Re: Comments from an old tuba player


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Posted by Rick Denney on August 06, 2001 at 13:31:27:

In Reply to: Comments from an old tuba player posted by Bruce H on August 06, 2001 at 09:43:02:

One of my great frustrations with playing in the band I currently do is battling with a few of the school-age tuba players in the section.

In many ways, they are better players than I am, which sharply limits my ability to exercise any leadership (not that I've been sanctioned to do so in any case). But I sometimes feel like I have to do all the work of making music. The dynamic range of the section when all are present extends from f to fff. When the part is marked p, the best thing I can do for the band is to not play at all. Personally, I find this extremely frustrating and even insulting, even though I know it is not intended that way. Occasionally, I'll say something, like, "Hey, guys, let's play this piano like it's marked..." and they usually listen and comply for the next dozen bars or so, and then it's right back up there. It's how they think it should sound.

I hate coming home from an outdoor (!) concert feeling like I damaged the sound of the band as a whole by playing at all. That is why one of the other groups in the area, who has no school-kids, appeals to me a lot despite what would be much greater inconvenience.

But I have to admit that I was no different when I was that age, so I don't think it is a comparison with the "good old days". Rather, it seems to me a maturity issue. Kids get to play in school bands, and perhaps adult bands ought to be reserved for adults. But not all the kids are the problem, and with a fledgling band sometimes you just can't turn away needed talent because of age. Especially when you rehearse in schools!

I agree that teenage players these days are much more skilled, technically, and they make a much better sound. Mostly, this seems an outgrowth of a more affluent society than in our day, where kids get their own horns and they also get high-quality teaching. Lots of folks my age and older didn't have those advantages. But teenagers are still teenagers, with greater skills perhaps but not necessarily any more maturity than we should expect of them.

As far as owning multiple horns, that is an issue for each player. F tubas have been around longer than CC and BBb tubas, and much music is written specifically for them. There exists today, or so it seems to me, a greater respect for the instruments and their resulting effects that the composer had in mind. Paradoxically, there also exists a clear trend to louder and louder orchestral music, which I think is caused by 1.) the competition with high-quality recorded music, and 2.) the increasing levels of ambient noise to which most people become accustomed. I own BBb tubas, F tubas, and euphoniums because it is fun to explore music that would be inaccessible on a large tuba--not because the playing I do calls for any great understanding of the composer's intentions. But that is part of the hobby for me, even if I can't play any of them very well.

Rick "thinking that sometimes a tuba should be felt, and sometimes heard, depending on the composer and the context" Denney


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