TubeNet

So a little over two years ago I bought a good tuba, having never played one before, with the intent to learn to play well enough to play in a community band. I've been playing french horn in two community bands for the last several years, and like many here, am a comeback player returning from an 18 year hiatus having had 10+ years of horn/trumpet playing beforehand. With the relatively high demand for horn players, my tuba development time has been limited, and I've focused more time on playing by ear than reading music.

As fate would have it, the better of my two community bands found itself starting the new season with eight horns and one tuba. So I volunteered to make the switch and the director concurred. I now have a gig.

So as you can all imagine I'm looking to accelerate up the learning curve as quickly as possible. Fortuantely the band is well organized and passes out the more difficult charts well in advance. Good thing because we'll be taking on Lincolnshire Posy, Persechetti's 6th and Holst's Second Suite later this spring. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions in the future.

I'm curious how many TubeNetters out there have spent the majority of their musical life on other instruments and made the switch to tuba relatively late. How has the transition worked out?

Looking forward to the discussions. Mark

I have spent most of my life (30 years) playing trombone, euphonium, and bass trombone. I played tuba last in hight school as a secondary instrument. Last December I played a Conn 20J that was lent to me to replace the exiting tuba player in a church group. It was as if I had been looking for this. I sold my trombones and bought a Conn 20J and had it refurbished. I am now hooked and feel it is the best for me. The only time I miss my other instruments is when I am lugging the tuba from the parking lot.

Now I play with a church group and with a community band. Good luck and enjoy it!