Vaughan Williams on BBb - C/Db Trill suggestions

TUBAMUSICIAN87 · Post by **TUBAMUSICIAN87** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:26 am

your best option is to get a new tuba for a peice like the Vaughn Williams but other than that trilling 1 and 2 looks to be the fastest. or sit in a practice room and hit middle C and then try and play it with different combinations and find what works and do the same for the Db and dont worry to much about the pitch if you find an alternate fingering because it will be hard to hear if your 20 cents sharp or flat in a trill. good luck

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:49 am

Remember to set your embouchure for the higher note and give it a little more air to keep the lips buzzing during the valve transitions. We're all assuming you mean middle line of the bass clef Db. Please let us know if you mean a different octave. 1 to 2 is about the best fingering; everything else takes much more valves.

Onebaplayer · Post by **Onebaplayer** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 1:41 pm

assuming you have at least 4 valves, you could hold down the 4th valve. That should allow you to play C open and Db 2&3, which is the same trill used on an F tuba. Just make sure you pay attention to tone color as is could (and probably will) change drastically with the 4th held down. If you dont have a 4th valve, you probably shouldn't play the vaughan williams on it, unless its a fiberglass sousaphone.

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:18 am

iiipopes wrote:..we're all assuming you mean middle line of the bass clef Db...

No, these trills are an octave higher, above the staff, in a register, that I discovered, rely more on hearing than actual fingering. Best fingering on either C or BB-flat tuba is to play 0-2. It worked for me when I played it in college. I did it for my Junior Recital.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:54 pm

There's a lesson here: When you've got a question about a piece of music, it's best to at least specify the movement and the closest bar or rehearsal number...

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:24 am

Indeed. On a BBb tuba, middle C is the 9th harmonic, open, and the Db is the 10th harmonic of A, 2nd. Likewise, on a CC tuba, middle C is the 8th harmonic, open, and Db is the 9th harmonic of B, 2nd. So, ironically, on this one particular example, the fingering is the same regardless of which tuba you use.