Progress on the Horn

I can't say I did anything too exciting today, but I did spend some time with my tuba in preparation for ensemble auditions in September. My biggest fault as a student is the lack of a truly focused practice regimen. I am eager to work with my studio teacher to start to develop a clearly defined method over the next few weeks. I will say, though, I did spend a lot of time today working on my embouchure and figuring out what it takes to play more consistently throughout all ranges of the horn.

As a player, I feel like I have a very solid fundamental sound on the horn. I work very hard to play with a characteristic sound and, for the most part, I succeed in many respects. I owe a lot of thanks to the instruction I've received at Spartans over the past two years. The brass staff really push a dark, symphonic, approach to the instrument that translates well to more "traditional" settings.

While I think I have a good sound, my biggest weakness as a player, shows in my range and accuracy. I play very well in the lower tessitura of the instrument but, when I ascend into the higher ranges, my tonal focus and accuracy suffers greatly. This is more than just being able to play "really high"...I have trouble playing well from middle-line D to middle C. This is clearly a problem. After a good deal of trial and error, I think I've nailed the problem to the way I form my aperture on the mouthpiece. I spent much of the day working on a more even approach to my embouchure and placement on the horn. Results were mixed, but I think it's definitely a step in the right direction.