iiipopes wrote:In college, even if you are an "orchestra" performance major, you WILL be playing in concert band as well, usually as one of the plenary requirements of being in so many ensembles. Remember that concert band music is written for BBb tubas.
I have heard this old chestnut over and over again. But I've played in bands where the sections were divided between C and Bb players, and never felt like there were problems that resulted. I seriously doubt that any composer thinks about how well the music sits under the fingers of any of the instruments, let alone the tuba. They
may think that certain keys are easier to sell to band directors than certain other keys. It would probably be hard to sell a band work written in four sharps, for example, even though orchestras play these all the time and usually with wind players using the same instruments they'd use in band (trumpets and tubas being the only exceptions).
Fact is, C and Bb tubas are equally capable of playing in tune if their owners are capable of playing in tune. And any college symphonic band should be populated by such players, particularly if they are music majors.
Most professional symphonic bands in the U.S. have sections of CC tuba players. I don't recall seeing any BBb tubas in Pershing's Own when they performed at the Army Tuba Conference, for example.
I have always defended the use of Bb tubas by adult amateurs, because they are indeed just as good (when you get a good one) and you can get an instrument of similar quality for much less money. Also, I defy any tuba player, let alone any non-tuba player, to distinguish a Bb and C tuba when played from behind a screen by a player equally competent on both. They
feel different to the player, but they don't
sound different merely by virtue of their key.
Even so, no aspiring pro should be limited to the Bb tuba. All college tuba majors will be expected to be proficient on all keys of tubas, and the ones most likely to succeed won't have to cross any terrible mental bridges to do so. Most college performance majors will have to justify to their teachers why they are persisting with a Bb tuba before they even play a note, and who needs that uphill battle? The teachers will assume, often rightly, that the resistance to learn C is laziness, which is one trait completely incompatible with being a performance major with any hope of success.
So, any tuba player going to Tennessee Tech, where Winston Morris is known to be a complete Miraphonaholic, would be well advised to walk in with a good 188, and hope he can get as much sound out of it as Morris does out of a 184.
Rick "calling this a preemptive response" Denney
I now have a an old BBb Gerhardt Schneider at my school that I would take to play in any orchestra. It's a fantastic horn!
