5 Essential Tips For Beginning Tuba Players
Author: Ross Kratter, Guest Contributor
Known for their deep rich tone, tubas are amongst the largest, heaviest, youngest and lowest pitched instruments in the brass family. There are many different types of tubas and topics noteworthy of a post, but for today we thought we would share 5 Essential Tips For Beginning Tuba Players.
Long Tones Are Essential - Long tones will help you with both increasing your lung capacity and perfecting your intonation. Long tones are a significant chunk of all of my practice sessions.
Buzzing - When practicing buzzing, do so without the mouthpiece first, then add the mouthpiece. Don’t be afraid to blow raspberries! Try adding the mouthpiece to your buzzing lips and see if you can maintain the same pitch.
Find The Right Mouthpiece - It’s going to take a lot of trial and error to find the right mouthpiece to suit your needs. I personally use an extremely deep mouthpiece. Some people like a shallower one, others more in-between.
Pistons or Rotors - Rotors are easier on my hand, since I’m a bass player first, so I play a rotary tuba. Others prefer pistons for the speed.
Play As Many Styles As You Can - I also mentioned this in my bass tips article. As a tuba player, you’re the bass voice of any ensemble you play in and you can play a great many styles of music, from brass bands and orchestras to marching bands and traditional jazz. Learn to phrase and articulate like a bass player!
As with all instruments, it takes time and practice to become proficient in your principle instrument. Lots of practice! Lots and lots of practice! So start your adventure today and play tuba. You’ll quickly become an integral part of the band while getting plenty of exercise. Don’t forget to be patient, work hard and enjoy. It’s music!
About The Author
Ross Kratter is a bass player, tuba player, and composer based in New York. Ross has performed with such notable and varied artists as Joshua Redman, the Drifters, Bob Franceschini, Victor Wooten, Bob Reynolds and many more. He was the bass player on the First National Tour of Bandstand, the 2018 national tour of A Charlie Brown Christmas Live and the 2016-2017 national tour of FAME the Musical. Kratter released his debut album, It’s Time, with his working quartet in October 2018. It features Bob Franceschini on saxophone on two tracks, as well as Joe Graziosi (saxophone), Will Armstrong (piano) and Sam Gautier (drums). He leads the Ross Kratter Jazz Orchestra, for which he is the primary composer and arranger.
www.rosskratter.com