TubeNet

There have been a number of topics regarding tuba mutes, but none have truly addresseed the core question: what do you think of tuba mutes and what they do to the sound (and the pitch) of your beloved tubas?

I hope that the results of this highly scientifical poll will serve as guidance for composers who might think we don't mind schlepping around more equipment.

My choice? #3

Cheers,
Allen
Who thinks a subsequent poll topic could concern the use of mute boys, native bearers and Sherpas.

I practice a lot with one in.

I do it when I'm working on my sound. I think that if I can sound good with the mute in, I sound a heck of a lot better with it out.

I also do it when i'm practicing in a hotel, stick the mute in, turn on the television to something in spanish---really loud--- and play my heart out.


Musically, I haven't heard much with mute that satisfies me, other than some little easy curnow piece with a muted section. Concertino maybe? I don't remember the name.

To me a tuba with a mute sounds like my St. Bernard barking when he has laryngitis.

Allen wrote:There have been a number of topics regarding tuba mutes, but none have truly addresseed the core question: what do you think of tuba mutes and what they do to the sound (and the pitch) of your beloved tubas? . . . .

Tuxedo Junction was performed by a quartet (Melton?) using mutes at the Army conference about 2006, I believe. The mutes were improvised from hinged toilet seats, operated by attached toilet brushes. I would say that the equipment had the intended effect.

Dean E wrote: Tuxedo Junction was performed by a quartet (Melton?) using mutes at the Army conference about 2006, I believe. The mutes were improvised from hinged toilet seats, operated by attached toilet brushes. I would say that the equipment had the intended effect.

I believe they did indeed.

The best tuba mute I ever used was a medium pizza box, assembled and stuck together with duct tape. I used it for songs when the trombonists in my jazz band used plungers. I remember seeing Howard Johnson using a garbage can lid. I tried both plastic and metal lids and the plastic worked better. However, a hollow cardboard pizza box gives a similar effect as a toilet plunger head gives a trombone. It's also the cheapest mute I ever used. (I didn't even buy the pizza--and I only used about 25 cents worth of duct tape!)

I can't find the post, but I remember Bloke posting a pic of a standard music folio used for a mute. That has become the single most useful bit of advice I have ever gotten from TubeNet. I use it anytime one is called for and no one has ever been dissatisfied.

...of course, it's not like I'm playing in the CSO, just community band and polka/dixie gigs.