What is the difference between BBb and CC tubas

[Leland]

I am lucky that I have a tuba to play on and a fairly decent one for that matter, and the school has doen everyting they can to get me the best instrument possible.

I think that a lot of us have forgotten what it's like to not have a tuba pro within easy reach. Being "lucky that I have a tuba to play on" is good enough news, really.

May I submit that you hold off on a tuba purchase for a while longer? I've seen great players sound great on junk horns, and I've seen instruments worth more than my first two cars combined go to waste in untalented hands.

Get good -- really good -- until you get to the point where you can pick out which performance problems are your fault and which ones are the fault of the instrument. By then, you'll have a much better idea of what to spend thousands of dollars on, and a quality instrument will complement your talent and not merely assist you.

[rascaljim]

Amy,

of course talking with your professor is a must, but your situation sounds like mine when I started college. I played a yamaha 641 bb that I got in highschool and never had and advanced lessons. When I got to college I was told that the tuba would be fine for the first year but the horn would start to hold me back soon after that. I found it to be true. The first year was concentrated on basics so a C tuba was not really necessary because I was not working on much reportior.

The switch did take some time to get used to but after it was accomplished I started to really get some things taken care of that were issues on my Bb. A lot of the orchestral reportior works better on a C tuba than a Bb (E major is much easier on a C than a Bb). Chances are you will probably buying and selling a few horns until you finally settle on a sound and feel of an instrument. I know I did, but I learned a lot along the way.

When you do start looking you need to try as many horns as possible. I'm pretty sure that I have now tried every professional horn on the market and have finally setteled on a horn, but I know that in a few years I'll probably need a larger horn, but for what I am doing right now it is the best instrument.

As far as money, you should talk to your ensemble directors as well as your tuba instructor about writing a letter to financial aid about the necessity of purchasing a good C tuba. Since you are a tuba performance major it really is a required purchase. You should ask for an increase of loan money (and also just asking for money doesn't hurt either, I got one school to give me $2000 as a grant towards the instrument (money you don't have to pay back!!!)

For what it's worth
Jim

[Leland]

I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes by picking out a quote, but here I go anyway...

A lot of the orchestral reportior works better on a C tuba than a Bb (E major is much easier on a C than a Bb).

And Eb major (typical band key) is much easier on a Bb than a C.

I know, that's an argument much older than me, and a player should just get whatever instrument they want. But the way I see it, if the statement "C is better for orchestra" even holds water, then it would also be true that, unless you really want an orchestra gig, choosing a tuba JUST BECAUSE it's in C -- even if you like a Bb tuba better -- wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.

I used to complain that I sounded bad because of the tuba I was using until it was put in the hands of a very capable player. I realized that the variable wasn't the horn but the player.

That's like the day I learned a bit about solo autocrossing. The instructor took me for a ride in my own car, and by the second lap he set a time that I couldn't get within two seconds of by the end of the day (on a 30-second course, two seconds is a HUGE gap).

[Dylan King]

If you aren't playing in C,
A band player forever you'll Be.

BBb is for pansies! Who wants to be like the trumpet or trombone? Or the soprano sax! Kenny G plays in Bb. Think about it!

OK, tenor sax is pretty cool, but C melody sax is making a comeback.

Go for a CC with 5 valves.

[Z-Tuba Dude]

I agree that it doesn't matter, what key tuba you play. There are lots of great players who play each.

I have heard the idea that a BBb tuba fits better in a band situation, many times. The idea is that it fits better with the other brasses' intonation tendencies, because they are also in Bb.

I never have quite accepted that false logic, though. For one thing, not all the brasses are in Bb, the horns are in F. Secondly, the rest of the brasses are always playing chords that are in virtually all of the keys, with passing tones,...etc. It is way too simplistic to think that because everyone's horn happens to have the same open notes, they will be in tune with each other.

Either the people you play with are listening to play in tune with each other, or they are not. It is has nothing to do with what open notes their horn happens to play.

