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Question: Need help with my tone on the tuba!.!.!.!?
I have been playing for 4 years now and my first bad director tells me I had a pretty good tone!. When I moved up to the high school the director has done nothing but say i have a horrible tone and that I need to get more lip in the mouth piece; I have put all of the lip in I can and still maintain a sound!. He also told me to try a different mouthpiece so I switched from a 24 aw to a helleberg and it got worse by the day!. And with marching season coming up i really dont feel like being yelled at any more!.Do you have any suggestions on how to improve or if I have done anything wrong or if i need to switch mouthpieces!?

Mouthpiece - jupiter 24 aw and helleberg
Lip position - 50\50Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
your air stream is too cold! tone quality has very little to do with gear (mouthpiece) and everything to do with how we use & control our air!.

warmer air=better sound
slower fuller air=darker sound

make sure you breathe in open & warm (like fogging a mirror)
practice long tones using big-slow moving columns of air!.

mouthpieces;
i love the helleberg, but it is a bright chicago jazz mouthpiece,!.!.!.not easy to get a warm dark sound on if you are a novice!. i strongly urge you to go back to the 24aw as it is designed to sound dark!. you may even want to look into a 22aw if you have a smallish mouth,!.!.!.

go find recordings of professional tubists & even some DCI corps!. listen to how deep and dark the players sound & try to emulate that sound!.

feel free to email me with any questionsWww@QuestionHome@Com

Like the previous person said it'd be more helpful it you described your sound!. I'm on a cheap mouthpiece can't remember the name!.
Have you tried to play your music buzzing through your mouthpiece, going high and low!? that helps your tone and also, sing the part, going down to a low B, its very hard but that really improved my toneWww@QuestionHome@Com

NO THANX:]Www@QuestionHome@Com

Can you describe how your tone is bad!? If it sounds unfocused and too open, try faster air with a more direct air stream!. Like instead of "hhhaaa"ing on a cold window to see your breath, try a direct stream of air as though you are blowing out a candle!.

Then blow your air in the direction of the note you are playing!. Low notes, blow down!. Mid range notes - blow straight ahead!. High notes, blow up!. And DON'T puff your cheeks!. I know there are a lot of players that do this, but it makes your sound really flabby sounding, and very unfocused!.

When you take in a breath, imagine a cord tied around your rib cage and your gut!. All the way around!. When you breathe in, you will expand both cords in front AND in back!. Then work to focus your air as you blow!.

About mouthpieces, go with the one that is more comfortable first!. See if you can get a tone you like with it by altering your air stream!. Then switch to the other if the first one doesn't work!. But it is more likely your air than your mouthpiece at this stage!.

also, try more upper lip and less lower lip in the mouthpiece!. I'm experimenting with my conn 18 right now, and I feel I have more control with 70/30 than 50/50!.Www@QuestionHome@Com