Posted by Barry Guerrero on June 15, 2002 at 16:19:38:
In Reply to: Discriminated BBb and Eb ??? posted by Volker on June 15, 2002 at 09:37:14:
Volker,
You have to remember, a lot of orchestral music is in sharp keys. I find that a CC tuba is a lot easier to use in dealing with lots of sharps. Also, in a symphony orchestra, the tuba is really ALMOST a solo instrument(certainly not quite). CC's do tend to have more center and core to the tone than BBb's, I think. When I play in a Bavarian oom-pah band, a BBb is great since everything we play is in flat keys. There's also several of us, and we use mikes. Also, the director likes everything in the low octave, but with short quarter notes. For that job, a BBb is nicer to use than a CC even.
I think there's becoming less and less predjudice towards Eb tubas. Conversations about Eb tubas seem to crop up at this site all of the time. Berlioz and Mendelssohn parts tend to be very, very high, so an F tuba has a real advantage in dealing with them. I wouldn't want to go into an audition playing that god, awful Romeo & Juliet excerpt (Berlioz) on anything other than an F tuba with a solid high register, with good intonation too. Since I don't own such a beast, I don't take auditions any more (too old anyway).
In general, the type of tuba that one chooses to play should have a lot to do with the kind of work that one is doing. I think a lot of people here are real open to BBb's and Eb's - I wouldn't sweat it. In fact, a lot of people have really great things to say about the Willson 5-valve Eb, and conversations about the King BBb crop up almost daily. I use a big Meinl-Weston BBb (20?) for the oom-pah band, and it has almost flawless intonation. Highly recommended.
Barry Guerrero