Posted by Andy on November 25, 2002 at 10:30:15:
In Reply to: Levels of Playing posted by Collin on November 23, 2002 at 19:18:35:
The most imporant aspect of playing a musical instrument, in my opinion, is creating a beautiful sound. Usually, I associate that with a big sound for the tuba. All the technique in the world is wasted if it doesn't sound good.
Work on your sound from two approaches. First, and most importantly, do a lot of listening to great musicians and strive to sound like them. Don't concern yourself with how you would do that; just think about how you want to sound and strive to produce that sound. The act of imitation will begin to let the computer levels of the brain take over and cause the body to do what is necessary to reproduce the sound you hear.
Second, I like to practice a lot on the mouthpiece alone. This helps to strengthen the vibration in the lips, producing more resonance in the sound. It also strengthens the connection from the brain to the lips so that they begin to respond like a singers vocal chords. Just make sure you spend most of the time on the mouthpiece practicing in the "normal" (i.e., middle) registers and dynamics, playing actual tunes, rather than drills. Develop a good sound in the norms and then transfer that ability gradually to the extremes (registers and dynamcs).