Posted by Joseph on March 14, 2001 at 19:09:57:
In Reply to: MW 45S -- Mouthpiece Suggestions? posted by David on March 14, 2001 at 17:50:00:
Presuming the horn isn't gunked up inside I wouldn't blame the equipment so much for this problem. If this is what I think it is I've been down this road as well.
I generally try to avoid giving out advice without hearing someone but as long as you are fishing for suggestions I'll toss out my thoughts. Even if I'm completely off base this advice certainly won't hurt you or your playing in any way.
The German rotory F tubas don't have much in terms of resistance and this can really freak people out until they come to terms with it. The very natural tendency is to artificially create some resistance at the embouchure and/or earlier in the airway. Without going into too much psychobabble the net result of this is that the embouchure becomes very tight and we blow with lots of pressure pushing the pitch of the horn high. Believe it or not it is very possible to comfortably get around on a horn like this albeit very sharply.
The solution: put away the tuner for a while and relax. Put in some time on the mouthpiece alone and see how much buzz you can create. Play *lots* in the low register of the F tuba. Work up Symphonic Metamorhposis, The Ride, and Rochut down one and two octaves on your F. During all of this make a conscious decision to relax the embouchure and let the air do more of the work. As an experiment see how loose you can go and still stay on a given partial; you might surprise yourself. Listen to the quality of the sound you create and let that be your guide. If you work at this consistantly you should begin to see tangible results within fairly short order. I would hope that you will like your sound even more and it will begin to play easier for you than you ever thought possible. Playing one of these horns is kind of like riding a bike.. you have to trust the bike to stay upright when you pedal.. you have to trust the horn to sound when you blow. The Toa Te Jing talks about effortless effort, I think this is an example of a place where that concept fits very nicely.
That's my suggestion.. it's free so take it however you like. I hope it didn't come accross as preachy.. just spent the day teaching 6th grade english so I'm a little frazzled. If you are already familiar with german style Fs and it is only this one that plays sharp then I would be more ready to blame the equipment but as a general rule I look to myself first. I've had my share of problems but the horn hasn't been wrong yet. ;b
good luck!
joseph 'always willing to work hard to learn how to avoid working hard' felton