l'il bloke

[hup_d_dup]

It is the Gerard Hoffnung tuba:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/h ... /biog6.htm

Thanks. This is all totally new to me (I haven't been a tuba player for very long).

Hup_

[tbn.al]

What no false tones?

beat ya to it , Bob

[imperialbari]

I was disappointed that it was only outfitted with three valves - limiting the low range of the instrument...

But then it has this preset octave valve.

Klaus

[k001k47]

Definitely something I'd want (assuming I'd ever play it) to haul in to play those huge (rare) low brass orchestral excerpts.

EDIT: or Ride of the Vakyries

[Rick Denney]

EDIT: or Ride of the Vakyries

Yes, then the 32nd notes, instead of being too long as they are normally played, can be nonexistent.

Rick "gone by the time the sound wave gets back from the bell" Denney

[k001k47]

It must be the tuba. has to be the tuba

[Steve Marcus]

Hoffnung.jpg

The piece that was written specifically with this subcontrabass tuba in the instrumentation was "Variations on Annie Laurie." In the 1956 live performance recording, Gerard Hoffnung himself played occasional low notes on this horn throughout the piece, and then played the full "Annie Laurie" melody in the key of C at the end.

That melody is still very playable on that 3-valve tuba at Mike's; I just had to take more breaths than good phrasing would normally dictate. The first note of the melody is the lowest CCC on the piano; the high note is an octave above that. Since the open partials in that octave are CCC, GG, and CC, (one octave below a standard CC tuba), no privileged notes were necessary.

As a "grand finale" for my wife, I played "Edelweiss" in the first key in which that song was ever publicly performed (Theodore Bikel): F Major. So the melody began on the lowest AAA of the piano. Yes, you can play these pedal tones on a standard CC tuba. But they really sounded...unique on the subcontrabass tuba. Ummm, how romantic.

Sorry, no Ride on that beast.

Thanks, Mike, for a truly one-of-a-kind experience.

[k001k47]

Very cool story. Thanks for sharing

[k001k47]

EDIT: or Ride of the Vakyries

Yes, then the 32nd notes, instead of being too long as they are normally played, can be nonexistent.

Rick "gone by the time the sound wave gets back from the bell" Denney

Very poor etiquette, sir.