Brass Quartet

Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:19 am

Alright, out with it: who plays a brass instrument, specifically a euphonium?

BRASS INSTRUMENTS INCLUDE:

Trumpet/Cortet
French Horn/Horn in F
Trumpet+French Horn hybrid, can't remember the name
Trombone
Tuba
Baritone/Euphonium

...and more. Yes...

Basically, there is this song in which I have a solo with the French Horn, and I suck OUT LOUD. The note rate is A ---> B flat --> B natural ---> C I believe and I just can't play it; sometimes I just play a few stray notes and start laughing (WITH everybody else. Yes.) and other times I play it but sound like a stinkin' FOGHORN. Any tips?

Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:24 am

About the only advice I have is to use the trigger if your horn has one...

(I haven't actually played horn in 3.5 years.)

Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:33 am

Scintilla wrote:About the only advice I have is to use the trigger if your horn has one...

(I haven't actually played horn in 3.5 years.)

If I pretend what trigger means maybe it'll help, lol...

Us euphoniums are like mini-tubas. All we have are giant-sized mouth pieces (not compared to the tuba obviously) and tuning slides.

Thu Jan 26, 2006 7:43 am

Ack! I'm sorry, I thought you meant you were playing the horn, not the euphonium. My mistake. In that case I've no advice at all. <^^ :oops:

Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:53 pm

I play trumpet and find the larger mouth-piece instruments hard to play.

How long have you been playing the euphonium? I guess I don't really have any good advice to share except the typical saying "practice makes perfect" (yeah, I know...not helpful).

Good luck!!

Sun Jan 29, 2006 8:12 am

stinkyllama wrote:I play trumpet and find the larger mouth-piece instruments hard to play.

How long have you been playing the euphonium? I guess I don't really have any good advice to share except the typical saying "practice makes perfect" (yeah, I know...not helpful).

Good luck!!

About a year now...

I've tried widening my teeth, and even though this makes my playing better I run out of breath insanely fast. Maybe it's because I have the slightest of colds or because I don't breathe with my mouth...

Sun Jan 29, 2006 4:58 pm

Which notes are you having trouble with? I know you said A, B-flat, B, and C, but did you mean the low ones at the bottom of the staff, or the ones at the top of the staff? Breathing through your mouth is a must!! You don't get nearly enough air by breathing through your nose. If it's the low notes, you have to get your air to move slower. If it's the higher notes, your air has to move faster. Try those things and let me know if you're still having trouble. PM if you want some more advice or things to try.

Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:00 am

mayanspypilot wrote:Which notes are you having trouble with? I know you said A, B-flat, B, and C, but did you mean the low ones at the bottom of the staff, or the ones at the top of the staff? Breathing through your mouth is a must!! You don't get nearly enough air by breathing through your nose. If it's the low notes, you have to get your air to move slower. If it's the higher notes, your air has to move faster. Try those things and let me know if you're still having trouble. PM if you want some more advice or things to try.

High; low notes are a breeze because generally anything below high A I can give a rich-sounding tone to it.

The mouth, eh? Thanks! I'll have to try that.

Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:38 pm

Work on your lower notes, it will make it easier to get the higher notes out. It works for me with my trumpet. Ask your band director if he/she has any tips or if they can help you with it.