Posted by Don Shirer on January 16, 2003 at 18:03:26:
First, I would like to thank all those who kindly responded to my plea a month ago with much needed advice on getting back into the tuba game. Your comments were all helpful and much appreciated.
I followed your recommendations and found a 4-valve instrument (a Yamaha YEB321 on which the original Eb-Bay winner bailed out) with only a few dings and scratches. It feels like a forgiving instrument as I settle down to get my lip in shape again.
I also found much good info on cleaning and care of the horn in your back files, there's a wealth of great tips out there.
I am happy with an Eb tuba for now, since I remember those fingerings much better than the Bb. However as I was looking at the fingering charts, I suddenly realized that reading the bass clef and applying the fingering I learned for the transposing treble clef trumpet for the same note name would work for C tubas as well, so if I find I have an unfulfilled longing for those deep pedal tones I might eventually wind up with a C instrument. What a switch, back in HS and college in the late 40's, we hadn't even realized that there was such as thing as a CC tuba. How's that for insular?
That's way in the future, though, for now I must follow the advice of the "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" wits.
Don "Thanks again!" Shirer