Page 30 - Embou-Sure Book Series

PREPARATION
There are two very basic concepts in playing tuba which must be under stood by both the tuba student and teacher. These concepts are somewhat unique to the character of the instrument and it is my contention that they should be carefully introduced and discussed prior to the student’s attempts to produce a sound on the tuba. These two concepts have to do with:
1. BREATHING
2. TONGUE PLACEMENT
How often I have heard directors say to students, “more breath support! Blow from your diaphragm!” and each time I hear it, I cringe at the concept that is being conveyed to the student. In fact, the diaphragm muscle has little to do with the breathing process at all and usually ends up being a foe rather than a friend.
The diaphragm is a muscle located just below the lungs at approximately the place where the rib cage ends.
When in a relaxed state, the diaphragm is in a nearly flat or slightly raised position. When the diaphragm is flexed or tightened, it pulls downward. When this takes place, the lungs are also pulled or stretched downward and it becomes a physical impossibility to blow a large QUANTITY of air. By tight- ening the diaphragm and attempting to blow a large amount of air, we create at the same time an isometric exercise within the body which has no beneficial effect. Try this:
• Hold your hand in front of your face.
• Tighten your diaphragm.
• Try to blow a large quantity of air on your hand.
Doesn’t work, does it? Now relax your stomach and diaphragm muscles and repeat the process of blowing a large quantity of air on your hand. It is really quite easy to do. The tuba player needs to put large quantities of air through the horn because of the size of the instrument itself. The easiest way to ac- complish this is to use little or no “diaphragm support.”
A saying which Arnold Jacobs uses frequently is: “For tuba players, strength is our weakness!” That statement pretty well says it as far as the concept of breathing goes for the tuba player.
TONGUE PLACEMENT
The second concept mentioned above is that of tongue placement; once again we have a situation which is unique to the tuba. As previously stated, we need a large quantity of air to produce a good sound on tuba. The tongue is often the culprit which prevents this process from taking place efficiently.
If you say the syllable “TEE,” you will notice that the tongue is arched up
in the back...nearly to the point of touching the roof of the mouth. When
this happens, we have a block (the tongue) thrown up in the way of the air stream. The result is a restricted amount of air passing beyond that blockage to the lips and an absence of good tone on the tuba. Remember: the large quantity of air produced through proper breathing does no good at all until it passes through the lips to make them vibrate; if the air is stopped or partially blocked off in the process of blowing, the result will be totally unsatisfactory.
Say the vowel sound “OH” and notice the position of the tongue. The produc- tion of the “OH” sound causes the tongue to lay down flat in the bottom of the mouth, thereby causing no obstruction to the air stream This is the ideal placement of the tongue for ALL RANGES in tuba playing. The “AH” sound will also cause the tongue to rest in the correct position, but if exaggerated, gagging results; once again the throat is closed off. For this reason, the “OH” sound is preferable.
Tuba Embou-Sure
by Stuart Turner
Embou-Sure – 33