Who Decides Which is the Best Tuba?

[Jedi Master]

In a brass quintet, how much weight do you give to the opinions of the other members, as to which horn you bring to the group?

[tclements]

I play what I want. IF my quintet collegues offer a suggestion (I wouldn't ask unless you really WANT their opinion), I listen and consider it. But in the end, I want to play the horn I want to play. Seriously, do you think a tumpeter would switch horns if you said, "I think you should play that piece on the E-flat trumpet."?

On the other hand, chamber music (unlike large ensemble playing) is (or should be) a collaboration, and with the proper working environment, each musicians would have the freedom to offer suggestions whever they see fit. This would be in an ideal situation.

My exerience is that this is seldom the case. SOMEONE is going to think that THEY are the 'artistic director' for the group.

[iiipopes]

None. 186. When I was asked to play a quintet gig, it was the only tuba I owned. They dealt with it. They loved it. I would have played more gigs with them had the trombone player not shortly thereafter gone down for heart valve surgery and really never recovered fully to play.

Seriously, take what you have, and ask for a spot in rehearsal for the rest of the quintet to tell you what each sounds like out front. If you have a preference, let them know. Most folks would rather you play a confident horn that you can make work than a lesser confident horn that "fits."

[Dan Schultz]

LOADS - no one wants to hear a sousaphone or a big 6/4... that's why I've only been invited to quintets when no one else is available!

+1 (I've heard Ian play!)

Sort of reminds me of something an accordion/playing friend once told me... He said "I'll be playing my accordion at Angelo's tonight but don't come if it's raining because they don't let me play inside." (Angelo's has an outside dining area.)

[bort]

I'm not a quintet guy...

But I think a mature group would let the expert make the majority of the decision. The other 4 folks know about as much about tubas as I do about large/small bore tenor Tbones, varieties of French Horns, and all kinds of trumpets (really, just how many do some of these guys own??).

I think that by the time you have more than one tuba to select from, you should have enough sense to know which you should use and when.

[ShoelessWes]

I bet 90%+ of people sitting in quintets that aren't tuba players wouldn't know what you were playing on, unless you told them. Same thing with orchestral conductors.

Play what you want, but make sure you sit down and write out a justification for the horn you choose. Then if you ever have to justify to a Conductor, quintet member, etc, they realize how much you care about the position and that it was a conscious effort to choose the correct instrument.

[ShoelessWes]

I bet 90%+ of people sitting in quintets that aren't tuba players wouldn't know what you were playing on, unless you told them. Same thing with orchestral conductors.

Play what you want, but make sure you sit down and write out a justification for the horn you choose. Then if you ever have to justify to a Conductor, quintet member, etc, they realize how much you care about the position and that it was a conscious effort to choose the correct instrument.

And I mean writing it out for yourself. When you write it, and see it, it becomes coherent and makes you actually think about it being a reasonable choice.

[UDELBR]

Trombone players? You're going to defer to the trombone players? Pfft.

I can think of a few sections where the tubaist is treated like nothing more than the 'last chair trombonist', and not for any reasons of quality or professionalism. Lots of orchestral musicians (even pros!) fall into that twisted delusion of a "tyranny of score order", where the little instruments get to push around the big instruments. It's unfortunate, but it still thrives today in places, regardless of how the tubaist plays or how professionally he comports himself.

/rant

[MartyNeilan]

Who decides?
The TubeNetFreakJury aka TNFJ® - that's who!

[tubacrow]

Play the horn you sound best on. You know what tool is best for the job. If someone complains about the horn I am playing, the first question I ask myself, how can I improve, not which horn would they like.

[sloan]

Play the horn you sound best on.

Not the horn that makes the quintet sound best?

[tubacrow]

Good Point Sloan.

I over simplified my response. My point was to play well, and sound good. yes we do have a specific role, and that role is a consideration when choosing what we sound best on, but I can see your point

[opus37]

I play an Eb (because that is what I have). I do change mouthpieces to change the color of the tone in quintet versus a larger band. I agree that in most cases the tuba is an after thought for the rest of the group. Premedonas playing other horns don't like it very much if you play tuba too well and show them up.