Posted by Rick Denney on November 21, 2001 at 11:35:14:
In Reply to: Re: What is it About the Tuba? posted by js on November 21, 2001 at 09:46:19:
I agree with this. The tuba's sound is something you an wrap yourself up in, in ways not possible with other instruments.
But I think there's a social connection that we have as well. Tuba players always feel like the butt of other musicians' jokes, at whatever level. The orchestral player feels snubbed by the string snobs, and the schtick in the beer tent turns the tuba player into a clown. When my wife-to-be announced to her friends that we would have a tuba solo in our wedding, they all responded identically, "A tuba?" We almost have to be anti-snobs as a defense measure, which forces us to come to these support groups so that we can be snobs with each other.
We also fight the common battle of dispelling stereotypes--of the tuba being loud, flatulent, and unmelodic; or of the tuba player being not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. But if we ever completely succeeded in eliminating those stereotypes, we'd be disappointed, because we'd lose something that separates us and makes us unique, even if a big part of that something is negative.
Rick "yes, dammit, a TUBA" Denney