Re: Eb as your primary tuba?


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Posted by jon schultz on May 09, 2003 at 23:06:48:

In Reply to: Eb as your primary tuba? posted by curious on May 09, 2003 at 18:05:05:

While it is impossible to make your F/Eb sound like a 5/4 or 6/4 CC while playing in the low range, it is possible to compete with most of the 4/4 CC's out there; you just gotta know your way around the horn. My instructor keeps telling me just this and he's totally right.

Fortunatly I have found a bass tuba that can sound pretty near the typical contrabass low register sound, because I cannot afford to buy a big horn. My instructor also says you have to work with what you have. Sure some stuff would be eaiser or sound better on anything ranging from a smaller solo horn or a Yorkbrunner(take your pick), but as usual for most student tubists we only have 1 or 2 (if we're lucky) horns at our disposal.

If you're playing in an small/medium school orchestra, your probably dont NEED a huge horn. In band, how many other tubas are there in the section? You really don't need 4 or 5 guy sitting there with 5/4 horns... Think about color, why do the brass bands have bass and contrabass parts? I'm seeing more 'new' composers writing for tubas as a split section, and some notes are much easier on a smaller/larger horn. Last fall semester my band at school played some Barber transcription that the tubas had to pick out a G# (I beleive) above the staff after some 10 bars rest. I was the only one that was playing a bass tuba and it made the whole piece MUCH easier, the piece didn't get to low either...

my $0.02


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