Posted by Leland on July 27, 2000 at 21:44:21:
In Reply to: grunting ? posted by ken k on July 27, 2000 at 18:09:48:
Just because I haven't seen it posted yet --
Try "playing" passages or exercises with air only, and air, valves, and articulations -- no buzzing to produce pitch.
I had started down the road to the same habit, until I started practicing my air & finger patterns while walking around campus or marching on the football field, learning drill. I quickly noticed that any vocalization severely impeded my wind, and I knew that it would cause problems when I added buzzing. Since then, I've had no vocal problems, and my overall playing has increased greatly.
For me, I believe I started the habit by humming or singing along to so many parts of so many songs, both while practicing and listening to recordings. Now, there's nothing wrong with singing, but it definitely does not require the same air management as playing the tuba. Taking away the buzzing is like taking the engine out of a car and working with it on a dyno -- less peripheral stuff to worry about, and more attention becomes available to the car's power supply. Make that work well, and everything else will follow.