Q&A for How to Play a Tuba

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Question

What can I do if I can't reach the mouthpiece even when the tuba is on a chair?

Community Answer

Get a tuba stand. They're rather inexpensive, and easily adjustable. My high school has some for shorter players, and they are really nice if used correctly.

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Question

What is the description of the sounds a tuba makes?

Community Answer

Low but rich. It has a warm quality in the tone.

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Question

I can't seem to get the pitch on my tuba low enough. What do I do?

Community Answer

Practice playing down the scales a note at a time. Pay attention to how you drop your jaw for low register.

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Question

How can I play louder on my tuba?

Community Answer

Play with more force. It feels similar to singing loudly verses softly: just have more air behind it.

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Question

How does one do vibrato on the tuba?

Community Answer

Move your lips up and down in the desired vibrato pattern. This will cause patterns in the sound to emulate vibrato.

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Question

The thing that holds my mouthpiece doesn't reach my mouth so I have to turn my tuba around. Is that okay?

Community Answer

Sure, as long as you can play it that way. If a part of your tuba is bent so it won't reach, I'd recommend getting it fixed, though.

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Question

What is special about how a tuba is played?

Gabe

Community Answer

The tuba takes the most air of all the concert instruments, other than piccolo. The buzzing style is slightly different because of the size of the mouthpiece. On the tuba, breath support is extremely important for hitting low notes.

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Question

Why is the tuba such a frowned-upon instrument?

Community Answer

It is not so much frowned upon, but more of an unpopular and not thought about instrument. When most people hear "instrument", they usually think of a flute, clarinet, or trumpet rather than a tuba.

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Question

Is the tuba used in polka music?

Rebekka Rian

Community Answer

A standard polka band usually has accordion, bass, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, and drums, but there are many ways to play polka. The great thing about music is that there aren't many rules, and if you want to, of course, you can use the tuba.

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