Some time ago I added a collection of hand-picked videos of brass music for all solo instruments, brass bands, and brass ensembles. It was dependent on the YouTube Video Player widget, but that came to have limitations. First, YouTube limited the length of the title list on each player collection to 50. Also, it was difficult to see what exactly you were about to view. There are currently over 1,000 brass videos in my collection. The euphonium collection alone has more than 300! Clearly the YouTube Player is no longer satisfactory.

So I changed the format entirely. Now the brass videos collection is database driven. You will see separate pages for each brass instrument and for brass ensembles. On each page you see a list of the most popular artists, the most recent videos in that category, and an alphabetical list of artists and titles. The newest feature allows you to choose to sort by newest videos in each category, so if you haven't checked them out for a while you can easily see what has been added since your last visit. Much better!

There is also a link to report missing videos. Sometimes YouTube deletes a video or the person who uploaded it deletes it. If you see such a thing you can report it to me to check out.

For your convenience I have set a link for each artist in case you want to limit your view to his/her selections. For example, here are links to some of our most popular (showing the number of views of the artist in parentheses, as of this writing):

Steven Mead Videos (4,111)
Sergei Nakariakov Videos (2,872)
David Childs Videos (2,465)
David Werden Videos (1,832)
Doc Severinsen Videos (1,665)
Alison Balsom Videos (1,176)
Rafael Mendez Videos (1,130)

Enjoy any of the following categories!

Trumpet Videos
Horn Videos
Trombone Videos
Euphonium Videos
Tuba Videos
Brass Band/Ensemble Videos

Over the years I have often answered questions from players who just got a new instrument and are having trouble with intonation. This is especially likely when the old horn was a non-compensating instrument and the new one is compensating. The intonation tendencies can be different (or even opposite) between the two types. A major issue here is habit, which is very handy for some things (like when you practice scales so much that your mind/body system plays almost automatically after a point), but can very much get in the way when you wish to adapt to a new instrument.

When I say adapt I don't mean that you should let the horn play you. You still want to bring forth your own personal concept of sound and music to any horn you play. But you also have to look at the instrument as a partner in your performance. This means you have to be sensitive to the feedback the horn gives you, especially regarding how much air you need to use (and how you need to use it).

For the purpose of this discussion, I'll assume a person is trading in a Yamaha 321 4-valve non-compensating euphonium and purchasing a Willson 2900 or Yamaha 642 or Sterling Virtuoso or Besson Sovereign/Prestige or Adams or Miraphone or [insert name here] 4-valve compensating euphonium. This means moving from a small-shank mouthpiece receiver to a large-shank version (except for the middle-size shank on some Willsons); from a horn with one type of intonation tendencies to one with much different tendencies; and from a horn with a .570 bore to one with a bore around .592. The new horn may also have a bell diameter that is 5-10% greater.

I usually recommend not changing mouthpieces at the same time you are getting used to a new horn, other than getting one with the proper shank size. Introducing too many variable at once can cause trouble. Even if the old mouthpiece is not the best choice for a larger horn, wait until you are used to the new horn before changing mouthpiece.

The larger horns require more air, and that may tempt your body to compensate in ways that are not beneficial. Don't get too ambitious at first. Get used to the instrument. Use enough air to give you a round, warm sound. Build up to the high range a bit slowly.

Non-compensating horns like the Yamaha 321 have very different tuning characteristics even when not in the compensating range. On some notes they may have opposite tendencies compared to a compensating horn. Without a thoughtful adjustment period, you may become discouraged at the feel of the new horn.

Mostly you need to break your old habits. Following a process similar to the one described below might help.

As you work with the tuner, first make sure you are tuned properly on a middle B-flat. (I will use concert pitch to discuss the process.) Follow these steps:

1. Get a reasonable warm up, so your chops are comfortable AND your horn is up to normal playing temperature.
2. Push the main tuning slide all the way in.
3. Play your middle B-flat with your eyes closed and with good air support. Then bend the pitch up and down over and over. As you do this, listen to where in that bending process the note seems most resonant and round. That helps you find where the horn's pitch truly is, rather than where your chops expected it to be. It also helps to "destroy" your internal pitch memory so you don't blow the note one way or the other because your brain wants to hear it there.
4. Open your eyes while you are playing the center of the B-flat. I assume you will be sharp (because your slide is all the way in). Pull the slide out a bit, and repeat step 3. Do this until you are in tune.
5. Use steps 3 & 4 on other notes. This will probably tell you where they are.
(6). As you go through the testing process, the horn's temperature will probably increase, which will cause the overall pitch to get higher. So after tuning a few notes, go back and check your B-flat again using steps 3 & 4. Keep doing this to make sure you don't drift.

Be sure to keep good air support through all this. And keep a good round tone.

