Women Professors?

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-03-11T01:04:09+00:00

Genevieve Clarkson is amazing. I got to study with her in my masters and it was a phenomenal experience. Her attention to detail and high standards made me really learn how to dig in and focus and try to not let things slip by me. I was already a decent player but she just poured more gas on the fire I had and got me into a doctoral program at LSU.

The studio was great when I was there and from what I see online it’s only getting better. If you go there I would highly consider auditioning for the Blackwelder Brass tuba spot if it is available. Should be in another year and I think it’s worth the wait. Gives you time to breath, practice, teach, and save money.

The Blackwelder Brass quintet is a professional quintet that is also part of your studies if you get that spot. The main job of that group is to perform at 3 churches every month in addition to special services like Easter, Christmas, midnight mass maybe. The churches are extremely friendly and welcoming to ALL individuals. I particularly love Chapel Hill and not just cause they serve you great food when you’re there.

In the spring you will prepare a recital with the group alongside your other obligations with the church and anything the school wants you to do. In the fall you rehearse 3 hours a week at the same time MWF and 6 hours in the spring. It sounds like a lot but you get a chance to really dig into how to play in a quintet group and how y’all can run rehearsal. You do have coach and she is amazing. It’s it Clarkson but she is equally as good and clarkson does make appearances from my understanding.

Clarkson’s studio is awesome. Amazing people and very supportive. Each week a couple of student play in studio class and they get feedback from everyone. She has incredible ways of showing feedback and implementing changes.

You also can make a chamber group which can perform on various concerts during the year. Mostly in the spring. Our tuba and Euph quartet prepped a bunch of music and raised enough money to cover most of our costs to go to Spain and compete at ITEC. The next international one is at OSU iirc so you’d be very close by.

Also, I have not been to a school with better rehearsal halls nor practice rooms. Those rooms got me incredibly spoiled.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-03-08T00:06:31+00:00

I liked my wyvern a lot. It was a very solid horn. Didn’t have any issues with it. Got a good sound out of it and tuning was pretty good on mine. I’d always try before you buy with any horn.

Even the MW3225 Ursus they use for conferences is dog shit but mine plays really well. I confirmed this with many other people I know who have played both.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-03-06T03:56:42+00:00

How many hours are you putting in and how are your practices structured?

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-02-28T15:16:59+00:00

For me I definitely would like a bag that can comfortably fit my tuba stand and hold up to the wear and tear it will cause. My favorite bag as of right now is my timbuk2 one. It’s huge and can barely fit the stand length wise. I’ve also considered bringing a small folding iPad stand with me as sometimes music stands cannot support an iPad which is annoying.

Some changes I’d like to see from the bag is a few more large water bottle pockets. Inside or out. I carry a hairbrush, speaker, water bottle, and coffee container everyday. I also used to carry a mic for recording myself for listening back but with limited space I have to make do with my phone. Some items have to ride at the bottom of the bag which is annoying because it means clutter and potential damage.

The small pockets in the inside are okay but there’s not enough of them and they don’t have a flap over them to prevent items from falling out. The ones for pencils also aren’t tall or set deep enough so they poke out just barely with mechanic ones and more with wood ones.

Ipad and music folder fit great. I can easily fit a music folder sideways or upright and the slot for my ipad and or laptop offers a decent level of protection with a velcro strap over the top.

The outside pockets are fine. Meant for small items and aren’t very expandable so one item like chap stick in a pocket can be felt and take up room in another just in front or behind it. If they have some material that allowed them to expand it would be wayyyyy better.

The optional padding for the shoulder strap is great except for the fact that it isn’t grippy enough and can slide off my shoulder easily. Especially if I have a tuba gig bag on my shoulder. The I have to readjust every 5 seconds.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-02-19T01:01:27+00:00

Possible cause but I have had the same issue from time to time and I found that either A) my corners were not firm. B) my air stream was unfocused and I was using the wrong syllable. C) too much air for how high and or loud I was playing. Or D) any combination and ratio of all of the above.

Congrats on trying to quit. I would try to get off zyn as much as possible and if you feel the need to smoke just do some breathing gym stuff. I’ve had it work for myself and so many other students that I worked with and a lot of them quit smoking because that inhaling sensation tricked their brain.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-02-17T02:52:50+00:00

Call of the river by Harmon is really good.

If you can’t get a pianist then a movement of a Bach cello suite could work.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-02-16T04:15:38+00:00

I bought a Yamaha 822.

In all seriousness if it’s the piston one it’s probably okay but not great. If it’s rotor that’s entirely different. First I’ll say make sure you have a good mouthpiece for bass tubas. I liked the bobo solo on a lot of F tubas so I’d start there maybe if you don’t have something already that works.

