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This question is for anyone who plays the tuba in a recording setting or who knows of someone who does. I wanted to ask if the tuba has been used for certain sound effects in a movie or television show or some theatrical production.

To me, if it can done correctly with an experienced player, the tuba can be used to perform something like thunder or a car backfiring.

I'd be interested in your responses.

Hank74

Once I got called for a session where I had to portray the sounds of an on-camera kid trying to play the sousaphone badly. Hardest money I ever made; deliberately ignoring 30 years of musical training.

There's always Anderson's Sleighride. Just be a Clydesdale...

UncleBeer wrote:Once I got called for a session where I had to portray the sounds of an on-camera kid trying to play the sousaphone badly. Hardest money I ever made; deliberately ignoring 30 years of musical training.

Was that the commercial for the Saturn with the "third door?" A young kid is "practicing" his sousaphone in an open field and then climbs into the Saturn with his horn.

Steve Marcus wrote:Was that the commercial for the Saturn with the "third door?" A young kid is "practicing" his sousaphone in an open field and then climbs into the Saturn with his horn.

Nope; food product.

Steve Marcus wrote:

UncleBeer wrote:Once I got called for a session where I had to portray the sounds of an on-camera kid trying to play the sousaphone badly. Hardest money I ever made; deliberately ignoring 30 years of musical training.

Was that the commercial for the Saturn with the "third door?" A young kid is "practicing" his sousaphone in an open field and then climbs into the Saturn with his horn.

That one was Andy Seligson.

windshieldbug wrote:There's always Anderson's Sleighride. Just be a Clydesdale...

I tried that once. The conductor(himself a tuba player) thought it sounded like a horse that had too much fiber!

With the valves half-way down, you can make an excellent "moo" from a cow. You can even make it sound angrier and try for a bull. (haven't tried this with pistons, maybe it would work?)

With all of the valves pushed down (all the way), you can sound like an elephant. Just play as high as as loud as you can, ripping upward, and ripping back down.

I have done a comical Sleigh Ride cow before, and I use the elephant sound all the time when trying to scare the crap out of unsuspecting people.

Something I learned new this year, if you play a high tri-tone up, its sounds like a barbarian signal horn. I use C above the staff to the F# above it. Its in the same range as the conch shells they use, and has above the sound quality of sound if you just play it loud and gross, but the upside is that it is way louder than any conch shell I've ever heard before. This is also very handy for unsuspecting victims...

I have found that making sounds with the tuba is a bit overrated. I can make better sounds just with my mouth...

water dripping...

cats...

sirens...

dogs...

chainsaws...

cows...

farm equipment...

pigs...

babies crying...

automobiles running...

unfortunately, no tuba. but good sound effects.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3mutvRSqnI