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Thread: About the air control on different pitches on euphonium

  1. About the air control on different pitches on euphonium

    Hi,
    I play the euph in my school's wind orchestra, and lately I realized that when playing mid-to-low-range notes (~F3), my tone sounds a bit hollow and I can't play very loudly. Also, my pitch are very uncertain when playing softly, and I usually has a hard time bending it up or down to the right pitch, especially on notes involving the 2nd valve, which is too flat by 10~20 cent in my case.

    On the other hand, when playing mid-to-high-range notes(Ab3~), my tone are solid, but I struggle playing soft while maintaining my lips to vibrate properly, which often results in a cracky sound.

    The lead euph player suggests that I work on my air control, but I am not sure about how to fix the problem. Do I just play long notes till I get the pitch and tone in the right spot, or is there other methods that I can try?


    I'm playing John Packer 374 ST with Denis Wick SM4U, if this information is useful.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Welcome to the forum!

    If you play bass clef, you might look at the Schlossberg Daily Drills:

    https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title...0?aff_id=15680

    Or for treble clef you would buy the trumpet book:

    https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Drills-.../dp/B001XFTGOC

    Work on the lip slur exercises in particular. Work to keep your tone constant from note to note. It's a great book, and you'll probably find (so don't get discouraged) that some of the exercises that look dirt simple are pretty hard to play smoothly!
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  3. If you have the Arban's Trombone and Euphonium book, the exercises in the first 20-30 pages will probably help. Just work on the fundamentals and be patient. You'd be surprised by what "easy" exercises can do for you
    T.J. Davis

    Wessex Dolce
    G&W Kadja

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by daviste View Post
    If you have the Arban's Trombone and Euphonium book, the exercises in the first 20-30 pages will probably help. Just work on the fundamentals and be patient. You'd be surprised by what "easy" exercises can do for you
    Thanks for this! Been feeling lost with my copy of Arban with all the different exercises, some looked deceptively easy I wasn't sure whether I should do them.

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