Archived under: Embouchure, Equipment | Wagner tuba
The Home Base Instrument
Trumpet teachers suggest that advanced trumpet students keep the B-flat trumpet as their home base. The idea is to in particular do technique practice there; I have heard it stated that “if it is clean on the B-flat, then it will always be clean on C, but not the reverse.”
Horn wise, it is also a good idea to have the double horn as your home base when you get to the point of making use of other instruments. As much as I find other related instruments interesting (right now for example I am practicing regularly on descant horn and Wagner tuba in preparation for the Southeast Horn Workshop this weekend) I find that I have a healthier embouchure if I keep a standard double as the home base, especially for the warm-up. If the chops feel good on a double horn then they feel good on everything else.
Related to that thought, I also like to come back to standard etudes such as Kopprasch and Gallay on double horn to keep things feeling right. Right now about half of my actual practice is from the Gallay Op. 57 low horn etudes on double horn. Partially I am using this volume because I am actually learning the etudes, this is not a book any of my teachers used with me, but also this music balances with my other playing well (Telemann concerto on descant, etc.) and keeps my chops where they need to be.
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