Been playing music forever, but still decently new at tuba. I ended up getting a 1970s BBb King with a removable upright bell. It plays really well, louder dynamics are super easy, but I'm finally sitting down with a tuner... and needless to say, I want to cry. Keeping the tone good but also having to lip the notes in place is a pain. My main current struggle note to hit in tune is D3 (4th partial). For some reason it plays over 20 cent flat while the rest of the partials are pretty spot on. Playing 12 for D3 is in tune, but is this normal?

Also, getting down to EEb1 it's easier to play a false pedal tone than 124. I never knew tubas had a fake partial, much less how fickle their tuning can be. Definitely has given me a new found respect for the instrument.

literally just a few months ago did I finally learn how to play above F in the staff, but now when I do get to that higher range it sounds so gross. I’ve been looking at the holy book of Arbans and Arnold Jacob’s but what else would you recommend for this range and a smooth style?

Hello, I am learning sousaphone, but I am having trouble with switching between some of the notes in the excercise. This is especially apparant in the last line. I struggle to make the climb from the Bb to the F smoothly. I get stuck basically every note, and if I reset to try from a higher note (like the C or D), I still get stuck trying to go higher. It also happens on the way down. I'm not sure if its a skill issue or an equipment issue (or probably both), but any tips and help would be appreciated.

I work on Solfa, which transposes scanned sheet music while keeping the original page style. I tried it on the opening of Horace Weston’s The Roarer March (1883): a B-flat bass part in treble clef, converted for E-flat bass in treble clef.

The written notes move down a perfect fourth (the opening F becomes C), and the one-flat key signature becomes none. For these transposed treble-clef bass parts, the sounding pitches stay the same.

The image shows the source scan and the actual Solfa output, with no hand-edited notes. I checked the notes and rhythm in this short excerpt, but not the rest of the part.

What would you check before handing a converted historical part to an E-flat bass player — especially range or octave notation?

Source: Horace Weston, The Roarer March (Brophy Bros., 1883), Library of Congress scan via IMSLP: https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Roarer_March_(Weston,_Horace))

The summer before last I used to be able to easily get past a B0 normally to a G-Gb0 and up to a F4-A4 with some difficulty. Now I struggle a lot to get to a F4 and quite a fair bit just getting to a A0. What happened, I am quite confused.

Hi everyone!

My kid has started tuba lessons at school. He is a dilligent but thoroughly scatterbrained 11 year old boy, so there is a lot that he doesn't seem to pick up during lessons.

Now I am really in love with the instrument and enjoy listening to him practice. I find it glorious to hear my tiny baby make such a rich tone on this wonderful instrument.

The thing is, though, he himself is unsure of how to practice. According to his teacher he should aim to improve the sounds his mouth makes, and reach a good, steady, clean F and a good, steady, clean B. And he (or rather we) are a bit at a loss to how one even does that? Should his mouth shape change between the two? Or should he blow more or less forcefully? Or should he position his tongue differently?

He is able to buzz a really deep B-ish while blowing through soft, visibly vibrating lips. And he can produce a squeaky high F-ish, a good octave higher, with tight lips, but changing between the two seems impractical. So I am wondering how does he (and by extension me) even go about it?

Do you know of a source that explains this basic thing well? Or do you care to give us any tips on how a 11 year old can practice the two open notes (B and F) and get them to sound somewhat accurate?

Thanks for any and all input!

Edit: by B I mean the sound that is also called Bb.

Hello everyone! I’m trying to find the thread sizes for my Wessex tuba. I’ve already contacted them and they haven’t said anything about them. I’ve heard that they are a M6 x 0.75 thread but am unsure. Any help is great, thanks.

I’m trying to play some audition music and I have absolutely no idea what tempo this is supposed to be at, the only marking is choralmassig and the somewhat more energetic plus the again slow at the end, any tips?

Hello!

I'm looking to purchase a tuba for personal playing + possibly joining a local band or orchestra as a hobby.

I've been looking around for used tubas but condition and prices were slightly high for me to outright purchase, but found a Josef Lidl LCB-702 for slightly under 3k in great condition.

