Switching Instruments

rh_flutist · Post by **rh_flutist** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:53 pm

I'm swithching from the flute to the tuba, but I'm still gonna play the flute for All County and Pep Band. Any tips on a practice schedule would be much appreciated. I would also love tips on how not to lose my tone on the flute while I play the tuba. Thanks!

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:01 pm

Truth be told, you are almost certainly going to lose some of your flute tone. When doubling, there is almost no way to maintain as good a tone on any instrument as you could have had were you just playing that instrument. That's not to say that you can't play multiple instruments well, just that you will not play them as well as you potentially could. Tuba and flute also involve very different embouchures, and that's not likely to mesh too well. Practice schedules aren't really that useful unless you set them up yourself. No one else can understand how you learn, or know how much time you need to spend on this facet of music, or how long to play this instrument before you play that one. Everyone is different in this respect, and you'll have to figure out how to practice to achieve the results you want on your own. I have some experience as a doubler (flute is my primary instrument, but I also play clarinet and oboe), and keeping your skills up on all the various instruments you perform on is a matter of practice. How much, I can't tell you, as what takes one person an hour to work through may take someone else half of that. If you're set on maintaining your flute tone, perhaps a different instrument would be better to double on, but if you are set on tuba, you're likely going to have to increase your flute practice time just to keep up with it.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:25 pm

Edited: Double Post

rh_flutist · Post by **rh_flutist** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:18 am

Thanks. I was just wondering if there was any technique to maintaining it.

My band director asked me if I would switch to tuba because I was going to switch to french horn. We have 1 tuba player who is graduating, and another who is going to pit. There is still J.D., but Jones wants more than 1 suzaphone next year.

arion · Post by **arion** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:46 pm

Yes, this is a problem for me also...I play the cello and the flute. I try to practice the flute for a while each morning before school and the cello after, and, as I mentioned in another post, I do lot of cramming on the weekends when I've neglected practice during the week due to an excess of homework from teachers who just do not understand my practice schedule! The only problem with this is that I have to practice in the basement so as not to wake my parents up, and most of the time I do anyway, especially when I'm working way up the register. So...yeah, if you come up with a better method, please do let me know!

nashvilleflute · Post by **nashvilleflute** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 11:24 pm

I teach brass instruments as well... Take care of your lips. Play tuba AFTER you play flute. The buzzing swells your lips and you'll have a much harder time playing... Keep up the Marcel Moyse De la Sonorite as much as you can on flute & do lots of lips slurs on tuba to learn how to buzz correctly... Good luck - I just don't have the low chops for tuba...

OhMyBetty · Post by **OhMyBetty** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:24 pm

i personally doubled on flute and trombone for quite a while. here is what i did. to maintain the quality of my flute tone..i made sure to practice long tones on my flute EVERY time i picked it up to practice. also, i would spend 1 hour and 20 mins on flute and 40 mins on tuba a day when practing..instead of 2 solid hours on one of the instruments. that way you still get in the practice time you should..without messing up you tone.

personally..i had to stop trombone because it made my sound a bit off.. but i know several people that had no problem with it