DEG, Sheridan, Doug Elliot and many more. Most of these can be found at local music stores such as XtremeBrass.com, Brasswind, The Tuba Exchange, Dillon Music, The Tuba Store and other retailers. One caution, don't expect a mouthpiece to fix all your woes. Practice, good teaching and proper technique are still the best tools.

Well that's all for this issue, stay tuned for more tips on Brass Technique in the next installment of "Brass Advantage."

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"Don't Let The Chance Pass You By". See Ya Soon...
Wayne