Posted by Chuck(G) on February 21, 2003 at 12:30:02:
In Reply to: 8va heros posted by JS on February 20, 2003 at 23:02:11:
Two observations:
My own experience has shown quite the opposite occurs. Say the band's playing a Grainger piece with tuba divisi. Lots of low F, Eb and D's. No one plays them, so the tubas are left doubling the bass clarinet and the work loses texture. For some reason, some band players think divisi sections represent optional notes.
Sometimes it's simply not clear. When I last played the De Meij "Lord of the Rings", I initially played from the parts marked "C Bass". The composer had written at the beginning of the part "8va bassa sempre" (which made sense). But then, well into the part, there were additional sections market "8va bassa". At a pre-rehearsal powow with the director, the question of whether this meant 15va bassa brought a shrug (The transposed bass-clef Bb and Eb bass parts were no help) and brought the expected "Well, use your judgement". I'm sure that there are groups that have played the part way down in the subcellar and many who have not.
As Rick mentioned, the low-low range doesn't particularly carry well, nor does it record very well, so it's very difficult to make out in recordings. So the question often boils down to "Well, use your judgement".