Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2014
19
What’s Going On Back There?!
Teaching Beginning Euphonium and Tuba
Students want to learn how to
play euphoniums and tubas because
it looks and sounds like a lot of fun.
The more we can build on these
initial passions for making music,
the more the students will have
an enjoyable long-term journey of
development and fulfillment. As
music educators, it is important
that we engage euphonium and
tuba players in fun and enjoyable
environments to build on their
enthusiasm. Also help them
understand how important their
part is to the ensemble. Think
about how your ensemble would
sound if no one were playing the
tuba or euphonium. If the students
understand how important their
part is, they will be more invested
in the ensemble.
While making music is a lot of
fun, making good music is even
better. Students want to play well,
and be part of a good sounding
ensemble. This article will focus
mainly on teaching the proper
fundamentals of euphonium and
tuba playing to give the beginning
students the right tools to build
facility on their instrument. Once
the students have a grasp of the
proper fundamentals, they will
have more success and fun playing.
Then you can give them more
interesting music, and the music-
making environment will be the
most fulfilling. There is no trick
or secret to playing a euphonium
or tuba. People have been playing
these instruments for generations.
The important thing is to instill
good fundamentals, and insist that
the students do everything the right
way from the start. Being a stickler
about the fundamentals early will
pay off in the long run.
The Embouchure
When I am showing people how
to make their first sound on a
low brass instrument, I find that
they understand the technique the
best when I demonstrate a buzz
for them. If you are not a low
brass musician, make it a project
of yours to learn these instruments.
Your students will understand the
techniques easier by watching and
listening to you demonstrate.
Before we can buzz a sound
through the mouthpiece and
instrument, it is important to get
a feel for the proper shape of the
lips that allows them to vibrate
efficiently. For euphonium players,
start by saying the letter “M.”
(Pronounced “emmm”). This will
put the lips and teeth in a good
position to start a buzz. Then
blow a thin stream of air through
the center of the lips to form the
aperture (the opening between the
lips that the air moves through). If
you narrow the aperture around
the air, the lips will vibrate against
each other, and make a buzzing
sound. (Buzzing the lips without
a mouthpiece or an instrument is
called free buzzing.) On the tuba,
the aperture will be larger. Use the
same procedure, but start by saying
the word “too.” This will put them
in a good starting position.
Whether you are free buzzing,
buzzing on the mouthpiece,
or playing the instrument, it is
important to keep a defined oval-
shaped aperture. Do not allow
air to escape from anywhere else.
Have the students think of a thin
piece of string coming straight from
their lungs, through their mouth,
and into the instrument. This will
help them visualize the air being
focused and controlled.
When placing the mouthpiece
on the face for the first time, have
the students place it in the center of
their lips and teeth. Most successful
players use either even placement
between the top and bottom lip
inside the mouthpiece, or a little
more upper lip in mouthpiece than
lower lip, but this can vary player
to player. The most important
thing is that both lips are inside
the mouthpiece and active in the
buzz. Some players tend to rest the
mouthpiece rim on the lower lip.
This doesn’t allow the lower lip to
Dr. Matthew Mireles