Posted by Roger Lewis on June 20, 2002 at 07:01:24:
In Reply to: I suck! posted by Piece of Crap! on June 19, 2002 at 22:12:20:
Practicing is something that I enjoy more than almost anything else in the world. If people could pay me to practice stuff for them, and then THEY would get better, I would be the happiest guy in the world. You have to know when to walk away for a while. When you have a bad experience, as you describe, it's time to step back, and get back to where the fun is. I tell all my students in their first lesson that, there are times when you pick up the horn and it feels as though your face belongs to a plumber from Cleveland (not that there's anything wrong with this). This is your mind telling your body that it is not ready to tackle the horn at this moment. Go do something else for a while, something you enjoy so that you can change the way your mind is talking to your body and then come back to it later.
As in the golf swing, when you think too hard about the mechanics, you get in the way of what the body already knows how to do. You over analyze (analysis leads to paralysis) and you get out of synch with yourself.
From the red ring on your embochure I'd say you were pressing too hard, which means you're trying too hard. Your frustration will lead you to back off on blowing through the horn and you will try to "muscle" the notes out instead of just letting them "speak".
I tell my students (and I do this myself once a week) to practice in a dark room, where you can have no distractions. Play, and listen to the sound and then start visualizing what is going on inside. As brass players we have a bit of a disadvantage in that we cannot SEE what is going on to produce the sound so it is necessary to "internalize" and get a mental picture of all the things that are going on to produce the sound. We then evaluate this against the basics - getting the air to the lip in the most effective, efficient manner possible. Tongue position, the feeling of your throat being open, where the tongue is at the attack, posture, the inhalation, the exhalation, feelings of tension, how the horn "fits" you, - everything should all be evaluated as accurately as possible when you are not distracted. Remember the tuba does not make a sound unless you throw it against a wall - YOU are the instrument. The horn is an amplifier. If stuff is not coming out the bell the way you want it to, then it's not going in right at the mouthpiece end.
I hope this rambling diatribe is worth the effort of talking the time to read it. I hope that it helps you through this and wish you well in getting back in touch with yourself on this.
Roger Lewis