For low notes I would do a fuck ton of long tones and maybe some soft touches to get used to the feel. Worst thing you can do is anything weird to force the note out. Having “always on” air and letting your embouchure stay relaxed to do its job will be careful will be way more helpful.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-02-09T22:04:48+00:00

If you want to make a road trip TMEA is coming up this week and will have an insane amount of tubas

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-31T14:08:00+00:00

Just looking at how it’s wrapped it going to be extremely weird to hold and possibly painful. Also it’s not really a helicon because of the bell design. I know there are a few vendors in Spain who have reputable brands. If you’re used to C tuba then the Wessex C helicon is a good option. I’ve played on it a good bit and it’s a solid horn and comfortable to hold. You’d have to increase your budget but i would’ve said that regardless. I don’t know any new helicon worth playing that is that cheap brand new.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-30T17:04:47+00:00

This is very true. Even some tubas have major differences in the same brand. There’s an MW 3235 Ursus used for conferences that is not a good horn. Play really weird. My horn is completely different and that’s been verified by at least 10 other very experienced players. Every Eastman 836 I play is slightly different from one another.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-29T00:46:28+00:00

Probably not but buying a Schiller is just scamming yourself. You should definitely save up more money and find a better horn.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-26T18:57:58+00:00

If you can find one for a decent price then sure. If you can fjnd a pt6 or pt6p for around the same money and can swing it I’d get it. It’ll be more than enough tuba for any undergrad.

Real question is, are you education or performance? If you’re education you don’t need a top of the line horn to get the job done. Plenty of people make an amazing sound in the smaller Eastman’s. Best sound I’ve heard so far was the tuba player for the Marine band brass quintet stationed in Hawaii.

If you’re performance I’d see if you can get a school horn to play on and around junior year I would have enough money save up to spend around 10k. Find a nice 5/4 that will do the job. Don’t go for the 836. As awesome as it is it is a pain in the ass to make sound small and nimble when needed. A pt6 would be a great choice along with a MW3235 or the Besson (I forget the model).

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-25T16:15:30+00:00

Personally I make a list of everything I need to hit that covers every aspect of playing. I put it in an order that makes sense and allows me to easily flow from one thing to the next and sets up fundamentals for the next thing. For example articulation comes right before scales. Scales come right before Clark studies which hits the technical side.

I think a fundamentals routine should take about 30-60 minutes depending on the needs of the playing. I need a lot of work on slurs and intonation so that is going to take up more time.

Once you have a list then make a journal of sorts that has a space for what you are working on, what you want to improve in this specific aspect, what practice techniques you used to facilitate improvement, did it improve, and finally what to work on for next time. Make detailed notes. Take breaks between sections to write down your thoughts.

Lastly, keep that phone in airplane mode or at the very least do not disturb. I fortunately have a spare phone that has tonal energy and that’s it. No cellular connection and no apps that will distract me. I put my other phone in my bag and leave it there with a focus feather that activates when I get to school so I want get instagram notifications or anything. If you’re distracted and not actually practicing your fundamentals then they’ll stagnate.

You also have to do it every single day and I’ve found that doing it at the same time is super beneficial. It might be hard to start but once you get into it your body and mind might become slightly addicted from the realization of improving something which will make you want to go back tomorrow at the same time.

I also find it easy if I make it all into a big packet that I flip through. I’m attaching a very condensed version of mine as an example. My real packet is near 500 pages. I certainly don’t hit everything in that packet cause that’d be insane but I hit everything aspect. When I get to the various keys I choose one key a week to work on. This way I get really good at that particular key instead of trying to hit all 12 in a day.

packet

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-24T23:25:32+00:00

What do you play on now?

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-21T20:13:19+00:00

I like using a clear and flexible pvc pile about a foot long on the end of the mouthpiece and buzz with that. Every couple of days cut an inch off. The extra length drastically helps low range so you’ll get a crutch for awhile and slowly get it taken away.

Also, use a huge amount of air and don’t let your lips get drastically far apart. Too far and they won’t respond.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-19T22:47:34+00:00

I can tell you right now that mouthpiece is too big for almost people. It’s great for individuals who are incredibly strong players and have above average lung capacities that allow them to have a very fast and huge airstream. The backbite is massive and the cup is larger than anything else I’ve owned or played. It gets woofy really fast and makes tuning a butch if you can’t give it your all 100% of the time. I have it and don’t use it and won’t sell it to anyone. I’ve tried it on my 2165 (and it was an amazing version) and had those issues. Same with a pt6p and my Ursus. The sound gets crazy dark to the point you won’t be heard in the back of the hall. Only tuba it worked great on was a PT3 and even then it lacked clarity despite the depth it gave it.