Most players on compensating horns pull the first valve slide a quarter inch or so. This helps with the G. Many people pull the 3rd slide out as well. That would help tune the normally-sharp 2&3 combination. But the other choice is to adjust the 3rd slide so that your G is in tune using 3rd valve alone. That will give you a very nice G (but doesn't help the F#).

The upper F, E, and E-flat are usually sharp. They require a bit of lipping down on compensating horns, often times more than was required on your old instrument.

Even if the new horn has a trigger, I would suggest not using it to tune these notes for now. You are not used to the instrument yet, and you want to be sure you are playing it up to its abilities before you start using the trigger.

It's a big adjustment going from your old horn to a new one. When I started college I switched from a bell-front King (.560 bore, non compensating) to a Besson (.580 bore, compensating). It was a major adjustment and took me a few months or more to get used to it. In the examples above, the switch is from a .570 bore to a .592 bore, so the difference is about as great.

Just don't try to make everything work at once. It takes a while to get used to blowing a new horn. Certainly for the first six months or so you will want to check your tuning fairly often. Even after that, revisit the tuner on a regular basis for a formal tuning session. But also use the tuner now and then as part of regular practice. As you are practicing a solo or exercise, leave the tuner running on your music stand. You may be surprised at the way the context of a note may affect its tuning. I have found notes that line up well in a tuning session, but are quite different in certain contexts. If you approach a note from a long interval above or below, your chops may overshoot a bit - not enough to cause you to miss the note, but enough to throw it sharp or flat.

The electronic tuner is a practice tool, like buzzing devices, a metronome, and even a mirror. It can have great value if used appropriately. As mentioned before in this thread, it is helpful learning the tendencies of the instrument(s) you play. If you know a particular note is generally flat, for example, you can at least start heading the most likely direction as you seek to tune to the harmonies around you when playing with others. You ear can tell you that your horn has some problem notes, but you can easily be mislead by the timbre of the horn and by our human tendency to get used to the problem notes sounding the way they do. On the older Besson euphoniums I played, for example, the 6th partial was very sharp. The more I tried to pull it down, the more off-center it sounded compared to what the horn would have preferred. The timbre made it sound flat when I bent it down, even though I may not have moved it all the way down to where it should have been. A tuner doesn't care about timbre; it will give you consistent information.

Some players like to use a tuner on their stand during rehearsal, which can also be useful if used with judgment. I have used it off and on. Sometimes you learn more quickly what your tendencies are when playing in different contexts (and at different volumes than you may normally practice). But I found just as much value in knowing what is going on around me. It is useful to know if the trumpets are playing sharp in a passage, for instance. And when I was having trouble finding a comfortable pitch in a chord, I sometimes dropped out to see what else was happening. Often I could see, as the tuner sought to find something to lock onto, that the chord was not in tune regardless of my contribution.

Note that it is important to train your ears in as many ways as possible. Playing along with "drone tones" is a valuable tool as well. (Drone pitches are long tones, usually produced electronically, that you use to learn to match pitch and to make intervals sound true.) Euphoniumist Tom Ball put together a set of drones and a helpful booklet, which I offer for free download on my site:

Drone Tuning Tones and Booklet

We did some experiments in the Coast Guard Band. Two of us would play a major third, each using a tuner and matching absolute pitch. The interval just didn't sound right. One had to stop being "dead right" in order to make the interval sound right.

When you practice with a tuner, don't just play one long tone after another. Also include normal practice while letting the tuner run. Take a look at it now and then. You may find you are doing things to the pitch that you did not intend to do just because of the context. Especially try playing a various dynamics. Your control over a pitch, and even your perception of the pitch center, may change as you get louder or softer.

A major advantage of a tuner is that it ignores your "habits of hearing" and tells you something based on an absolute standard. If you are used to hearing particular notes sharp or flat, that becomes your standard to some extent. But even without a tuner you can work to avoid that kind of perception. Play a familiar melody up a step, or down an octave. You may learn that intervals sound different because the melody now sits in the midst of different sharp/flat notes. It's a handy "reality check" for your ears.

Either a tuner or a metronome can be a useful tool or can become a crutch. Common sense helps a lot, as does a good instructor. Just keep in mind that the goal is making fine music, not playing like a computer!

Many euphonium players use a pillow of some kind to help them hold up the horn when they are seated while playing. In a pinch one, I even made one from a bath towel, rolled up and tied with dental floss (it works so well I have used it for years while practicing).

Then it dawned on me that I always carry an accessory bag in my case. It holds valve oil, slide grease, slide cream for the trigger slide, extra felts, etc. While at ITEC in Tucson I found a zippered bag that is a little larger than the one I was using. The new bag is large enough to serve as a lap pillow when properly stuffed. So now I keep all my accessories in that bag. I fold a polishing cloth first and put it in the bag so there is a nice center area where I can put the accessories. It makes a very nice sized pillow, and it's only one bulky item to carry in my case.

