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What exactly is considered the "cash register" range of a contrabass tuba?

If that tuba is sufficiently well played, its cash register hopefully looks somawhat like this:


If you can play well between F/E an octave below the staff and up to middle C, you will master most band situations.

Klaus

imperialbari wrote: If you can play well between F/E an octave below the staff and up to middle C, you will master most band situations.
Klaus

This is certainly true, but I believe what most consider to be the cash register is somewhat less. I would describe it as Bb below the staff to F in the staff. I'm sure others will weigh in on this.

I would think it depends (to some extent) on who's handing out the cash.

MichaelDenney wrote:What exactly is considered the "cash register" range of a contrabass tuba?

Hmmm....I've heard of optimal range, practical range, maximum effective range, down range...never heard of cash register range. Please define.

JJ

TUBAD83 wrote:

MichaelDenney wrote:What exactly is considered the "cash register" range of a contrabass tuba?

Hmmm....I've heard of optimal range, practical range, maximum effective range, down range...never heard of cash register range. Please define.

JJ

This is a term that I first heard used by Harvey Phillips many (too many!) years ago, and was intended to denote the range that tubists play in most of the time -- in other words, the range that is used 90% (or so) when making $ playing the tuba.

JB wrote: in other words, the range that is used 90% (or so) when making $ playing the tuba.

Then I have no cash register at all...
I have a pretty good range though.


Wim

I am in the middle. Most of what I've seen in decades of concert band playing on a BBb are low 4th valve F below open BBb up to top of the staff Bb, 2 octaves and a fourth, and even then the top range is usually just to the 4th line F, 2 octaves.

I studied with Connie Weldon in the mid to late 1970's at the University of Miami. Rock solid meat and patatos range (another one of Connie's favorite terms) meaning low range to a bit above the staff. She used to say if you cannot sound good in this range you will not get hired since this is where most of our playing is done. Also, Connie called cash box playing the type of playing that most of us that get paid for playing, get the money for (hint, it is not the stuff on the orchestra audition lists for most of us). The ability to correctly play whatever gets thrown on your stand or called when playing without music (German Band, band, Dixieland, pops concerts, graduations, weddings, etc...) was something that she drilled into my mind. Also, Connie could and did this type of playing when she was an active player. Along these lines, re-read one of Joe's (Bloke) receint posts about some of the music he gets paid for, I think that Connie would just say that Joe (an excellent player from the reports that I have heard) got the point. This is, to me, the point of cash register, cash box playing.

best,
Mark

I've always heard that phrase used in reference to upright jazz bass. You get to choose what notes you play in jazz, and as long as you stay in the "cash register" range, you get called back (= payment). The rest of the combo prefers that you stay down there and anchor the group. My guess is that if 90% of the time you play in the bottom two octaves of the bass (E to E), you're in the cash register range.

Tom
Kay upright bass
Meinl Weston 2155 C tuba