CC and BBb


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Posted by jmk on August 29, 2003 at 00:35:47:

ok i hear many BBb supporters in anger that people who want to switch to CC are just doing it because it is popular and that they have the miconception that if u switch to CC, it is going to give u a better sound or something. i am a student that has switched from a BBb to a CC to "progress" my learning in music as well as my tuba playing. playing CC causes me to learn new fingers, transpose, etc. it gives me more reason to pay attention to a sheet of music, which in fact makes me more focused on what i need to do to make good music in itself. yes, i agree that u can sound just as good on a BBb as well as a CC, but now by playing CC i have the experience (which means EVERYTHING) of playing with 2 differently keyed horns. could i pick up a BBb and still play it almost as easily? yes i can. cause now i have the knowledge of playing on a horn with unfamiliar fingerings and i know what i need to do to get past those probable issues of sound and intonation. the end result is a tuba player with more experience on a variety of horns and probably a more interested player, also. which all leads to a more involved tubist.
now i understand if u sound good on a BBb, u could play a piano or take a theory class to get "more into the music". but what better way to get involved with transposition and how it applies to the tuba, than to actually go out and play a tuba in a different key than usual??? of course, i am also not saying ignore piano or a theory class. lol. i am involved in both myself.
i am just suggesting that "switching" to CC or even playing both CC and BBb (if u r dedicated enough) will advance u as a musician.
Of course, if something as simple as transposition or even playing on a completely different horn has never ever bothered you before, if u can switch from a trumpet to your BBb tuba and have no troubles at all with either instruments, then by all means, stay with your good sounding BBb horns. most people who switch to CC are young students in the first place. young students who dont have that experience needed to sound GREAT on a BBb horn in the first place.


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