Re: BAT-Specific Playing Techniques? Rick D?


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Posted by dp on December 30, 2002 at 17:02:13:

In Reply to: BAT-Specific Playing Techniques? Rick D? posted by MP on December 30, 2002 at 12:12:55:

The three posters this far (Rick, Brian, and Jeff) each own horns which have at one time or another come to be referred to as "BAT"s by others. Each tuba (just like every other tuba) requires a different approach to maximize what it is good at and these different approaches are not easily spoken of and NOT readily translate-able on paper with words, perhaps even less so on monitors with pixels!
In the same way we allow fuzzy terminology to affect how particular types of horns are characterized, we've basically dumbed-down even more our ability to attempt effectively communicating certain pedagogical nuances with words, and my friends I do not think that is easily recoverable.
Examples of what I am saying: a 20-J Recording Bass (what they were called historically until production ceased and the internet provided their fans extra weighted-ness for propagating their opinions) is different from a tuba, the design and concept are different, although there are more similarities between a generic tuba and a generic recording bass than differences. Nevertheless they ARE different. They aim a different direction, the SOUND is projected a different direction, and typically recording basses are NOT selected for concert-hall professional presentations.
A Grand orchestral horn like Rick just got is aptly-named as such, predominantly because that style has most recently evolved into a position as such, within large (ie "grand") full-sized symphony orchestras. It can be, for many, the ideal horn to backup a large orchestra with half a dozen double-basses and more-again celli. The apporach charaterized as "let the horn do the work" is what works best for this tuba as a background instrument in such a large ensemble, which (albeit to some, debatably) is what this particular player thinks a tuba IS in a large ensemble, a background instrument.
This mindset couldn't work (for me) with the 2x-type basses...and honestly I cannot imagine ANYone saying they would prefer the ease of playing of ANY Conn over a good Yorkbrunner or Holton. Again, and emphatically, thats just me.
Now one of the horns Brian has is a tuba similar to one I used to have, a big-bore Kaiser-type tuba that fails miserable in the size-label wars, most folks snicker at the suggestion it is a "big" tuba, yet unlike the plethora of other Mira-types out there, these .890+ bore cerveny-built horns can lay huge wafting banks of sound like no other Germanic-type tuba, and apart from a bit of overtone color come close to rivalling the sheer quantity of sound from a Grand Orchestral "American" horn, yet the approach to blowing them is completely different!
My best advice for students curious about big horns, is to discuss such equipment with your teacher, whetehr or not they may allow you to discuss such specialized hardware. Accept when they say its not important to you, and above all do not let what you read here on ANY topic allow you to think you can second-guess your teacher!!! If you chose to do so, you should quit paying them, quit going to see them, and send your money to this BBS. Unfortunately (believe it or not) you get far less out of your applied lessons if you let this data on this little space on the internet get in the way of your teacher's insight about you specifically and your playing


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