The bag is made of a fabric that has a fake suede finish, so it stays in place without slipping around. And the zipper is nylon so it is not likely to scratch my horn.

The bag is available from Hickey's Music, who was the vendor I purchased from at ITEC. The manufacturer is Chonkite, and the product name is the MKP, Accessory Kit Pouch, priced about $15. Just use the link below and search for 12148:

http://www.hickeys.com/

Empty Bag, Shown with Typical Contents:


Packed Bag, Shown Open:


Packed Bag, Closed:


Bag In Playing Position:

While I was at the ITEC exhibits I had the chance to meet a genuine entrepreneur, Mr. Bill Ricker. Or maybe "inventor" is a better word. He did what clever folks have done all through history: he saw a need and developed a solution to addresses it.

Most of you reading this have probably tried to clean a horn out at some time or other. And some of you have probably wanted to do some horn cleaning while you were traveling. I have cleaned my euphonium at home by putting a garden hose down the bell, "sealing" it with a cloth wrapped around it, and turning on the water. This produces a nice flow through the horn, but it's only practical in warm weather. Winter in Minnesota is no time to use that particular technique. On band tours or run-outs for conferences I have sometimes wanted to clean my horn in a hotel room, but could find no way to do a full rinse. I had to settle for swabbing out the tubes. That works well, but can be time consuming and can dislodge "chunks" that I would like to be able to rinse out. A combination of a swab and a rinse would be ideal.

Along came Mr. Ricker with answer! He has a product to enable easy rinsing for large horns (trombones, euphoniums, tubas) and one for smaller horns (French horn, cornet/trumpet). There are two types in each size. One is made to hook up to a standard hose fitting, such as a garden hose faucet or a utility room faucet with a threaded end. It is shown to the left, and is fitted with a short hose, because in most cases you will be fitting it to the end of a garden hose. The other model (shown below) is made to fit over a tub faucet (or maybe a large sink faucet. The latter version has a much longer hose for manipulating the logistics of a bathroom.

The idea is simple enough, but works like a charm. I tried the short hose with the threaded end at my outside hose faucet. It produced a powerful rinsing flow in the bore of the horn. And I briefly tried the longer bathtub version on my own tub faucet. It fit really nicely, but my faucet has a shower diverter that can't handle the back pressure. It should work in many hotel tubs, though.


Here is a spout shape similar to mine. Despite the nearly square profile, the hose fit on and stayed nicely. The problem in this case was the pull up diverter. It is not well sealed internally, so water will spray out around the hole, as indicated in the picture.

In the included instructions, Mr. Ricker describes a thorough cleaning process using his product(s). However, I think it's almost more valuable as a quick between-full-cleaning rinse out. If you rinse the horn regularly it would keep it much cleaner on an ongoing basis. I have sometimes played in dusty conditions and wished I could easily rinse the horn out afterward. This would have done the trick. I would have taken out the main tuning slide (the tubes after that point don't collect much grime), put the hose on the tub faucet, put the fitting in the leadpipe, and run the water for a few seconds. Then I would have blown out the water, dried the horn, and put it to bed. Five or Ten minutes would be enough.

He sells them individually, or as both types in one kit. Learn more on the website:

QuickHornRinse.com

I recently returned from a performance at ITEC 2010 in Tucson, Arizona. There were a few logistical problems, not the least of which was that Delta managed to damage my horn's tuning slide. But I borrowed a loaner from Custom Music's display. It's a little like running a foot race in new shoes, but it wasn't too uncomfortable.

However, I really didn't welcome the extra mental stress of performing with a brand-new instrument. A thing like that can make a person nervous! And I still remember a recital I played in Arizona in (I think) 1996. My mouth dried out worse than it ever has and I had trouble getting notes out of the horn. (In case you haven't experienced it, the air in Arizona is pretty dry!) Fortunately, for this trip I tried to plan ahead. I had found some mouth spray that claims to help fight dry mouth, so I figured this was the perfect chance to test it. I used some shortly before my performance and had no trouble whatsoever. But I was only playing in one piece, and had plenty of rest at that, so maybe I would have been OK regardless.

Two other performers, James Gourley and Matthew Van Emmerik, were having a bit of discomfort with the dry air. Both of them tried the spray and report that it worked as advertised.

Over the years I have spoken to many, many players who experience this trouble. My advice (which is still good, regardless of the spray) is to stay very well hydrated for at least the 24 hours ahead of the performance, get a good rest, and avoid caffeine (which tends to dry one out). In my 1996 performance I tried to do those things, but it was hard to manage all those precautions around the schedule of the event. I'm reasonably confident that this spray would have helped.

You might find it at your local drug store. If not, here is a link to get it from Amazon: