Re: 6/4 sound on a 4/4


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on October 19, 1999 at 13:57:52:

In Reply to: 6/4 sound on a 4/4 posted by John Hreha on October 18, 1999 at 16:45:00:

Is the question "Do you want to sound louder?" or is it "Do you want to sound larger?"? In my mind, there is a big difference. With a very few exceptions, I believe you can play very loudly on just about any tuba. Our history is full of examples of professional players making loud sounds on vastly different sizes of equipment, anything from the largest BBb and CC cannons to small F and Eb tubas. If you want to sound loud, the very first thing I would look at is making sure that the sound you get (using whatever equipment you choose) is completely centered. For me, the first priority in playing loud is playing with a characteristic sound. If you're using smaller equipment and opening up your embouchure extra to get a bigger and darker sound, you might be taking away from the projection of the sound by playing out of center. I've always felt like the best shot you have at playing loud is to put the purest sound into the tuba and let the horn resonate and amplify it for you. If you open up your embouchure and overblow, you're just wasting your efforts since the tuba is nothing more than an amplifier of what goes in the mouthpiece.

I think the beauty of a 6/4 tuba is that you don't have to work so hard to get a large sound because of the size of the tuba. Of course, this type of tuba comes with its own difficulties other than loud playing. But there is no reason why a tuba player can't "cut" through the orchestra with his sound no matter what type of equipment he chooses. Always hit the ball squarely and let the home runs take care of themselves.


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