[Dan Schultz]

I play (and own) Eb (Mirafone, Conn, & King), BBb (B & S, King, & Martin), and CC (Mirafone) tubas. I don't do any orchestral playing which may account for part of my opinion that I prefer the agility of the Mirafone Eb over that of the other horns. As far as all-round playing goes... I'll take the BBb horns any day if I had to choose. For the normal two or three flat stuff, the CC horn is a real pain in the neck for me.

[Ames0325]

Thank you all for the information and advice.

Get a job now and start saving up for your horn.
Don't buy a horn with student loan money, especially if you're planning your purchase a year from now!
I'll repeat the two combined : resist the idea of planning to borrow money for your tuba a year from now and start working so you can earn the money you'll need !

As for money I was actually planning on taking out the extra loan to cover my entire tuition for next year instead of just a portion and using the money I am earning and savin from work to purchase a tuba. One of the things all of you have stressed is to try many tubas and get the one that I like the plays best--How can I know how well a tuba (CC) plays is I am not fluent with the fingerings when I play it? ALso I am discovering that altough my school is a very good school particularly for music education students it is not going to be a very good school for a tuba perfomance major-- I can learn and master the basics well here and start some repetoire but it would probably be wise for me to transfer to another school in a year or two-- Do you have any sugggestions--
Amy

[Leland]

How can I know how well a tuba (CC) plays is I am not fluent with the fingerings when I play it?

The fingerings won't really matter a whole lot -- you'll be paying attention to the sound and response, and if you get enough time (a few hours, a week, etc), you'll be able to make a better judgement on things like intonation.

Eventually, you'll find that mouthpiece choice can change a lot about how a tuba plays. For example, the PT-50 that works so well on my VMI 3302 absolutely prevented me from playing a Getzen G50 tuba in tune with itself. A different mouthpiece would have been fine -- I had tried a G50 before with a different mouthpiece and enjoyed it very much. If I didn't have that prior experience, my judgement of the G50 would have been clouded.

On your search, try as many tubas as people will allow you to play. The sheer variety will help you notice all the broad differences between models, and when you get the chance to sit down for a day or weekend and play on one or two dozen horns, you'll be able to decide within five notes whether you like a tuba.

When you get down to three or four candidates, and you really enjoy all of them, it's time to get really picky. That's when all your experience -- or your teacher's experience -- comes into play.

ALso I am discovering that altough my school is a very good school particularly for music education students it is not going to be a very good school for a tuba perfomance major--

My college pretty much sucked compared to more performance-oriented schools. The tuba studio wasn't really large enough to be its own entity (probably three of us, really), so we had a low brass studio. Worse, our low brass professor was a trumpeter of semi-average talent. But, he was motivating, and tried his best to get us moving along. Us students also took in as much information as we could from other sources -- recordings, books, other tuba players & professors, etc -- and we worked on constant improvement in spite of our surroundings.

Now, whether it worked or not, I can't really say. Just know that, even in the largest and most successful tuba school, it's still going to be up to you to produce results.

[corbasse]

.......-How can I know how well a tuba (CC) plays is I am not fluent with the fingerings when I play it? ....

Amy

Fingerings on 99.9% of all valved brass instruments are exactly the same*. Just the place where you start is different. So if you start on the second harmonic and play 0-4(or 13)-12-1-0-12-2-0 you play a major scale. On BBb a scale of B flat, on CC a scale of C etc. Simple if you don't think about it.


* except for some obsolete french tubas and french french horns

[MaryAnn]

I agree that it doesn't matter, what key tuba you play. There are lots of great players who play each.

I have heard the idea that a BBb tuba fits better in a band situation, many times. The idea is that it fits better with the other brasses' intonation tendencies, because they are also in Bb.

I never have quite accepted that false logic, though.

Either the people you play with are listening to play in tune with each other, or they are not. It is has nothing to do with what open notes their horn happens to play.

Abso-tootly. My only problem playing my CC tuba in brass band is the occasional fingering nightmare that would work better on an Eb. Intonation is simply not an issue.

MA