Posted by got data? on October 11, 2003 at 15:37:53:
In Reply to: Why CC, really? posted by John on October 11, 2003 at 15:08:14:
John: I just don't see any practical reason for the use of CC contrabass tuben over BBb in most settings. I don't buy the claim that, given two horns, identical in make, model, and craftsmanship, one in BBb and one in CC, the CC will play better.
Steve: If you have actually tried this (played to identical horns in BBb and CC), with a few different points of comparison, and believe you have made an accurate statement, then great! Stick with the BBb. If you're only hypothesizing, then I'd suggest you go try yourself to see if your hypothesis is true (or not). There must be some objective reason multitudes of contrabass players in the US favor the CC. If they actually did play the same, I doubt the CC market would be as popular, given the extra expense. Therefore, I submit the actual market data disagrees with your theory.
John: And the claim that it "makes the sharp keys easier to play" seems like an excuse to get out of being familiar with playing in every key on one instrument.
Steve: No, not an excuse at all. How many times do you want to play a note fingered 2+4 when you could play it with 2nd valve only on a different horn? That's a pretty awkward fingering, and it will show up more frequently in certain keys, when played on a particular key of tuba. The key of Eb, played on an Eb tuba favors your 1st and 2nd fingers mostly, and provides easier fingerings. This is not an excuse, it's just the way it is. Now, your assertion is still valid. The musician should be able to play in every key on his/her instrument. But that doesn't mean that all keys are created equally easy from a manual dexterity perspective.
John: I doubt most orchestral conductors would even notice the difference between a BBb and a CC horn as long as they were both good instruments. I think that the conductor probably has more important issues to worry about; if the tuba part sounds good I doubt anybody would give a damn about what key of horn was being used.
Steve: I absolutely agree with this assertion. The audience won't be able to tell. They won't be able to tell the difference between a 4/4 BBb and a Willson Eb, most likely, and maybe the same with the YFB-822, if they are a "typical" audience. An audience of tubists would be a different story, but I still suspect it would be hard for them to hear the difference between BBb and CC with the same model horn.
John: My question is this. Assuming that I am a good enough player to begin with, is there anything really holding me back from being an orchestral BBb tubist (in somewhere outside of Germany) or is the whole CC thing really a bunch of hype?
Steve: If YOU have personally tried both BBb and CC horns, and your personal experience is that you find no limitations with BBb, either with ease of fingering the sharp keys or with the response of the horn; then, *NO* there would be nothing to hold you back. There are a few fine US orchestral players I keep seeing mentioned here (not a lot, but a few) who do use BBb tubas. BUT, I also don't believe the CC thing is *merely* hype, because I don't believe the better/best players would be favoring CC tubas so strongly if there were no perceivable difference in the performance, based on the significant extra price required. (Having said that, I bet there are a few high-quality BBb tubas out there that would render the difference minimal. If I were hunting for a 5/4 contrabass horn right now, I'd first go look at the Rudy Meinl 5/4 CC FS posted recently, but I'd also be very interested in trying the Fafner BBb.)
Steve Inman
Having played BBb, then Eb, then F, now CC (each exclusively as time has progressed)
Kokomo, IN