anon 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2005 i play the sousaphone and the only thing that i do not like about it is that its shoulderstrap is very old and it really does nothing. i talked to my band director but he says that new pads are 'not in the budget', is there anyway i can make it better without getting a new pad? thank you all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smedricksman24 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2005 Well, I've seen a towel used in addition to a pad, but I don't know how well it works. I used to ice my shoulder after practice, but eventually you just get numb to it. What worked best for me was to just not use the pad because we never used in competition anyway. Also, any downtime you happen to get rotate the sousa so it rests on both your shoulders. I really reccomend just going padless though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tenorman 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2005 My band's sousa goes without pads as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarchingBand>Life 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2005 Our band NEVER used pads...and to tell the truth it looks rather tacky to have towels taped to the bottom as I have seen some schools do...and even the pads made for sousaphones just make the insturment look strange. It's a matter of taste, but going without pads is much more professional looking in the long run. Just be careful with the horn and suck it up when it's on and you'll be fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anon 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2005 thank you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gright06 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2005 Yeah our band doesn't use pads because we don't have enough. It's not all that bad. We have a girl who plays sousa and she does just fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smedricksman24 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2005 Well, we keep the bottom pads on for practice cuz the horns are only 2 and 3 years old, but we take 'em or for competition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tubawhat 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2005 yeah, give yourself a week or two without the padding, and you'll forget that you even have the horn on. focusing really hard on something else (like the music that you're playing) makes the pain easy to ignore. it's all in your head. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarchingBand>Life 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2005 Just think...You could be playing a marching tuba rather than a sousaphone. Then you wouldn't have the luxury of your shoulder and you'd have to feel the burn of holding it at set...Sousaphones aren't that bad. And I play the lightest brass insturment of them all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tubawarrior 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2005 is there anyway i can make it better without getting a new pad? get marching tubas --- i hate sousas....agreed with everyone else, just take them off...you'll get used to it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smedricksman24 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2005 is there anyway i can make it better without getting a new pad? get marching tubas --- i hate sousas....agreed with everyone else, just take them off...you'll get used to it I've heard that those mess up your embrochure; that you use too much lower lip. Any truth to that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beatleberg 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2005 is there anyway i can make it better without getting a new pad? get marching tubas --- i hate sousas....agreed with everyone else, just take them off...you'll get used to it I've heard that those mess up your embrochure; that you use too much lower lip. Any truth to that? Sousas ROCK. I love my sousa (named Rosebud) more then my Gameboy, which is saying something. And about the marching tubas, we have one and it sounds AWESOME, it can get louder then the rest of our sousas and it's just cool. But I still love Rosebud. Oh, and about the pads, never used them, not in 7th grade marching band, not my sophomore year in marching band, and frankly, my shoulder stopped hurting of this year. I just can't stand it when we go to right shoulder, OUCHIES! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sousapimp 0 Report post Posted December 23, 2005 don't be a pussy...that's how to fix it. contras rule. I <3 my contra Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anon 0 Report post Posted December 25, 2005 you all really need to get over yourselves! happy holidays Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beatleberg 0 Report post Posted December 26, 2005 That will probably never happen. Happy Hanakua Merry Christmas Happy Festivus Happy Kwanza Happy Boxing Day And have a happy New Year, hopefully it will be even better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
