Posted by John on February 05, 2003 at 08:35:29:
In Reply to: frustration posted by Matt Higgins on February 04, 2003 at 23:48:15:
In my undergrad, I owned an 822F. I had success with the PT 62 mouthpiece. This is indeed a true bass tuba mouthpiece, as it's rather small. It also has a thick rim, which is supposed to help endurance? In was in these years that my high register became solid, and now I'm able to transfer it to any mouthpiece on any horn. I didn't play on the 822 for very long though. I decided that if I was going to play F tuba, it needed to have a different color than my CC tuba.
As for high register excercises, i played a whole bunch of Rochuts. First, down the octave, then where written, then down 2 octaves. Increasing the solidity of one's low register adds to the singing quality of their low register. This will also help you with the endurance problem. Make sure thhat you do not use pressure! As tubists, we make our living playing below the staff, and not generally above, with certain exceptions. Like any aspect of your playing, be patient with your growth. With good habits, this will come.
Best of luck!