Stands and PositionsFor Tuba Students

My high school band directorthought that I was a less thanspectacular trumpet student

and might do better playing sousa-phone. When I went to the band roomand saw the sousaphone that was rest-ing in all its glory on a sousaphonechair, my first thoughts were not of

Proper sousaphone playing position withrelaxed upper body and left hand low oninstrument.

how to play it, but how to get into it.Not a tubist or even a brass player, thedirector based his teaching on pho-tographs in books and what he hadlearned in Brass 101, Many years laterit still seems that directors have littletraining in how to hold a sousaphoneor tuba properly.

Much of the problem is not the faultof the teachers or the students, butstems from the physical characteristicsof the cumbersome instruments, whichare an intimidating armful. Left totheir own devices, students will grap-ple with them, but often their posi-tions restrict breathing and make itdifficult to reach the mouthpiece.Contortionists did well as vaudevilleacts, but musical performance on atuba is possible only with a relaxedplaying position.

Schools often have only a sousa-phone for both concert and marchingbands. While the sousaphone is heav-ier, it is in some ways a little more user-friendly than the tuba. A student whois large enough can often manage sat-

by John M. Taylor

isfactorily, but there is a tendency todrape the left arm over the tubing andgrasp the mouthpipe or mouthpiecewhile playing. When marching, it ismuch easier to simply hold the musicin the left hand, but when seated in aconcert band the left hand shouldeither hang at the side or be placednear the bottom of the valves to bal-ance the instrument. Most schools usespecially constructed chairs that sup-port the sousaphone for ease of play-ing, and these chairs should beadjusted monthly to accommodategrowing students'.

As a student of Arnold Jacobs formany years, 1 learned that tuba andsousaphone players need a full breath,nearly the maximum amount of air

Poor playing position with left arm draped overtuba, impeding respiration.

their lungs will hold: 80 percent is theideal. They should then be able toexhale this air into the instrument in arelaxed manner. The tuba is playedwith the least air pressure of all instru-ments but the greatest air flow. Withfifth-grade beginners or graduate stu-dents, only a relaxed position will per-mit the full expansion of the chest andabdominal cavity while inhaling. Afull discussion of proper breathing withbrass instruments is beyond the scopeof this article, but there are someexcellent comments from students ofArnold Jacobs in Legacy of a Master:Arnold Jacobs by M. Dee Stewart, pub-lished by The Instrumentalist Co. To

breathe correctly students should befree of problems with holding theinstrument.

One of the main problems for stu-dents is finding a convenient place torest their arms. Some drape their armsover the instrument as if to save itfrom hypothermia, while others hangtheir arms elsewhere and seem as ifthey are in the last throes of a debili-tating disease and need the support.Either position drastically inhibits respi-ration. Because the valve slides haveto be adjusted for good intonation onsome notes, the left arm should bepositioned to do this without restrict-ing respiration.

It is often more practical for youngstudents to begin on a euphonium orbaritone while using a tuba methodbook and playing all notes an octavehigher. It is a simple matter to changeover to the larger instrument whenthey have grown sufficiently.

Just as a sousaphone chair can sup-port that instrument, there are now avariety of stands that will help tubistsadjust the height of their instrument.Although such stands are availablecommercially, a clever shop teacher orband director can make tuba standsfrom discarded music stands or wood.

The tuba should be held so themouthpiece is level with the per-former's mouth. This seems like a sim-ple premise, but I often see studentswho look like giraffes as they strain toreach the mouthpiece. Others look

An easily constructed wooden block that ele-vates the mouthpiece.

A typical tuba stand.

J.like Quasimodo hunkering over theirtuba, which is usually resting on thechair. They should use a stand, a

^paperback book, or a wooden block, taped to the chair to enable them to sit^comfortably.-: Commercially available tuba stands

^are not cheap, but they are portableland provide infinite adjustment of theJpadded circle or crescent-shaped yokeKhat holds the bottom of the tuba. Thefirst such stand I saw was one that the

[..•stagehands had made for ArnoldIjacobs at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.g|he bottom consisted of a discarded[Jrnusic stand with a little table of sheetI'metal welded parallel to the floor.

fere recent stands are more sophisti-cated but no more functional. More-

improvised materials, such as a[lastic milk crate, a small, kinder-

Ijgarten-size chair, or a trumpet case,|e|h serve as a base to raise the tuba to|rfhe proper height for playing. When a

udent grows taller and the tuba no|onger comfortably sits on the edge ofthe chair, paperback books can provide

M. Taylor is currently editor oflUB A Journal, the quarterly journal of

fsts Universal Brotherhood Assad-in, and the author of numerous articles

; appear m many of the nation's lead-loutdoor publications. He studied tuba

now-retired Chicago Symphonytra tubist Arnold Jacobs, and hasmember of the Buffalo philhar-

I'Orchestre Symphonique de Que-and in 1991, following a 2 1 -year-, retired from The United StatesBand, and has performed with thep Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric°f C/«cago, and taught at the

|pd Music Center, Brevard, Northoima. In the summer of 1996, he, m as a member of the tuba sec-\ Keith Brian's New Sousa Band.

an extra lift to place the mouthpiece atthe proper angle.

