Mingus' "Moanin'" and quick question

[DevilDog-2013]

Our high school jazz band is playing Sy Johnson's arrangement of Charles Mingus' "Moanin'" this year. YAY for an actual tuba part x] What are your guys' oppinions on the piece? I think it is amazing, I love the challenge.

And now for the quick question:
Can you explain the levels of music? And what level is this piece?

Don't know what I would do without tubenet. Thanks

[SousaSaver]

The level depends on the arrangement.

Moanin? AWESOME as long as you get to play the bari sax part.

[DevilDog-2013]

well the tuba part is still pretty epic x]

[SousaSaver]

Tell your band director that you want to play the solo!

[DevilDog-2013]

@BRSousa- Haha, the bari solo? yEA right! ha.... I wish! But the third page is solo. Which I'll probably try, but I fail at improving solos. Well, it says "solo choruses", no idea what that means. I think I'll give it a shot ...

@bloke- Yes, thank you! I did mean "grades."

@everyone- Another question: how do you count...(ruffles through sheet music)... a sixteenth note triplet ? My director didn't even know she "da'ed" it for me, which helped, but I'm still just faking it. And I want to play it right.

Thanks

[DevilDog-2013]

Cool, thanks! I figured it out now, I think. We'll see tomarrow when I play it.

But what I have is a dotted quarter, eighth tied to an eighth, then the sixteenth triplet, and a quarter.
So it would be "1 (little 2), and (little 3), and-is-a, 4"...?
Way too confusing when you're not looking at the music.

Thanks x]

[DevilDog-2013]

Haha... wow, we played this piece. Tuba part was terrible. We ended up dropping it.
But listeining to the snare play it reall did help.

Thanks x]

[DevilDog-2013]

I think I have the sixteenth note triplelet down. Now I just desperatly need help with the falls at the begining. They are killing me.

A little while back, we had a District Band Day where our highschool, two middle schools and and elemetery school had a concert together. There were two of us tubas. And in one piece we had this horn call that had to be LOUD. There were only two of us and we had to be heard over 200 musicians, with good tone. We managed, and it sounded amazing.

BUT my director said that I have to play that loud in the beginning of Moanin for those half note falls. BUT, they are pedal notes and extremely fast. And I'm the only tuba. And on top of that, I have to switch from trombone to tuba in between pieces. And the change makes it impossible to play those notes that loud.

Any suggestions?