Re: "Good" Tubas...?


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Posted by Rick Denney on October 26, 2001 at 09:36:46:

In Reply to: "Good" Tubas...? posted by Devin on October 25, 2001 at 18:14:52:

I like the composite of the answers from Sean and Joe.

Yes, a great player can pick of a poor tuba and make it sound wonderful. But how much better would he sound on a great tuba?

Example: In my first lesson with Michael Sanders, I had a Cerveny-built Sanders tuba. He played some for me in that lesson on his Alexander, and he also played some on the Sanders (to cure me of any notion that I could blame the tuba for my own problems). His playing on the cheaper horn was in a different solar system than my playing will ever be, even on the best horn ever made. But he still sounded better on the Alex. (I must add that the Cerveny wasn't what I would call a bad tuba.)

The question is: How much extra effort is it taking to overcome the deficiencies of the horn? A great player has a lot of reserve ability. They can consume a lot of energy overcoming the tuba, and still have lots of energy left over for making music. A modest player might use up all his ability overcoming those deficiencies, and be unable to make music on the instrument. So, in one sense, it is more important for a modest player to have a good horn than a great player (the refutation to this is that the great player plays in situations demanding much higher standards).

So, for me, a great tuba is one that does what a tuba does as easily as possible, leaving me with as much of my modest ability as possible to direct towards making music. So, what features does a good tuba have along these lines?

- Good sound.
- Good intonation.
- Good sound.
- Responsiveness across the range of pitches and dynamics.
- Good sound.
- Reliable mechanics.
- Good sound.
- Affordable cost.
- Did I mention good sound?

I recently played a Rusk-converted York being offered by Dave Fedderly. I loved that tuba. When I played it, I felt like all my energy went into making music. I once had a similar experience with an early Yorkbrunner. And I also had that feeling with one of Matt Walters's Buescher-belled creations. I even get that feeling with my York Master, even though I feel it takes a bit more work to manage some aspects of the instrument.

So, for me, a tuba with a great sound, but that I can't play in tune or that I can't afford, may be good for someone else, but it isn't good for me. And if playing a tuba with a great sound in tune requires so much work that I have no concentration left for phrasing, dynamics, rhythm, vibrato, getting the notes, etc., then that also isn't a good tuba for me. When I sit down with a tuba, and play a few scales and low notes, but then can't put it down until I play an actual melody, then that tuba has potential.

Rick "who needs all the help he can get" Denney


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