Re: CORE


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Posted by Steve Dedman on December 03, 2000 at 19:57:45:

In Reply to: CORE posted by Tim C on December 03, 2000 at 02:04:09:

If you look down the page, there is a thread on "Hitting Notes". In that thread, Rick Denney makes a very good point about focussing your airstream down the throat of the mouthpiece. After reading that, I immediately went to my horn and tried it. And you know, darned if it didn't work like a charm. It immediately tightened up my sound. In all my years of playing, I was always told to play with a good, tight, focussed airstream. But nobody told me where to aim it.

I think that tone center and pitch center are inextricably bound together for the simple reason that few players with a good, centered tone have problems with an uncentered pitch or intonation problems. By concentrating on the sound, the other problems quickly recede to a much more manageable state.

If you really like your colleague's sound, why not investigate a little further? Notice how his embochure looks, and using a mirror, check yours. If his isn't some outrageous freak of nature, chances are that shamelessly copying it won't hurt. Pick his brain - find out exactly what it is that he is doing to get the sound that you like so much.

The most important thing is your own concept of an ideal sound. Get thee to amazon.com. Search in classical music under tuba. Even if you don't buy any of the cd's, visit all of them, and listen to as many samples as you can. In one evening, you can hear Pokorny, Bobo, Jacobs, Deck, Fletcher, Gannett, Johnson, and many others in 1 minute doses. Listen to each sample several times and compare their sounds. Is there a quality to Pokorny's sound that is (for better or worse) not present in Deck's sound? Does any single player have a sound that just makes your jaw drop? Granted, recording technology makes some of them not as appealing as others, but the general idea comes through.

Bring it up with your tuba teacher. It may be that your tone is just as tight and solid as your colleague's, but since you are in actual contact with the mouthpiece and the horn, it sounds different. Record yourself to check, but steel yourself. The first time I recorded myself way back in high school, I almost gave up playing. It may be that your sound is fine, but your idea of what you sound like may not be.

Search the archives, because there are many discussions on sound and tone concept that are more lucid than this one.

Steve


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