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Im starting to work on the 3rd movement of the Broughton and I had a question for those of you that have played it in the past. I took it too my teacher and he said in order to get the piece up to 160(the marked tempo), I would have to do the triplets at the end TKT KTK TKT KTK. Thats frekin hard. haha. I was wondering if there were any other solutions to this or if anyone has done it differently. Is this the norm for that section? I truly trust my teacher...but I find it difficult. and with comptetion in about a month...i need a solution...work it out...or find something new...let me know. Thanks.

You're teacher has given you good advise. The double/triple tonguing works well for me in situations like the Broughton. One fun thing you can try is practicing without the horn. Practice and put the emphasis on the 4th "ka". You can do this any time. Whenever you hear fast triplets coming from anywhere you can try this excercise. Sing along with the radio, tv, whatever.

The tongue rhythm must be relaxed. Think of your tongue like it was a set of Billy Higgins' brushes or Tito Puente's timbales. Fast doesn't have to be intense. Mellow as she goes.

And if there is any way you can perform it comfortably, that would be fine, no matter how you do it. Some people may single tongue it, some might use different combinations of ta-ka or da-ga tonguing. Hear the passage in your head before you play it. Try it on the piano or listen to a good recording. It might just come out naturally when you stop thinking about how it works. Making it work is the primary objective, regardless of what tools you use to fix it.

Another option is not to play the movement at 160. When I play it at 160, it sounds like my hair is on fire. The bottom line as a performer is to give the listener the idea that you are in control of the instrument (as opposed to sounding like the instrument is controlling you.)

For me the last movement swings better at 150.

Good Luck!

I agree with David. It does swing better around 150. Tommy Johnson may have even taken a click or two slower when he performed it in 1992 with Bruce Broughton in the audience. The piece was written for Tommy after all.

Swing it and sing it. S-I-L-V-E-R-A-D-O

I say single tongue it if you can.

Hey Joe,
I just wanted to echo Dave Zerkel's comments. Have you heard Tommy's recording of this piece with wind ensemble accompaniment? If not, the piece is almost cartoon-like (much of Broughton's recent work has been for cartoons on the WB network), and the orchestration really makes that evident. Playing this movement too fast (I play it at 152) makes it sound frantic, and really takes away from the playful character. Also, I too play it with the tonguing Doug suggested (TKT KTK). Good luck!

thanks guys...all your input really helps. Funny seeing you here Scott, good to hear from you again. I guess its not uncommon though to see other tuba players I know on a tuba forum haha. I think i will slow it down a bit...I have the recording of Velvet Brown doing it and she dosent take it at 160 she does it just a hair slower. So thanks to everyone and wish me luck!