Re: ContrabassBass Tuba


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Posted by Rick Denney on August 18, 2002 at 21:40:07:

In Reply to: ContrabassBass Tuba posted by Eric on August 15, 2002 at 18:14:36:

I'll attempt a serious answer taking a viewpoint different from what we've seen in a while.

When I was a car mechanic working my way through college, I had a fairly good set of tools. This set included no fewer than six sets of sockets that all covered the same size range. Let's see...I had a short six-point set, a deep six-point set, a 12-point set, a thick-walled set for impact wrenches, a set with wobble joints on them, and a set with impact-capable ball joints on them. We aren't even talking about different socket drive sizes. Any one of these sets would work on 95% of the bolts I ran across, but I still had six sets. Why? Two reasons: The first was that 5% of situations that just wouldn't work with one set but would with another. The most important reason, however, was that I was a professional mechanic paid by the flat rate hour, and the faster I worked the more I made. The different tool options allowed me to get the most done in the least time.

My point is that it is a question of efficiency. Sure, a great player will sound great on any good horn. But how hard does a working pro want to have to work to get the result he needs? If he can get the same results with less effort using several horns, then he makes more money for the amount of work he has to do. He can put that extra capacity into something else, like teaching, or other sorts of gigs, or spending time with his family, or getting just a little bit closer to that perfect performance that eludes even the best pros.

Mike Sanders told me a story about having an opportunity to try out the Alexander he had once played. He put it back down after a few minutes and went back to his Yorkbrunner. Why? Because the Alex was too much work. As he put it, he was afraid the conductor would like it. You might call him lazy, but I wouldn't dare.

Jay Bertolet provides another example. He has four instruments, each chosen to fulfill specific roles. Each of these horns could be used to play most works, but having the selection of tools makes it possible for him to choose the one that makes his job easiest.

I own an F tuba in addition to my BBb tubas. I use it in quintet, despite that I get some grief from certain parties for doing so. The reason I use it is that I can play quintet music and sound like a quintet tuba player without having to be good enough to sound that way with a larger contrabass. So, having the selection of tools makes it easier for me to do things I would not be able to do on just one horn, even if the lack is caused by my own weakness. It lets me expand my limited abilities over a wider range.

Rick "who wonders why people think it has to be hard to be good" Denney


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