Tips for Tuba and Euphonium

by
Jeff Schultz
SFA Instructor of Music, Tuba and Euphonium

POSTURE:  Proper breathing, tone production, and performance

• Sit as you would stand.
• Keep your back straight, but not stiff.
• Sit tall and forward on your chair.
• Do not "hook" your feet around the chair legs.  "Plant" yourself as if your feet were tree roots.
• Bring the mouthpiece to your lips without sacrificing posture.  Avoid bringing your lips to the mouthpiece.
• Let the mouthpipe aim directly at your embouchure.

BREATHING:  We are playing a wind instrument.

INHALATION:

· Imagine your lungs as water balloons.

· EXPAND the body cavity.

· Do not raise your shoulders on purpose.

· Breathe quietly (maximum suction, minimum friction).  Think of speaking the words "whoh" or "home" silently on your breath while you inhale.

· Inhale fully, but not more than 7/8 full.

· On larger instruments, for quicker breaths, involve the nasal passage.

· Practice breathing through a ½” PVC pipe for relaxation.

· Always breathe in tempo!

· Consider purchasing a 5 or 6 litre breathing bag which allows you to practice breathing for longer periods of time.

EXHALATION:

· The air must go through your instrument.

· Avoid all tension in the oral and chest cavities.

· Think of saying "oh" in the throat.

· Always exhale rhythmically, without pause, after the inhalation.

EMBOUCHURE:  A well formed embouchure is critical to playing well on any wind instrument.

• Corners:  Firm and forward
• Jaw:  Relaxed and down
• Teeth:  Apart
• Cheeks:  Flat NOT puffed (think of energy forward to the corners)
• Tongue:  Relaxed
• Throat:  Open and relaxed
• Vowel sound:  “Oh”
• Mouthpiece placement:  Generally 50/50

WARM-UP:  Preparation for your practice

• Never practice until you have warmed-up.
• Use your warm-up to concentrate on focus and accuracy.
• There is no one way to warm-up but it should include:
• Breathing Exercises
• Mouthpiece Buzzing
• Long Tones
• Flexibility Exercises or Lip Slurs (easy, moderate, advanced)
• Tonguing Exercises
• Scales

TONE PRODUCTION:  The most important concept is sound!

• Work on tone production during the warm-up.
• Conceive the sound you want before you play.
• Work on long tones and analyze what you hear.  (Is my tone steady, is it focused, does it sound full?)
• Use correct posture, embouchure, and breathing.
• Listen to recordings of your favorite artist of your instrument (and others).

ARTICULATION:  Playing clearly and skillfully

• Have an idea of the diction for correct tongue placement.
• Use the syllables "tu," "du," or "lu" when tonguing.
• Use the tip of the tongue and think of an up-down motion instead of in-out.
• Master the use of single tonguing before attempting multiple tonguing.
• Make sure that the secondary articulations in multiple tonguing (k's) are as strong as the primary articulations (t’s).  Practice both separately, and then together.
• Coordinate tongue and valve movement.
• When slurring, keep air in constant motion, blow through slurs!

TECHNIQUE:  The degree of skills for performance

• Improving technique requires slow practice and patience.
• Use a metronome when working on speed! -- start slow and speed up gradually
• Tongue slurred passages and slur tongued passages.
• Patience requires great concentration and the knowledge that you cannot succeed at the push of a button.
• Never sacrifice tone and articulation clarity for speed.  Avoid playing anything faster than you can play it perfectly with great sound and clarity of articulation on every note.

VIBRATO:  Adding warmth and color to your sound

• Vibrato should enhance the tone without distracting the performance of the music.
• Work on turning it on and off as desired, as well as different speeds of vibrato.
• The frequency of vibration should be characteristic for the music.
• The most common vibrato for low brass performers is jaw vibrato.
• Avoid using vibrato constantly as it is intended to be a decoration of certain notes.  (Exception:  Euphonium players)

RANGE:  Going where no man has gone before

• Building your range will require time, patience, and many hours of practice.
• In the upper register, the top lip does most of the work while the bottom lip comes in slightly.
• In the lower register, keep the top lip firm and let the bottom lip roll out a bit.  Use lots of air!!!
• Practice range extension with the use of chromatic runs and lip flexibility exercises.
• Balance your upper register playing with an equal amount of low register playing.

BEING A MUSICIAN:  Putting it all together

The following is a list of musical elements necessary to become a fine musician and performer.  The best practice sessions will involve the use of these various skills during warm-up, practice, and performance.

Basic Skills	Technical Skills	Musical Skills
Range Tonguing Vibrato Flexibility Dynamic Control Endurance Finger Dexterity	Scales Arpeggios Intervals Chromatics Sight-reading	Style Phrasing Vibrato Trills Tempo Interpretation

Ask yourself what you want to maintain and improve, what you want to acquire, and what you want to eliminate.  Think of these three things constantly and put them to full use.