Re: HELP MEH!


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Posted by LAN on December 31, 2002 at 00:11:45:

In Reply to: HELP MEH! posted by Tim Engle on December 30, 2002 at 19:57:31:

dear tim, in response to your question I would first like to say , I am in the same situation as you (almost) My yamaha BBb is horrendous!!! The valves barely move and it is dented somewhat,I didn't put any in the horn, it's the school's and are due to it's previous user, I think this type of horn is a staple of middle and high school band directors. In order to move the rotors down it takes a lot of muscle, however when I get on a new one of the school's I can really fly! I know that has helped , so maybe for the college auditions you may want to rent a good one, and trust me, you will fly as well. It is break now and I have been working on since the 19 of dec., the vaghan williams(1 mvmt.) (Ihave gotten cramps a couple of times) I can get through all of it at about 104bpm, with only few "clams". When I do play it it will be on the new horn of the school's and my fingers which are used to the rotors on the bad tuba will easily take to the newer one's. However, sound, range and musicality ( the most important) does not change much. I produce a really nice tone on my beginer' Yamaha mouthpiece, and large range, this has little to do with the equipment, even though I am sure a more advanced mouthpiece would make it even better. Us players are the biggest factors, you are the only one who can make your sound better! Intonation however can be easily fixed by buzzing with the help of a tuner ( helps sound as well). You may notice the needle bouncing around from side to side and it is not centered in one place as it would be if played on the horn, you must make it (or get as close as possible) stay in the middle! Dont worry about what the mouthpeice feels like, trust me it will leed to problems, however it may be due to your active playing on so many different mouth pieces. YOu may want to lay off the euphonium until your auditions are over, because in order to produce a good sound on it the embochure is normally pinched more, combining tuba and it ( however common it may be) will make your tuba sound very tight an buzzy, this too may be to blame. I played baritone first and had to quit and do major work on my tuba sound! I now reap the benefits, I (and others) really enjoy my tone. It really does not help your high range much on tuba, and the little it does is quickly canceled out by the resulting tone. Anyway, good luck on your auditions , I am a little nervous about mine in a few years!


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