Posted by Rick Denney on May 18, 2003 at 14:54:32:
In Reply to: That rotary F low C --Woo Hoo! posted by Mary Ann on May 18, 2003 at 12:44:41:
Yes, I do the same thing on the corrseponding low F and E on my Holton, and for the same reason. But some days I have it realiably, and other days I don't, so I can't claim to have learned it fully.
I get a similar feeling on the Miraphone 186 BBb on the low F, but nothing like it on the York Master, where playing that low F requires no special thinking or technique.
On my Yamaha F, I don't have to approach it this way, but it indeed sounds better when I do. In fact, even the low C on my BBb tubas sound better when I take the same approach, even though they are a partial higher and not supposed to need it. I think it is as much a fourth-valve thing as a range thing.
The last few times I've played rotary F's, I've had relatively little trouble with the low C's compared to previous years. But some of the really old, small F's require this approach to a greater degree than do more modern F's, such as your 182.
The trick, of course, is controlling the sound when sufficiently relaxed. That is not a beginner skill.
Rick "who thinks you have to relax the center of the chops without relaxing the corners of the chops, and who doesn't have enough flexibility to do that fully" Denney