Re: Re: Re: Tuba and Flute


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Posted by Kenneth Sloan on November 13, 2002 at 02:39:12:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Tuba and Flute posted by dennis on November 12, 2002 at 08:25:00:

The beard is not a problem, except perhaps for the way it looks after a playing session.

The mouthpiece seals just fine, as long as it slides in BELOW the mustasche.

I suspect that most people who have trouble with facial hair have short, cropped hair. Wiry beards might also be a problem. The only problem I've ever had is the odd stray single hair that gets trapped between mouthpiece and lip - that will slice you up like dental floss...

Warning - I'm strictly an amateur player and my playing is not defined by particularly wide range nor astounding technical brilliance. It may well be that the beard represents a 10% handicap. Since I have a day job, I can tolerate a 10% penalty; for someone else it might (or might not, I don't know) make the difference between 1st and 3rd place at an audition.

Who knows. In my first tuba career, I was cleanshaven. Then I took 25 years off and grew the beard. When I came back to the tuba, I just put it to my face in the way that seemed most natural to me, and started on page 1 of Arban. Maybe without the beard I could have started on page 2? Maybe if I had been actively playing, the bearnd might never have gotten long enough to be comfortable.

In my opinion, it must be easier to play with a full beard than with 2-day stubble. Surely more than a few of us have tried that, once or twice.

Besides...I get an extra 15 minutes every morning that I can use for practice..or sleep.



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