Posted by Kenneth Sloan on November 11, 2002 at 23:08:49:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Doubling For The Tuba posted by Collin on November 11, 2002 at 21:23:54:
"Does piano require a lot of practice to keep up?"
No - but the bad news is that it takes a lot of practice to get there in the first place!
Of course, it all depends on how good you want to be.
In my opinion, if you already have the discipline to work seriously on tuba, you can pick up piano fairly quickly. The trick is to forget any fear of embarassing yourself, and putting in plenty of time on drill in the beginning.
Picking up a second instrument can be difficult because most instructional material teaches both the mechanics of playing a particular instrument AND basic music theory. The first time through, on the first instrument, you need both. The second time through, the basic music theory instruction can appear too elementary, and this can fool you into thinking that *everything* is "too elementary.
What's your current drill on the tuba? warmups...scales...etudes...performance? You'll need the same mix on piano. Figure a half hour per day for a year or two and you will have the basics under control (enough to get most of the benefits of piano - not nearly enough to feel confident playing anything "adult" to an audience). Once you have this under your belt, you can maintain it with sporadic playing sessions. Two years of an hour per day and you will be on much firmer ground.
And, of course, a competent teacher - someone who will listen critically (and motivate your to prepare EVERY WEEK) will help a lot. A motivated tubist might be able to do this without formal instruction - but progress will be slower and the benefits will be less.
I recommend concentrating on "classical training", with a bit of "popular" music. Hymnals are a great measuring stick - when you can sight read a simple hymn, you areat the "basic" level of competence. But...prepare yourself for hours of scales, exercises, arpeggios, "five-finger exercises", and the like. You need to get these "into your fingers" and there is no substitute for hours of repetition.
Oh yeah...it's worth it!