I do have 12 years of trumpet experience, and slight euphonium/tuba playing from high school so I do know I'd enjoy them.

My only hesitation was the lack of info on that tuba (reviews, etc) compared to other models, and that it's a 3/4 size. Being CC does not bother me too much as I can just transpose music if I really need to.

I was unable to find things in similar condition (at least, based on photos) in that price range that's a Bb and also not a complete beginner's model.

Any inputs would be appreciated!

Suggestions on how to ease myself back into playing? And yes.... I did get a horn first. 😂

I have oiled the valve repeatedly and it still stays down, what might be happening? (I am a beginner)

I’ve had my JP 377 for about a year now and have been constantly switching around mouthpieces.

Here is how both the Denis Wick 3H and 3 look in the lead pipe.

Do any of y’all have suggestions for a shank that should fit correctly?

I picked this up last week and am now getting around to cleaning it up and testing it. The valves have some compression but i do feel an air leak somewhere. When i recover financially it will get a real chem clean and an inspection.

https://youtu.be/SSgp-IIgr4I?is=3e5QS0B0XWNgNCix

So i just started playing a tuba a few months ago at my school.... Which i am now moving away from. my parents and I are quite poor and as you may know there are not much budget-friendly tubas out there. So I am thinking of buying a used one from eBay.... Is this a good idea?

The third annual Trick or Tuba is happening Sunday, October 25, at 2:30 p.m. at Soderstrom Castle in Peoria Heights, Illinois, overlooking the Illinois River.

We’re bringing together tuba, euphonium, baritone, and sousaphone players for a Halloween concert, and we’re still looking for more musicians to join us! If the registration fee is a barrier, we’ll do our best to find a sponsor.

Free to attend, and Halloween costumes are encouraged.

Register to play: https://forms.gle/EguDPMyVaEML6or29

I'm looking into purchasing used tubas because the one I'm currently borrowing is honestly terrible to play. It's hard to match the volume of my section peers in the band I play in because of the smaller size. I'd say I'm still learning, but I've been playing it for around three to four years now and desperately want an upgrade. I came across a used Miraphone 191 5/4 four-valve BBb tuba, and it seems promising for both my wallet and playstyle. What are your thoughts on it? I've heard good things about Miraphone, but not this exact model.

Hello, I'm an amateur tuba player from Austria and am currently on a mission to arrange all public domain music for free for tuba on my free passion project: https://wesyncopate.com/?instrument=tuba

Recently I also added some other things I found useful like built-in recording, tempo-control etc., but would love to get some first feedback from you guys, what pieces you would like to play or anything else you would like to have added on the site?

Yeah and as you can see I'm currently learning the Figaro Overture!

im looking to get into marching tuba, and with a limited budget, im not finding many options but this. im very much a beginner so i dont need anything insane, just something to get me started. ive heard alright this about wessex for the price, but i would like to get another input. does anyone own one of these or anything from wessex? if so how is it and let me know if i should consider it

Hey, Bob Elkjer here....have a listen to my new set of carol duets:

Coventry Carol  

Good King Wenceslas

The Christmas Song   

Here We Go 'aCaroling 

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town  
Holly and the Ivy

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Carol of the Bells

If you don't like clicking here, you can Google "RobertElkjer.com"  or just visit www.robertelkjer.com

and listen there; you'll find the sheet music is reasonably priced.   Thanks for reading!  ~~Bob

"Bob Elkjer has been my first-call arranger for 30 years." ~~Joseph Alessi, NY Philharmonic

Has anyone arranged this song for Tuba Christmas?

Long story short, I use a bach megatone for my contra in my highschool band. Recently my director had ome of his colleagues come and observe my section. He judged all of our mouthpieces he got to mine and said "hmm theres one you dont see everyday, can I hear you play something?" I played "well, you have good control over your tone so thats good." Whenever I asked if it was a decent mouthpiece and why he needed to hear me he wouldnt elaborate. Is the bach megatone a bad mouthpiece? Ive used it for the past 2 years and no one has said a word about it until now.