Posted by John on January 25, 2003 at 10:14:20:
In Reply to: Re: Breaking through that Barrier posted by Anthony on January 24, 2003 at 13:39:55:
I have to disagree slightly here with you. Air is THE single most important part of playing the tuba. Embouchure strength is certainly not going to cut it. Think about this... How do your lips vibrate? It's a sympathetic reaction to the air passing through them. Granted, you have some control over the distance apart they are, but without air, you'd have no buzz. I believe this is called the bernoulli effect. Thus, maximizing the effeciency of our buzz is a result of using our air properly, and not building up "chop strength". It is not the lips that do the work in a lip slur, it's your air, and blowing. This is why I prefer to call them blowing excercises. This takes the focus off of the lips, and focuses on blowing through a slur. I think that strength of the face comes with time, just as any bodybuilder would take time to work on a group of muscles, strength also comes with the repetition of utilizing those muscles. First an foremost though, the most important part of playing the tuba for me has been my absolute undying passion for music, and making music. Without it, there'd be no everlasting fire inside pushing me along. Perhaps the most important thing to remember about playing any instrument is that those who lack the passion, and are playing music because they can, are surely missing out on something to which many hold very special, and there is really nothing to fill that emotional void associated with music making.
Just some thoughts...
~John