Mirapone 186-4 Learning curve

[jfhtubachristmas2022]

I just got back into tuba playing and into a Miraphone 186-4v. Any advice on learning curve and what to work on and watch for?

[jfhtubachristmas2022]

It’s probably one of the most “automatic” tubas made.

Find a reasonable and comfortable mouthpiece and just get to it.

[bloke]

The smoother (any tuba) works, the easier it is to play.

Fairly recently, I bought sort-of a fancy-pants tuba, and there's a LONG list of things that have needed to be changed to make it as easy to play as possible.

Some might shout me down, but (about) the first thing I do with all of my tubas is to "vent" the valves.
If you don't know what this is, plenty of people will explain it to you, and a few people (perhaps a very few) are safe people to ask to do it for you.

[bort2.0]

Don't overthink it, and don't overblow it.

Focus on gaining automaticity, where you learn "if I do this, then it sounds like THIS."

And don't expect it to sound like the CSO York. Expect it to sound like a Miraphone 186.

Have fun!

[Mary Ann]

I'm going to quote bloke here on something he said about working with his 98:

"....REALLY accurate balance of "buzz" and "air" (no...not "plenty of", but "exactly right") to avoid blurps and other types of misfires and fuzzy articulations."

This basically applies to any and all tubas; if you're really accustomed to one and switch, there it is again. The more fussy the tuba, the more important it is. For me, I've had to do this migrating to CC from Eb, because the "use of air" is different. So if you're starting out on a 186 I'd think this is something to pay attention to. From my horn playing, it is amazing how important it is to synchronize in slurs, when the valve finishes its travel and the buzz finishes its move to the new pitch. They have to match, and even on two different (French) horns the coordination is different (valve lever throw?) and has to be worked out if you want decent slurs. (Venting tuba valves helps, but AFAIK the difference is not discernible in horns and so they don't do it.)

[Three Valves]

You are off to a great start!

[bloke]

I hit like on Mary Ann's post, because of the statement about venting valves on much smaller bore soprano and alto instruments not making much of a discernible difference if any. I did not click like because she quoted me, because I'm not very quote-worthy.

[York-aholic]

I clicked like because she quoted me, because I'm very quote-worthy.

For the record, I misquoted Bloke.

[jtm]

I got a 4 valve Bb 186 when I got back into tuba playing a few years ago. It was a good choice for my situation because I could be pretty sure that anything that sounded bad was something I needed to improve at rather than a problem with the tuba. It worked out great, and for not much money.