For this discussion, I feel compelled to repeat an earlier post (May 24) on this subject, from Gorilla Tuba. I think it is the most knowledgable, fair, and logical answer to this question that I have heard yet:
I recommend CC tubas to my tuba majors. I do not blanketly tell them that they can't succeed on BBb, but I certainly do not know of any compelling reason not to buy a CC. Some of the reasons are as follows:
1. Unfortunately, you often must play CC to be taken seriously by the better grad schools.
2. Being two feet shorter, a CC is theoretically going to be more responsive than a similar model in BBb. My experience also shows that CC tubas seem to have more clarity in their sound.
3. Yes, you should be comfortable in all keys. However, orchestral licks in mega-sharp keys really are easier on CC.
4. Since 99% of professional tubists in the US use CC, you gotta believe that there is something there.
5. There just aren't that many truly professional level BBb tubas out there, although this is changing.
For someone whose aspirations are to play in community bands (even good ones) and put together a quintet for pay gigs such as weddings, there is no reason to to switch to CC. Even for most music education majors, the benefits of a CC are minimal at best. But for a performance major, the benefits, though minimal, are worth the time investment.
You can effectively counter that BBb tubas are just as good. Perhaps switching to CC is just about ego. None-the-less, when a tubist switches to CC, he or she is making a huge commitment to the study of the instrument. The time involved in getting comfortable in CC and the need to revisit the basics may account more for any musical growth than does the key of the instrument. It is when a student purchases their own CC tuba that I see a players jump to the next level.
To conclude this long-winded post, it is very possible that most of the advantages of a CC tuba are merely perception. However, perceptions do matter.
The main point that I found here is that there are some real differences between C and Bb, but mainly it is mental. In switching between any two keys of tuba, you are forced to re-learn many things. I recently switched to C tuba, and I think I am able to kind of start again learning certain things the right way now that I have several years of training under my belt.
The process of switching from BBb to CC, not simply playing one or the other, allows you to leave any bad habits from learning BBb behind and start fresh with new, good habits on a CC. This switch is especially beneficial around the college years because you are suddenly with a highly qualified teacher who can guide you the right way. The switch (and this is probably going a bit too far on the side of dramatic BS) is like a rebirth.
