The Transition.

[Richardrichard9]

With the holidays comming up my parents have been talking about buying me a tuba (hense my posts in the past days). But all this talk about tuba buying has got me thinking about maybe buying a CC tuba instead of a BBb tuba. All I have ever played is a BBb and I am a Junior in highschool..

How difficult is the transition to CC tuba and about how long will it take until I would be using the CC as my main instrument?

[TubaRay]

It took me about a month to make the "transition." I'm sure this will vary somewhat from one player to another, however I am not certain I would recommend that you make this switch at this point in your development as a player. Exactly why do you want to play a CC tuba?

[Richardrichard9]

When ever I mention to a lot of players that I plan on using a BBb tuba through college (as a tuba performance major) they suggest I not, and that I use a CC instead. This is what first got me pondering the idea of switching..

[Mojo workin']

I found the transition to be frustrating for about two weeks. After this, the major programming was in place. In about two to three months' time I was a CC tuba player. I'm not sure how typical this learning curve is for most players. I switched in college, so BB flat fingerings could have been even more solidified in my brain than they are in yours, being in high school.
I think a question you would want to ask yourself is whether or not you see yourself as a music major while in college. If so, it is the convention in the USA for the large majority of players to switch to CC tuba when studying to be a professional. Not a requirement, however. Otherwise, I would recommend sticking with BB flat. There are some great BB flat tubas available on the market.

[TubaRay]

When ever I mention to a lot of players that I plan on using a BBb tuba through college (as a tuba performance major) they suggest I not, and that I use a CC instead. This is what first got me pondering the idea of switching..

In that case, depending on the philosophy of your instructor in consultation with you, I would agree it is worth contemplating a change. Be aware that the TNFJ will give you a wide range of opinions on the importance of playing a certain keyed tuba.

I myself switched to CC tuba as a sophomore in college. I have never looked back. From my perspective, the CC tuba facilitates the sharp keys a bit more than the BBb, however the BBb is a bit easier to play in the flat keys. There are many opinions about the sound of the two tubas. I am not prepared to defend any particular position on this issue.

Finally, you should realize that in the US, most of the orchestral tuba players play CC tubas. This is not true in Europe(as I understand it). You may want to consult your future college instruction, if you can.

[joebob]

Do not spend a lot of money on a BB flat tuba and then find out that your college teacher expects you to have a CC tuba. Ask your future college teacher or potential college teachers what types of horn would be good for you. If you haven't had a lesson with any potential college teacher then you should do that and get tuba buying advice from them.

[Richardrichard9]

I do plan on being a music major in college. I made that decision years ago, and have stuck with my decision so far. So I am wondering if I should switch now, or wait. I just don't want to buy a BBb and then switch and have to buy a new instrument a couple years down the road.

[Dean E]

Adding CC to your skillset will not be that difficult.

Get a 5-valve instrument, and you will also be working on new, alternate fingerings below the staff. It's not merely substituting CC fingerings for BBb.

In high school, long ago and far, far away, I switched from Eb to BBb over my sophomore-junior summer and was playing well after the first week. Making such changes is easier when young than when older.

Good luck.

[Richardrichard9]

I was actually considering the Over Christmas thing. I just started a new solo, so I was planing on either switching after I was done with the solo, or early into it.

I want to see if my teacher has an extra one lying around or knows where I can borrow one for the 2 weeks to see if I am ready for it.

[eupher61]

You do have one more year of marching band, I'd assume. The switch between CC and BBb of itself can be relatively painless, but when you've gotta go backwards for the souzie (or whichever type of instrument you use for marching)...PITA, until you've done it a LOT.
My suggestion: unless you can avoid marching, wait another year, THEN do the switch. Do all you can right now as far as tone, articulations, vibrato, yadda yadda, all the fundamental stuff, so you have that much less to worry about at that point.

[eupher61]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ain't_Necessarily_So

it all depends on what college you attend. I've marched 3 times since my last high school parade, don't miss it at all.

Except for the time I was teaching, but that's different. Still hated it.

[keegan watson]

If I knew when I was in high school that I was going to pursue performance I wouldn't have even bothered buying a BBb. I switched to CC between my freshmen/sophomore year of college and haven't looked back. It took me around a month when I switched from BBb to CC. The transition isn't that unnatural. Play scales and start at the very front of a method book and play all the way through the book building progressively harder and nailing the fingerings.

I would still check with anyone you want to study with in college for their opinion, because their thoughts have a lot to do with how you will play, but I think switching would be good.
Keegan

[windshieldbug]

Question nobody has bothered to ask: what sort of music degree are you thinking of majoring in?

[djwesp]

I said probably, because most colleges that have music degrees require the students to march at least one year

I think we should avoid these broad texas-ized generalizations.

[jonesbrass]

With the holidays comming up my parents have been talking about buying me a tuba (hense my posts in the past days). But all this talk about tuba buying has got me thinking about maybe buying a CC tuba instead of a BBb tuba. All I have ever played is a BBb and I am a Junior in highschool..

How difficult is the transition to CC tuba and about how long will it take until I would be using the CC as my main instrument?

There's been a lot of good advice here. FWIW, I think the most important thing you can do is ask your prospective college teacher(s) what they would like you to do.
Having said that, I don't think there's anything wrong with staying on BBb, in contrast to what others have said here. If you can play, you can play. It doesn't really matter what key your horn is in. Master it. Then move on to other-pitched horns. As a pro, you should be able to pick up any of the four tubas and make musical things happen. Mastering one will develop the skills needed on all of them. The additional benefit of BBb is that you'll have that big, broad sound that causes most CC players to buy those expensive 5/4 and 6/4 horns, and you'll spend a lot less, not to mention the fact that BBb takes the most amount of air. If you have great BBb air, playing CC, Eb or F will seem much, much easier. My $0.02, probably worth less.

[RRW]

****

[guillaumedu]

i learn cc in 2 weak in summer camp
for me it's easy to change to f , cc or Bb

when i learn cc i play in brass quintet and i asked the fingering to trumpet player

[Tom Waid]

I said probably, because most colleges that have music degrees require the students to march at least one year

This is true. But if tuba is your applied instrument and you have been playing C tuba for a couple years. The transition back to BBb isn't nearly as tough. It will be important to maintain both sets of fingerings during marching season.

For what it's worth I've had three high school students switch to CC. The youngest is a ninth-grader. After some initial turmoil they have no trouble playing CC in the concert band and BBb in the marching band.

[KevinMadden]

I took roughly a summer (two months) to move from BBb to CC, and have never looked back. My curve was a bit slow however, I was marhing DCI at the time and was playing a G horn for most of that summer and really didn't have much time to work on the C. Scales in rotations are the best way to do it, maybe a some nice tonal solos too, I believe I was playing the RVW Six Studies in English Folksong as well as the Marcello Sonatas, nice easy to hear tonal works that seat pretty well on a C. Have you just had a concert for your HS band? if you're begining a new program when you go back to school I would say that the C can become your main axe right away. If you're near a concert, you may want to stay on the BBb for a little while while working up the C fingers at home.

[dtemp]

I've always told non-musician friends this about the difficulty of switching from BBb to CC;

"Imagine buying a brand new computer. Now imagine that it came from the factory with every key moved to the right two places."

It took me a winter break to get my fingerings down. Play stuff you already know well on BBb on the CC. It will help break your mental attachment to BBb.

Don't worry about marching band. If you have to play BBb later, it'll come back to you quickly. Like riding a bike.