Baritone Tammy Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I am a girl and I can do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contrachick06 Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 im a girls and i too can spin it. lol we had it in our show also. but yeah becareful when you do it lol um yeah i sometimes hit my mouth. but that was becuase i had to do it different from the boys because i have #### Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbaritone_41 Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 Our contra players can flip their horns... by the way our contra players are about 5'3 tall and they use magnums... b**bs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeme70 Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 The whole trick to spinning the horn is first - be very comfortable with it! You really have to know how it is balanced, how it wants to torque while rotating, and where all the braces, tubing, etc. are where you hold it. To spin the horn end over end (standard), first find the balance point. This is the spot where if you hold the horn loosely, it will be horizontal in your hand. If the bracing or tubing is in the way, you might have to either give up or find a less ideal spot. If the horn has a tendency to tip backward, so that the bell wants to rise up, that's not such a bad thing, it will help with the momentum. You want to grab the horn at the balance point with your right hand so that your thumb is pointing toward the bell, then pretty much just spin your wrist through 360 degrees. While you are doing that, raise your arm so that the horn lands on your shoulder, bell front. It helps quite a bit to use your left hand to push radially on the top bend to give the horn some momentum. You can modify this spin a bit if you want to show off, and instead of spinning it up to your shoulder, just spin it to attention. Another flair is instead of spinning the horn from in front of you (long axis of horn = long axis of you) is to hold the horn off to your right side parallel to the ground and bell facing backward, then do as above...makes it seem to travel farther. Another way to spin, and one I've only seen one other person do well (the one that taught me) is to spin the horn up around its long axis (basically, the axis going straight through the bell). This one is very tough to get right and very bad if you get it wrong. Pretty much you end up throwing the horn over your head and catching it with your left hand as it lands on your shoulder. If you try this, don't blame me if you drop your horn. Start off with the horn on the bell in front of you - top bend at crotch level, bell on ground. Grab the horn with your right hand at the top bend, holding one of the smaller tubes, not the big bend itself. This is going to be your new 'spin' point. To get a feel for what's about to happen, lift the horn so the bell is down and parallel to the ground, and just twist your wrist so the bell stays horizontal, but rotates around the long axis. Now, the easiest way to make this look cool is to just lift up the horn while you twist it this way, and bring it up to attention, twisting through 360 degrees. To get it to your shoulder is just another extension of this - while twisting and lifting, bring your right arm up over your head so the horn travels in front of the left side of your body and catching the straight tubing that leads to the big bend with your left hand. This is pretty darn cool looking, but for the ultimate, you just take that last move and exaggerate it. I'll rest the bell on my right foot, grab the tubing at the big bend, and kick the horn up in the air so that the pivot point is where I'm holding the tubing. When the horn is pretty much parallel in the air and about head level, I'll do the wrist-twist over my head and catch it with my left hand onto my left shoulder. As I mentioned at the begining of this...KNOW YOUR HORN!!! I'm not some huge hulking dude, I've just been doing this a long time - there's no reason that these 'tricks' can't be done with just about any horn...I've done all of these with the DEG Dynasty 2 valves and PR's, the big DEG 3 valves, the K-90's, and the Kanstul Contra Grande (only the 3 valve unfortunately). Heck, I've even done these tricks on a Besson 3-valve compensating tuba...just because I could. Give it a try, start slow, and don't let your director see you until you have it down. Once you've mastered those, then try putting the horn on your head. Most of the ones I've played on will balance nicely, and it's always impressive to walk up to a group with your horn as your hat. Hope this helps... Scott Miller, contra (with a G!) Black Knights 86-89 Expression 90-91 Bluecoats 92 Bayou City Blues (sr) 95-03 Gulf Coast Sound (sr) 02-present Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spcbrass Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 The only tricks any contra players needs.... Play with a great sound Play in tune Play Loud Play in time Once you get those down, put the horn up and march your ### off! ^0^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContraMarine272 Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 Here, take a look: Scott Miller spinning a Kanstul Contra Grande Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luthen Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 ok, I'm having trouble picturing this...help me out here so I can ask my DC brass head if he can possibly teach me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leland Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Another way to word it -- Grab the big pipe by the bell at its balance point (as described above) with the bell straight down, and your right palm facing away with the thumb pointed to the ground. Give it a kick with your left hand, spin it, catch the bottom pipe with your left hand, and put it on your shoulder. "Helicopter" spin: Just like above, except start with the horn horizontal. You can be carrying the horn at waist level, or you can pick it up from laying flat on the ground. VERY IMPORTANT: Do NOT try to spin by using your right arm's wrist muscles. Imagine that it is a pivot, guiding the horn through the spin, keeping it from hitting you in the face (or, yes, the ####). ALSO, the horn is only spinning on one hand for about 270 degrees, not all the way up to the shoulder. Look closely at Scott's left hand in his clip -- it grabs the "shoulder pipe" right about when the horn reaches vertical again. Do this, and you will have control of the horn as it comes to your shoulder. Don't do it, and you're more likely to bust your forehead or drop the horn on the ground. How to spin in unison cleanly as a line: (This is a lot easier to teach in person, but I'll try to describe it anyway) -- Most contra spins are done in a ripple for two reasons -- to look cool, and to look cleaner than a potentially dirty unison spin. For a unison spin, it's best to have a count structure. There are four moments during the spin where a hand or shoulder makes contact with the horn, so doing them in sequence 1-2-3-4 will yield a repeatable, clean unison spin. These "moments" are when you kick off the spin with your left hand, then grab it again on the bottom pipe below the valves, then placement on the shoulder, and finally moving the right hand back to the valves. So, think of it like this: 1. Spin 2. Catch 3. Shoulder 4. Valves If you watch Scott's video clip, you'll see the "1-2-3" pretty easily. PS -- Hi, Shawn.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luthen Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 (edited) oh...ok, I've seen that done with a trumpet, and I think I can figure it out on my baritone...I'm sure it's a lot more difficult wit Contra, tho Edited March 25, 2005 by luthen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leland Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 It's not more difficult -- it's just heavier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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