2am second thoughts

I'm up doing some research into a list of 11 schools (below) that I was considering applying to for graduate study in tuba performance. It seems that several of the schools have audition deadlines that fall before midterm break, which is when I had kind of planned to try making some visits. Others seem to have really high bars set for entrance. After a not-so-great practice session, I am really starting to have some doubts about whether or not I should try out for some or even any of these schools. My grades have not been the best, so it doesn't seem likely that I would earn an assistanceship, and there's no way I could afford any of these schools without one.

Practice tonight was only somewhat productive. It is amazing how much more comfortable steel mouthpieces are than plain old silverplated. I didn't notice that I hadn't been getting the red ring around my lips from playing for the past month until I got it again tonight. Oh well, at least I can play without hyperventilating now. Some of the VW concerto got better, but that's about it. I wish the building were open for at least another hour...

More on mouthpieces

I am really glad that I did some of my homework before ordering mouthpieces. I had originally expected to keep the 72, as it had once been my main mouthpiece, but it turns out that it was too bright for the horn. It has awesome rim (which is something that Perantucci is not as good at), but was just too shallow. The 82, which I am keeping as my small ensembles and solo mouthpiece, keeps the rim but adds a bit of depth, darkening the sound to a pleasingly bright sound, but not overbearing like the 72. This left the 88 and the 90 to contend for my large ensemble mouthpiece. Now, the 88 is pretty much the biggest mouthpiece around, and the 90 is supposed to be its smaller replacement. The 90 actually proved to be too small, and it was difficult for me to remain consistent with articulation and tone. The 88 was a bit squirelly too, but with time I should be able to keep it in line. So, for $165, I now have two really good matches to my horn. I can't wait until practice time tonight to really start getting used to them.

Mouthpieces incoming

I just dropped a couple hundred dollars on some Perantucci mouthpieces to try out, and they are shipping today. Hopefully, after a couple of days, I'll be able to narrow the selection down to two of the four, as I would very much like to get some of that money back.

Models ordered:
PT-72
PT-82
PT-88
PT-90

The 72 and 82 seem to have the same rim, based on specs, and the 90 is the slightly smaller version of the 88. Basically, the 72 will be the main solo/chamber mouthpiece, and the 82/88/90 will be for the bigger stuff like band. I can't wait to get them sometime later this week.

Mouthpiece Search

I have realized over the past couple of weeks of getting used to the new horn that I need a new mouthpiece. Actually, mouthpieces. I have loved the way that Perantucci's german-stye mouthpieces have reacted with my horn from what little I've tried, and I think I am going to start looking for 2 or 3 mouthpieces that fit really well with the horn. What I am thinking are cup-shaped mouthpieces in various depths to affect the presence of overtones in the sound. I am really bummed out now that Tubonium isn't going to take place this year, because I was really hoping to try out a bunch of PT's back to back to back. Now, it looks like I will have to order a bunch and send some back. Refund checks never come soon enough.

Also, for those of you who haven't seen this yet...