Posted by Joe Lowman on June 02, 2000 at 10:03:26:
In Reply to: Re: How to Start a 10 Year Aspiring Tubist posted by Marty Neilan on June 01, 2000 at 22:54:55:
Thanks for all you helpful suggestions (and those of everyone else as well). I've exposed my now 16 month old grandson to my tuba playing in small doses so as not to scare him. His dad had taught him how to buzz his lips when he was about 8 or 9 months (and on his hand in a kind of fart sound -- I'd taught my son to do the same thing!). I'd get out a mouth piece and buzz it for him and move it away and then to my lips so he'd see that the sound is simply differeent and By Golly he could almost do it on a big tuba mouth piece. I wish I'd had a smaller piece for him to play with (except he might have tried to eat it!). Then I let him see me with my horn knowing he'd like any big shinny thing with moving parts. Then I played quietly and he quickly began pressing one valve at a time to change the sound and loved it. Given that your son will see and hear you practicing more often than my grandson who we seen about every two weeks he should definitely be ready to go!
Thanks again to all of you who offered such useful suggestions for me to give my friend about his son. Now if we can only find him a good teacher.