Tuba Stands

Have you ever used a tuba stand?  What is a tuba stand you ask?  It's basically a tripod that has a holder on the top that you can rest the bottom of your tuba on while playing.  Actually some companies call it a "tuba rest."

Honestly, I have to admit - years ago I thought "tuba stands are for wimps."  Yes, I know, very shallow.  My mind changed a number of years ago while playing in a wind ensemble.  A colleague in the tuba section was using a tuba stand.  I asked why he was using it.  He explained that he had had some trouble with his knee and the tuba stand took the pressure off and made it much easier to hold the tuba.  I asked if I could try it and I was hooked!

Although I don't use a tuba stand all of the time, I do use one fairly regularly.  A tuba stand reduces body tension.  You don't have to physically hold the tuba on your lap, you can rest it on the stand and very easily keep it in place.  This reduces the tension in your playing hand/arm, helps to reduce tension in your other arm making it easier to adjust slides while playing, reduces tension in your legs, and your upper body.  I found that it was easier to breathe and MOST IMPORTANTLY....

my leg no longer hurt!  Because of my height it was difficult for me to put the tuba on the chair I was sitting on while playing and by putting the horn on one of my legs it was at the correct height for me to play.  The problem this caused was that it would rest on my leg and I began experiencing leg pain around the spot where the tuba had been placed.

In many situations we do not have control over the chairs that we sit on for gigs, rehearsals, music lessons, etc.  Ever sit on one of those plastic "wedding chairs?"  Yeah, me too.  They're flimsy, they're awkward, and they are angled so that you have to sit "in" the chair.  They do not promote good posture when playing and it makes everything just a little more difficult.  With a tuba stand you can adjust the height to match whatever chair you are "stuck" with.

A lot of tuba players spend money to have their leadpipe adjusted to fit their height.  With a tuba stand you can just adjust the stand.

I know that there are tuba players out there that just simply don't like them.  That's okay.  For me it just makes sense...less tension, adjusts easily to various chairs, makes page turning easier, and no leg pain.  Works for me!