I started playing tuba in 1989. I'm totally self-taught. Previously (elementary school through college) I played saxophone and doubled on flute. Stopped playing in graduate school. I went up to the tuba exchange and bought a used Yamaha YEB-321s from Vince. Just sat down and started playing it. No problems, but it of course required some determination and practice. I love low brass.
In terms of converting to BC (which I had NEVER read before getting my tuba) from TC (which I had spent over 15 years on), my suggestion is this: just do it. STOP transposing! Just play. Perhaps the best way to do this is start to do simple exercises (and scales and arppegios and etudes) AT SPEED. Start slow and work up to a higher speed. The higher speed will force you to stop transposing. You want to get your thinking out of the way of your playing. It's that simple.
Mouthpiece: Without knowing anything about your playing or your physical characteristics, I'd recommend that you get a Bach 25 or Kelly 25 mouthpiece and play on that for several months. Do NOT get a Bach 24 or 24AW. Do NOT get a Bach 18. Otherwise, a Schilke 66 might do you very well (it's my all-time go-to mouthpiece except on my Eb compensator) or a TU-17. The Kelly is really a good compromise approach in a "trial" mode. Or try to get a used Bach 25 or Schilke 66 online.
After a few months, you'll begin to have SOME idea of what the advantages/disadvantages/limitations of that mouthpiece are. But the Bach 25 it's a good all-around mouthpiece, is a good size for someone moving from trombone/baritone to tuba, and is a great beginner's mouthpiece as well. If you get the Kelly, then (a) it will be cheap, and (b) you'll always be able to use it for cold or very hot weather performances.
After those few months, get together with your tuba-playing friend and talk about mouthpieces. Warning: Many, many tuba players use a mouthpiece that is simply too big for them. Beware of that. Bigger is not at all necessarily better when it comes to tuba mouthpieces.
Last edited by ghmerrill; 12-18-2016 at 03:38 PM.
Gary Merrill
Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)