Setting a tuba on the lap is satisfac-tory, but these heavy instruments oftencause discomfort or pain after a shorttime. One technique is to have a stu-dent hold the tuba with his left handat the ferrule that joins the bottombow to the last branch. By holding thetuba this way, his hand will keep thebow from slipping onto the chair andthereby raise it to proper playing posi-tion. However there is a period ofadjustment as the hand gains strengthand gets comfortable with the newposition. The mouthpipe of a tuba isoften not set at the optimum angle forcomfortable lap use; 1 have a wonder-ful old York CC tuba that defies play-ing with all but a stand.

Perhaps the least expensive tubasupport is a block of wood, which caneither be cut from a 4-by-4 fence postor built up in layers from commonshelving or plywood. Glued, nailed orscrewed together, the block is thenscrewed to a board of the same widthand one foot long. The student sits onthe board with the block augmentingthe chair to raise the tuba to an easyplaying position.

In some cases it may be necessary toraise or lower the leadpipe. Someinstruments are made as they were 100years ago, but students today are taller.If the majority of the tuba studentsseem to fit a higher mouthpipe place-ment in relation to the tuba's positionon the edge of a chair, it might beworthwhile to raise the mouthpipe onthat instrument. Any repairman canchange the height and angle of a lead-pipe, although there will be a blemishon the bell where the pipe was origi-nal ly positioned.

It is important to remember that thegoal is not to build stands or reengi-neer tubas but simply to enable stu-dents to sit comfortably and use theirfull respiratory capacity whi le themouthpiece is at a comfortable posi-tion, the head is erect, and the throatis open and relaxed.

More Audition EtudesMeredith Music announced the

publication of More Audition Etudes byGarwood Whaley. Featuring originalmusic for snare drum, t impani , andmallet and multiple percussion instru-ments, the 40-page book with evalua-tion charts and C.D. is available for$19.95 from Meredith Music Publ i -cations, 170 Northeast 33rd Street,Fort Lauderdale, Florida; 954-563-1844.

From OurReaders

Sentimental RequestOn March 5 of this year our home

was broken into and much of our per-sonal property was stolen. Most of myjewelry was taken, including a JohnPhilip Sousa lapel pin. I received thisaward as a senior in May 1979 at mylast high school band concert. TheJohn Philip Sousa award is consideredthe most prestigious band award atScotland High School in Laurinburg,and I was very proud to receive it.Much of my jewelry, such as gifts andengraved items, cannot be replaced,but I hope to replace my pin, whichholds a great deal of sentimental valueto me. Kim Denison

Laurinburg, North Carolina

Useful InformationSusan Nigro's article, "Contrabas-

soon Fundamentals," which includesinformation on its history, repertoire,tonal characteristics, and technicalinformation, is well organized andshould be useful to a variety of readers.As a bassoonist with limited contra-bassoon experience, I found her pas-sages on performance technique en-lightening. The comments toward theend of the article may be too technicalfor high school directors and students,but the discussion of fingerings, regis-ters, and reeds is excellent for those atan advanced level. Andrew Briddell

Bassoon Instructor

Musser Student Bell KitThe Musser M654 is a Z'/Z-octave

bell kit that features aluminum silverpowder, scratch resistant bars markedwith note names, and a wood framewith plastic molded end pieces and asteel center section. The lightweightwood case has a detachable lid with a180° piano style hinge, metal cornersand latches, and a carrying handle.Each kit includes one pair of birch-handle mallets.

Under New ManagementJohann Mosenbichler agreed to fill

in for Nico Boom, who resigned asmanager of the World Association forSymphonic Bands and EnsemblesInternational Youth Wind Orchestra,until the next conference in July 1997.Applications to perform at the 1997W.A.S.B.E. conference in Schlad-ming, Austria are due by October 15,1996, Wolfharting 11, A-4906 Eber-schwang, Austria; 43-7753-2645.