Posted by Brian Frederiksen on March 01, 2001 at 11:41:25:
In Reply to: Re: Tips on how to relax and use more air posted by Teaching today on March 01, 2001 at 09:41:49:
The problem with the "hold the paper on the wall" excercise is that it requires more air pressure than air flow. The excercise may be of more benefit to the trumpet where higher pressure is required. On the tuba we need more quantity of air.
Let's do the same excercise with pipes of water. If we use a 1/2 pipe, the paper would probably stick to the wall because of the pressure. If we use a 1 1/2" pipe, the paper would probably fall to the floor as there is not enough pressure to hold it to the wall. There is a huge amount of water passing through the larger pipe - great for filling a swimming pool but not so good for cleaning it.
Same is true with air, both have their uses. High pressure is needed for the higher notes especially in the trumpet family. For the tuba, we do not requre anywhere near that pressure but the amount of air flow is what is needed.