Playing in Tune

[Samuellcwhite]

Hi! I am a second year college student from Oklahoma. I have purchased a 1971 B&H Imperial and have been playing it for about 7 months now. While I love the sound and power of the horn I have had a lot of trouble being flat on this horn. On other horns I have had room to push in fom the tuning mark when I was flat but even pushed all the way in on this horn I average 10 cents flat. I have tried embouchure changes, focusing on direction of air in the mouthpiece, liping up and several other techniques but have had trouble getting any meaningful results. I play on a medium shank Schilke 51D. Any tips, tricks, advice, comiseration, or any comments are apprectiated! Or if you want to sell me a new horn thats cool too

[John Morgan]

I have a B&H Imperial circa 1956. I can play my horn in tune, and I have the main slide out a little less than an inch. I am wondering about your mouthpiece. I use the original mouthpiece that came with my horn, a KosiKup 1 1/2. But a close copy is the Brian Bowman BB2EU. I have that one also. I would try a different mouthpiece. But first, if you are around other euphonium players, I would see if you could have them try your horn. Most probably won't have the medium shank sized mouthpiece, though. If you can clean your mouthpiece real good with disinfectant, then maybe some of them might try it. This would be useful to see perhaps if others get a different outcome than you. Using a good tuner, of course.

[davewerden]

Intonation issues like this might also be caused by a small leak in the horn or by built-up crud inside. You might check with a technician for leaks and also to assess if the horn is clean inside.