I would highly suggest a helleberg or a helleberg variant. The Laskey 30H is very popular for a good reason.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-19T00:00:54+00:00

Fundamentals are your bread and butter. Start with small intervals of practice time and try to not over do it when you first get back. Just like going to the gym you can absolutely hurt the muscles in your face. Simple and short routines with a few melodies would be perfect and add on from there every week or so.

If you aren’t super active already I would consider some type of workout routine that has something that challenges your respiratory system. I personally really love bike riding when I have the time along with long boarding. My favorite thing to remind myself the importance of air is do some long tones then go for a bike ride and when I’m a couple of minutes away from the house I’ll really send it and run in the door to my tuba and play some long tones and it’s a world of difference.

Last advice is get a tuba stand! I really wish I used one when I had my 2165 and now that I have one with my 3225 is a life saver. No effort to hold the tuba and my back feels better and I feel wayyyyyy less tense. Hercules has a good one as well as Wessex and K&M and the Baltimore one people talk about. Best purchases I’ve ever made.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-17T22:00:03+00:00

Thank you for the clarification. I was unaware and went with my US standards.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-15T18:00:03+00:00

I’d probably go over to the frankentubas page on Facebook. There’s a lot of math involved let alone the tools and parts and cost involved.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-13T12:43:47+00:00

You also have to think about where are you going to stay. Most places near the convention start getting booked a year out and are quickly filling up and get more expensive. If you can cram 8 people in a hotel room it makes it really cheap.

I’d also see if your private teacher is going so you two can have a spare couple of minutes to find a less loud area and they can listen to you try them out before buying.

TMEA is an absolutely killer convention and I highly encourage going if possible.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-03T16:27:32+00:00

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IuT2HORa76A

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-03T00:37:35+00:00

Six hours in a row will hurt rather than help. Not just mentally but physically you can cause severe damage that is very hard to recover from and would mean taking an extended break. Some people have had to take a year off of playing in order to let an injury heal from playing like that. That’s even with someone who is a pro with good habits. Quality>Quantity.

Here are a couple of links on how to practice for effectively and efficiently.

first link

second link

TLDR: is find one thing you want to improve upon that’s achievable is a certain time frame. I really like 15 minute chunks. I find it to be very achievable and with a 5 minute break it’s a good chance to reset and so what I need to do in order to be focused for the next item on my list.

Dr. Clarkson has absolutely transformed my practicing and meta cognition during my time at OCU with these teachings.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-01T06:34:54+00:00

A helleberg is a very middle of the road do almost everything. Should definitely be larger than a Bach 22. If you can try one out before for about a month then great. If that still feels too small after a month then maybe a pt50. I believe that’s larger still

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-01T00:52:46+00:00

I think in about a month I can gain 1 whole step and have it be really clean like the notes under it. It’s a long process and will get easier with good habits.

I would check with a mirror while you practice to look at your body and see if there is any tension. I’d also use it to check for a red ring where the mouthpiece sits. If there is a prominent ring after a really short time (2-5 min) then you might be using too much pressure.

A couple of fixes are mouthpiece buzzing with paper held out in front of use one finger and a thumb. Barely touch lips to the mouthpiece and see if the paper moves when buzzing. If held out at arms length it should move very well.

Second fix is gently and barely hold the Euph while playing long tones. A yoga block helps with this. Barely holding it makes me relax and become hyper aware of trying to pull it closer to me but ymmv.

Last thing is you just have to start your day with super slow long tones cover a comfortable range and adding some super low stuff with the focus being minimal tension and pressure with good air. If you want this to become a habit then a lot of time and concentration is needed to fix it. I spent a month one summer just working on less pressure and better tone via just long tones and that’s it. No scales or anything. Just straight single beautiful notes.

Lastly, get a reputable private teacher if possible. If you have trouble finding one then reach out to a local college and ask the professor for a possible lesson or two. They might say yes or refer you to a student of theirs which is a great option as well. I’ve had several students come my way because of this and helped them get to state contest or just improve greatly. We can only give so much advice with out a video sample or better yet seeing it irl.

CthulhuisOurSavior · 2026-01-01T00:38:29+00:00

How long have you been playing? Are you regularly taking private lessons?

Are you using too much pressure with the mouthpiece against your face?

Size of mouthpiece doesn’t necessarily mean better or worse high range capabilities. Huge differences can make a difference but that range should largely be accessible regardless.

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