Posted by Jason G on September 24, 2000 at 22:12:02:
In Reply to: Holding a Euphonium posted by Dustin Moburg on September 24, 2000 at 20:39:34:
Your left hand should be doing the lion's share of supporting the weight. All kinds of problems arise when your right hand starts doing all of the work. A really good exercise is to merely hold the euph with your left hand (across your body) and drop your right hand to the side. Practice holding it up in a regular playing position. The right hand will give you leverage on a different plane, but its use is not intended to support the weight of the horn. Get used to that feeling. When you stand and play correctly, your shoulders SHOULD expand a little. In fact, during a recent master class, Dr. Bowman had a rather funny anecdote about a former student whose shirt size grew from standing while playing. If I recall, it was the student's wife who was doing the complaining about the growth in shoulder/shirt size...anyway
Good luck playing.