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Lately, I've been experimenting a little bit with the concept of a mixed brass trio. This would be for some of the smaller gigs or as a lower-priced alternative to a full quintet for weddings. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be very much written that includes a tuba part for groups smaller than five. I'm not sure why that is.

There are a handful of selections for low-brass trio (horn, trombone, tuba) and of course tuba ensembles. I think tuba ensembles are cool, but it's not exactly what I want to do right now. What I want is a 'lite' version of a quintet.

What I have found is that several things have been written for a trio of trumpet, horn, and trombone. The selection isn't nearly as great as what's available for quintet, but there are at least some things to choose from.

What I have noticed in the few trios that I have tried is that if I read the trombone part down an octave and play it on tuba (along with the trumpet and horn), that it actually seems to work. It doesn't sound quite as full as a quintet, which is what I would expect.

I'm sure that I'm not the first person to ever come up with this idea. I was wondering if other people had any thoughts or experiences with this. Thanks.

One piece written for horn, trombone and tuba is "triangles" by John Stevens. A very funny piece I must say!

Unfortunately, "a 'lite' version of a quintet", almost by definition, means "no tuba".

I think that, without a doubt, the best selection of literature exists for quintet, followed by brass quartet, and then, as the number of instruments in the ensemble decreases, so does the availability of good music.

Tuba quartet is a special case. Although there is more, and more (good) literature available, the general public is still not willing to accept the concept of tuba quartet, for a wedding. Maybe...someday!