TubaForum.net

I always wanted to see this view. I wish the video showed a variety of pitches. Some pedal tones would be good so we could see that the lips don't actually buzz/hit to produce sound.
https://youtu.be/y4sr2mxYLNc?si=XxUgCWVc55064Qw9

Tim, Thank you very very kindly for this fascinating post. Gotta make me one of those. Paul.

Kinda cool, kinda gross.

I've probably posted this before -- best low horn player on the planet.

PRO wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2026 10:55 am Tim, Thank you very very kindly for this fascinating post. Gotta make me one of those. Paul.

If you come up with a way to make one of those I'd be really interested in getting one.

Mary Ann wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2026 10:56 am

PRO wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2026 10:55 am Tim, Thank you very very kindly for this fascinating post. Gotta make me one of those. Paul.

If you come up with a way to make one of those I'd be really interested in getting one.

Mary Ann, I have been meaning to get in touch with you. I'm not much good at PM. Please contact me at proscientific@verizon.net.

I am trying to buy this as soon as I figure out how to use the site.
https://musicrioja.com/products/lipcam- ... ntact_form

TJ

The mouthpiece shown in the link (https://musicrioja.com/products/lipcam- ... 4NEihOTa6d) appears to be smaller than a tuba mouthpiece. Might want to contact the seller to ask whether a tuba mpc is available and at what cost.

Also, the Especificaciones técnicas (technical specifications) states "Sin micrófono — análisis exclusivamente visua" (without microphone -- analysis exclusively visual). Be sure that conforms to your plans for the device.

Item looks like it was made of plastic in a 3-D prototyper. Some plastics can cause skin irritation. Be sure the material is non-allergenic.

Caveat emptor.

Mary Ann wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2026 10:56 am I've probably posted this before -- best low horn player on the planet.

Engrossing. So much to be learned from this. Thank you for posting!

What I find interesting to observe is how the lower lip and upper lip positions change wrt each other as range changes. Not only the expected jaw rising and lowering, but the lower lip creeps up behind the upper one the higher she goes, which appears to be the method of making the aperture smaller. High brass players have a really hard time describing what they do because the motions are so much smaller than on a low brass, and often they have no idea what they are doing. It's very common in horn pedagogy to skip right over "how" to do it and go right to vague descriptions or musical concepts. i'm amazed anyone learns to play the horn, actually, based on the number of data-free lessons I had back when I was trying to learn horn.

Mary Ann wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2026 1:27 pm What I find interesting to observe is how the lower lip and upper lip positions change wrt each other as range changes. Not only the expected jaw rising and lowering, but the lower lip creeps up behind the upper one the higher she goes, which appears to be the method of making the aperture smaller. High brass players have a really hard time describing what they do because the motions are so much smaller than on a low brass, and often they have no idea what they are doing. It's very common in horn pedagogy to skip right over "how" to do it and go right to vague descriptions or musical concepts. i'm amazed anyone learns to play the horn, actually, based on the number of data-free lessons I had back when I was trying to learn horn.

yes to all.

I'm waiting for a video of a really fine player playing a fourtissimo and beautifully resonant BB-flat (next to lowest pitch on the piano keyboard) whereby the lower jaw is (with most players) somewhat extended forward, and the camera can clearly see that the lips are not touching.

Either the lips touch, or they don't.
As they don't in the very low range - and it's quite obvious, there's not going to be some pitch whereby suddenly the lips begin to touch each other at their vibrating aperture.

pedagogy:
I'm not looking for an argument (and I'm not going to deliver one), but when playing a stringed instrument of any type, all the technique is right there in plain sight to see. When playing a brass instrument, it's just not completely visible, the teacher obviously can't stick their finger in there and change something a little bit, and things can actually look like they are happening correctly when they are not. (...and they might actually be happening correctly, but just with not very well developed muscles). I ended up (candidly and matter-of-factly) producing a better quality resonance (at least, to my ears) than most of my teachers by experimenting and moving things around this way in that until they sounded better and better, and then working on developing the muscles (in those discovered positions for various ranges) when I stumbled across the best positions (combined with muscle development).
I just don't know how the hell I could teach that. (??)
... and I suspect that some people don't seek this out as diligently as others, and perhaps just get great big mouthpieces that sort of cloak shortcomings (eh?).