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how to improve euphonium technique


demobaritoneboy

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let me state my position...

me = 1 out of 9 sophomores to get put in high school wind ensemble at my school, freshmen are put in freshmen band. last year the best euphonium player in our school ever graduated and he used to help me out. well i just found out that i am principle euphonium player. i mean at first i happy that i was put in wind ensemble but now to find out that i beat 2 seniors a junior and 2 other freshmen blows my mind. i was recently in an audition on my marching baritone for a solo in our marching band show. and i placed last out of four. at our school our director makes the trombone players play baritone for marching band. well i was beat by a junior trombonist, a senior trombonist, and a senior euphoniumist. im afraid that in my wind ensemble i might not live up to what the directors think i am. maybe they do know that im not that great but they see potential in me.

what i need help with is euphonium technique from all of you corps members out there that marched baritone and/or euphonium. since the really good euphoniumist graduated last year i have been kinda lost.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

thank you

-demo

p.s. i have a bad habit of not capitalising any words (trying to work on that) so just ignore it.

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What makes the euphonium special among the brass family is its dark, luscious tone quality. It has a broader, darker sound to it than a trombone or a baritone horn does. Thus, my advice would be to work on being able to produce the darkest, fullest tone quality possible. That doesn't mean you should totally neglect your technique and dexterity, just keep in mind that as a low brass player you probably won't be expected to play lots of fast runs like a high brass player would be. This summer, I was taught to keep my embouchre (sp?) as firm as possible while playing slurs and long tones and to strive to keep the air moving forward throughout phrases, and to essentially play slurs and phrases the same way that I would play a long tone (ie same air support, same tone quality throughout). It took a little while to grasp the concept and the mechanics but it eventually made sense to me. Good luck.

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  • 2 weeks later...

air, a bit more air, and then about that point when your fingers start to tingle and all those white spots apear, RELAX and use more air...that's when the horn comes to life.

oh yeah, proper inhalation method works wonders

check out Sam and Pat's Breathing Gym (what regiment used). The results can be down right scary.

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I don't have any solid exercises to share with you, but I do have a few suggestions for Euph. I marched Euph back in the 80's and the biggest thing for me was to support the sound. Our corps did a lot of running blocks where we breathed and hissed in time (breath control) due to my size back then....i am short. LOL

I would do a lot of running on my own to work on my breathing, but I was also working my physical strength.

Euph is not a light instrument to lug around...I made sure I was strong enough to carry it so I wouldn't be distracted and could stay focused on the sound that came out of the end of my horn.

good luck and congrat's!

Kimela

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Being a euphonium major in college, I have found, on my own, that the most effective excercises were my breathing and long-tone excercises. The breathing would go as follows: ex. in for two, out for four.....; in for two, out for eight......; in for two out for twelve......; and so on. For long tones, I generally like to play an F on the horn, and then take the mouthpiece out......and continue through the open series of the horn. I have found that 90BPM works the best for me, but everyone is different. I generally like to warm up every morning with this excersise. Hope I helped.

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playing at half valve, or wind pattern (using just air, and no buzz) are also great- playing afterwards is a "celebration"

Simply play the piece as normal while doing either. The resistance caused by the half valve forces you to use your ears, and apply more pressure. With the wind pattern you will need to breath MUCH more often, but at the same time- playing normally afterwards is exceptionally easy. Always envision projecting your sound to somewhere far away.

Don't forget to keep your teeth open- that was a big thing for me. Makes for a fatter rounder sound that carries.

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playing at half valve, or wind pattern (using just air, and no buzz) are also great- playing afterwards is a "celebration"

Simply play the piece as normal while doing either. The resistance caused by the half valve forces you to use your ears, and apply more pressure. With the wind pattern you will need to breath MUCH more often, but at the same time- playing normally afterwards is exceptionally easy. Always envision projecting your sound to somewhere far away.

Don't forget to keep your teeth open- that was a big thing for me. Makes for a fatter rounder sound that carries.

just to add to that, u should try doing remingtons without the valves on every partial, i'm not sure what it helps but i know it helps something on ur overall sound

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