Use of Mute in orchestra

pierre · Post by **pierre** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 9:57 am

Strauss' opera Salome uses mute. Always fun to put it in in a crowded pit. I think I only added an extra bass drum note twice.

WorldofBrass.com · Post by **WorldofBrass.com** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:51 am

Dance Suite - Bartok (the first concert for which I needed a mute)
Symphonies of Wind Instruments - Stravinsky

ahowle · Post by **ahowle** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 8:54 am

It seems like I've had a part that calls for a mute in every concert this semester.

We did some piece for a thing we have here called the "Fesival of New Music" in which a bunch of composers come and we perform their music, and one or two of the pieces we played for that had muted sections, but I can't remember the name of the piece or the composer.

Dan Welcher came to a later concert and conducted one of his pieces with us, and it required mutes. Right now we're playing the Maslanka A Child's Garden of Dreams which has a rather long, forte muted section in the fourth movement.

Mutes make you sound very strange.

tubachris · Post by **tubachris** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:49 pm

i'm doing a production of pilgrim's progress this june which requires a mute. . .
though i'm not sure exactly why except the rest of the low brass is muted as well.

Leland · Post by **Leland** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:41 pm

ahowle wrote:Mutes make you sound very strange.

Exactly -- that's why they rock.

tubaguy9 · Post by **tubaguy9** » Fri May 25, 2007 8:15 pm

codytuba wrote:Yeah, there is a muted tuba part in Variations on America by Ives. Also, we just played through a 5 movement piece for Band here at Sam Houston State by Dan Welcher (the name excapes me), but 3 movements call for muted tuba. So, in all the lit I have played over th years, there are my two.....

Where in that piece? I've played it, and I didn't see it?...

bill · Post by **bill** » Sat May 26, 2007 11:14 am

Malcolm Arnold's 5 Cornish Dances has a lovely muted tuba solo and some other really nice tuba writing, all through. I used an Apperson aluminum mute and it sounded quite right. The rest of the orchestra had not heard this done with a mute, before and were truly surprised (pleasantly) and appreciative.

DaTubaKid · Post by **DaTubaKid** » Sat May 26, 2007 3:20 pm

Britten's Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra calls for tuba mute in the harp solo section. One note only, and it was a Db, if I recall correctly. What a joy to take on tour.

UTTuba_09 · Post by **UTTuba_09** » Sun May 27, 2007 1:47 am

Strauss' Four Last Songs requires one, only for 5 notes though

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Sun May 27, 2007 10:23 am

DaTubaKid wrote:Britten's Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra calls for tuba mute in the harp solo section. One note only, and it was a Db, if I recall correctly. What a joy to take on tour.

If your conductor is considerate, he'd tell you to not to take the mute. You could try my pizza box mute--get a pizza sent to your hotel room the night before and save the box for a mute. (Of course, you don't really want to do this!)

TubeNet

Use of Mute in orchestra

rvw

Re: Muted tuba

Tuba Mutes - Orchestral