Posted by tubagoo on September 24, 1999 at 07:02:24:
Lots of conversations this time of years especially about finding your kid a tuba for school.
My question is why not return to the day when you would start a kid on a smaller horn, the Eb tuba. I believe, if my memory serves me, Pat Sheridan first horn in middleschool was a yamaha 4v Eb, which he played still in college and into his professional solo carreer until making the switch to besson. I'm also sure that he would never part with that yamaha.
there are fingering charts in the wm. bell book for Eb and most of the material they see initially does decend past low Bb and it seems to me that the smaller bore, mouthpiece and weight and size, would make it easier for the kid to excell.
one could always learn Bb fingerings in time for marching season in High School