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While I surely am not lumping everyone (especially college agers) into this, if you are new and upcoming and trying to make a name for yourself, please just take with a grain of salt.......

With no name calling involved, I have run into this problem twice now in as many years. Without knowing anything about my back ground or teaching, there are a couple new tubists in the KC area that are starting up studios. There is a shortage of good teachers in the area, so there are plenty of 'fish' out there. I am discovering that a couple are going to my current and former students and warning them about me. I am 'just' a band director...And I play....gasp... a B flat in my gigs rather than the CC that all the real pros play....

My kids I have know better, I am just concerned about prospective students and parents. How do you handle a situation like this without just loading both barrels?

And make sure if you are new to an area, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! One of these kids has already been reprimanded by people in the know.......

Just venting...................

I wonder if those new kids know that the tuba players in the two greatest orchestras in the world (Vienna and Berlin) play BBb. The horrors! They must not be any good if they play BBb.

There are an awful lot of people in the world who don't seem to think it's prudent to know what they're talking about before they run their mouth.

doublebuzzing wrote:I wonder if those new kids know that the tuba players in the two greatest orchestras in the world (Vienna and Berlin) play BBb. The horrors! They must not be any good if they play BBb.

Three - Cleveland Orchestra (often).

I'm new....Fresh meat...
On the forum that is

Been playing the Tuba since 1978. Wow. Starting to be a few years now.
Mostly Eb due to my Brass band role, but yeah. I have a CC and Bb too

Bringing the CC to the band? Hardly never happened. Why not take the Bb
and benefit of a more homogeneous sound and volume deep down.

......kidz

Ouch!

But, congratulations on your new horns!

It's one of those things that no, it really doesn't matter BBb or CC. But if you constantly have to defend your choice, that gets really tiring and is a lot of effort for something that really doesn't matter.

More than equipment or occupation, if I were looking for a teacher for myself or anyone else, I'd want to know how the teacher plays, and how their students can play.

People who do that usually lack self confidence deep down. They have no class or integrity and do not have a clue of what it is to be a REAL professional. They will expose themselves soon enough--you keep doing your thing man!

JJ

While I surely am not lumping everyone (especially college agers) into this, if you are new and upcoming and trying to make a name for yourself, please just take with a grain of salt.......

With no name calling involved, I have run into this problem twice now in as many years. Without knowing anything about my back ground or teaching, there are a couple new tubists in the KC area that are starting up studios. There is a shortage of good teachers in the area, so there are plenty of 'fish' out there. I am discovering that a couple are going to my current and former students and warning them about me. I am 'just' a band director...And I play....gasp... a B flat in my gigs rather than the CC that all the real pros play....

My kids I have know better, I am just concerned about prospective students and parents. How do you handle a situation like this without just loading both barrels?

And make sure if you are new to an area, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! One of these kids has already been reprimanded by people in the know.......

Just venting...................

I for one am shocked and dismayed that this is happening in the KC area. While being a CC player myself, I firmly believe that BBb's are of equal quality and validity as the CC tuba (although the sound is different). If I had the bucks I'd have one of each (or possibly multiple) for different composers/genres/situations.

Also, if there really are plenty of "fish" out there, show me where they're at. I've wanted to teach for my entire stay in the KC area and have been unsuccessful (not for my lack of advertising). I seem to have a lot of colleagues that could use students too...

If your good at teaching, the students will come just give it time to those that are new in an area. It doesnt matter what key tuba or horn you play, let your teaching do the talking. I have studied with great players in major orchestras that could not teach worth a dam and I have studied with public school teachers that were incredible. The type of job you hold or the type of horn you play makes no difference.

When I said I have studied with pros that could not teach, I mean they could not teach me as this was my problem. The thing I tell my students is to study with many teachers and become your own musician, you never no, you may just become one of the best in the world. The latter part of that is from Chester Schmitz, someone whom I did learn a lot from and he certainly was able to take me to school with his teaching abilities.

All teachers have something to offer, its up to the student to pull it out of them. I can say one thing, I have learned as much from teaching students as I have from studing with pros.

you will never get forward by pushing someone else back- regardless of horn choice- its a shitty way to try to advance your own cause....I will say this , in desperate times, people will do desperate things...

bigboymusic wrote: And make sure if you are new to an area, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! One of these kids has already been reprimanded by people in the know.......

Just venting...................

On a side-note to this, it seems to me that sometimes in music we tend to associate thing together that are completely separate. The Horn someone plays, their job, their writing style, their musical tastes are all unrelated to the way they play.

Also, the way someone plays is different from their teaching skills. (ie. some great players are lousy teachers)

Owning a good tuba (or any instrument) has nothing to do whatsoever with being able to perform it well. On the other hand, performing well on a lousy instrument is a skill that should be lauded.

So my point is this: No matter what anyone says concerning associative deductions, it has no value whatsoever! (Now try explaining that to people.... )

Maybe as a solution to this, you could try making some sort of portfolio of yourself that really reflects the important parts of your teaching. (ie. Recordings, References, Professional ensemble list, Student appreciation evaluations, student placement results. etc.)

People who start taking music lessons are usually naive and tend to be impressed by the person who claims that their method is the best (and proves it by dismissing another method)....

PMeuph wrote: Also, the way someone plays is different from their teaching skills. (ie. some great players are lousy teachers)

This is very true. The ability to do a thing well is completely separate from the ability to help other people learn to do it well. Someone who can do both will attract plenty of students no matter what nonsense the jealous try to sell. Even those who can teach will attract students who may in fact be technically better at the skill. (At the height of his powers, even Tiger Woods had a coach.)

bort wrote:It's one of those things that no, it really doesn't matter BBb or CC. But if you constantly have to defend your choice, that gets really tiring and is a lot of effort for something that really doesn't matter.

Agreed. I don't even bother defending anything I do. Either you like what I do or you don't.

The quality of your playing and the results your students get will speak for themselves.

Yes Gene has been using the BBb. For Sibelius 2 last year he played the BBb for the first and fourth movements and the CC for the middle.