Posted by Jim L. on April 24, 2003 at 10:43:41:
I've been on a quest for a BAT for about the last year now. I'm trying to figure out how much of a help a BAT would be for auditions for summer fests as well as lower tier orchestras (ie I'm not planning on doing NYP when that comes up in the next year or whatever).
The reason I ask is I currently do all my C work on my Miraphone 186, including auditions for sub lists and summer fests and the like. The horn doesn't exactly put out an ideal orchestral sound or the amount of volume that I feel is necessary for a large orchestra. It definitely has a level where it maxes out and gets very crass. I've heard the train of thought related to 'get the job... then the BAT', and was wondering how true this is for many of the pros with jobs. Would having a BAT sound help? Or is it really all about tone, rhythm, accuracy and musicality? Meaning how important is volume in relation to those aspects.
I doubt I'm going to stop my BAT search until I get one, especially with grad school auditions coming up this next school year. But there's another case where I wonder if a BAT would help getting me accepted. I've gone to a few different undergraduate schools (transfering) and my 186 has served me well, but I guess I'm just trying to get some more opinions about this kind of thing.
I'd love to hear your opinions!
Jim "who really really wants to succeed on the tuba and doesn't mind playing all the time" L