Tuba
Recommended Brands
Students usually borrow school tubas, but if you want to rent or buy one:
- Bach
- Conn
- Yamaha
Make sure you get a Bb tuba
Recommended Mouthpieces
For beginners:
- Conn Helleberg
For Mustang or Advanced:
- Miraphone TU21
Daily Required Supplies
- valve oil (not key oil)
- tuning slide grease or Vaseline (not cork grease)
- mouthpiece brush
- non-treated polishing cloth
- cleaning snake
Tuba Embouchure Instructions and Pictures
These two links are for use by Miller Middle School students and teachers only. Those from other schools who wish to use them should purchase the Embouchure Project from Teachers Pay Teachers.
Tuning Instructions for the Tuba
Tuba tuning note is Bb above concert F (play F first for reference).
Play your tuning note into the tuner. If the needle stays towards the right, your note is sharp. If it stays towards the left, your note is flat. The goal is to get the tuner to stay in the middle. Play "freeze the needle" - hold the note steady and in tune.
Move the tuning slide(s) in or out to make the tubing of the instrument longer or shorter.
Keep in mind that even though you will first use these notes to tune, other notes on your instrument may not be in tune. It is the nature of instruments. The longer you play your instrument, and the better tone you have, the more you will be able to play all notes in tune on your instrument.
In a nutshell...
The longer the pipe, the lower the pitch. If your pitch is sharp (high), you need to make it flatter (lower).
The shorter the pipe, the higher the pitch. If your pitch is flat (low), you need to make it sharper (higher).
More Resources
Tuba Clinic from the U. S. Army Master Classes (PDF)