Re: Re: Teaching and reality


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by faulty ergonomics on December 18, 2003 at 02:48:02:

In Reply to: Re: Teaching and reality posted by Doug Elliott on December 18, 2003 at 00:35:00:

Doug,
your post rings true. How many of us learned the hard way (or never learned) that the angle the leadpipe/mouthpiece makes with the face affects the relative amount of upper/lower lip pressure, and consequently endurance and physical problems like dystonia (or sore lips, or sensitive spots on the inner lips, etc.). It took me many years, and no teacher helped me to figure it out. The ergonomics of the tuba and euphonium designs make it an imperative part of education, but teachers generally just ignore it and manufacturers certainly do not address it, they just keep on producing the same old designs. If you look at photos of trumpet/trombone players showing correct posture with instrument to lips, you see the leadpipe leaving the face at a much different angle than most euphonium/tuba players can achieve. Sometimes I hold a tuba/euphonium in the air to see what it would take to achieve that same leadpipe angle, and it is impossible to hold the instrument for more than a few minutes...


Follow Ups: