Posted by Jay Bertolet on June 17, 1999 at 13:12:03:
In Reply to: What are Bell Scales? posted by Sean Chisham on June 17, 1999 at 11:31:38:
I thought we had gone over this before. Sorry to be so cryptic with my terminology, the "Bell Scales" is my pet name for the "William Bell Daily Routine". It isn't really like the Pares, it is MUCH more comprehensive. Even though I'm not known for being concise, I'll give it a try! :)
The Bell Scales are the closest thing I've ever seen to a complete day's practice session compressed into a 30 minute drill. I believe Warren Deck refers to them as "The Woodshed" and Abe Torchinsky (the teacher who taught them to me) frequently called them "30 minutes of hell".
The routine is available today, published by Encore. I highly recommend it to any tuba player as a tool for strengthening the embouchure and developing control and consistency in playing.