A few basic Sousaphone Questions. . .


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by George In NC on March 19, 2004 at 12:32:46:

Hi everyone, let me start out by saying I am a Bass player who sometimes doubls on Tuba. I played trumpet in highschool, so I can get around on the horn, but I would like to start getting better. Here are a few questions:

1: I know the curved removable pipe that the mouth piece fits into is the neck. What do you call the short piece of tubing the neck fits into and is soldered to the valves at the other end (mouthpipe?, leadpipe?) Mine is pretty mangled, I hope I can find a new one (my sousa is a Conn 14K stencil). Also what is the deal with the bits? Do serious players use them, or are they just for marching band?

2: I gave up trumpet because I didn't like practicing. I was praticing 2 hours a day trying to sound like Harry James, and if I missed a few days of practice my sound really suffered. With bass I can lay off it for a month and come back and sound exactly the same. How much do you guys practice, if at all (this question is not for the Pros/Students, but for the avrage guy who has a day job)


Follow Ups: