TubeNet

I challenge everyone to learn a piece, new to you, without using recordings to form your interpretation. Students especially. Pros, especially teachers, should be able to do it with little mental anguish.

I give all due respect to Mr Bobo, Mr Jacobs, Mr Fletcher, Mr Cooley, Dr Phillips, and all the others who paved the way for tubists with their live playing as well as recordings, but some of those recordings just don't satisfy me.

I'm going to pick one nit. Hindemith "Sonate", end of the first movement, the tempo marking given is dotted half equals the previous whole. I haven't listened to any of the recordings of it in quite a while, but I'm pretty certain no one has taken that tempo. If I can be proven wrong, please do so.

Realize that I'm not a stickler for strict interpretations. But, when a specific mm is given, I'm of the opinion that it should be followed within reason. Hindemith, or his editor, was pretty specific about these marks.

Given the level of discourse over Gene Pokorny's RVW concerto interpretation, maybe more of the warhorses of our repertoire need to be looked at in fresh light, too.

I'm just now getting back in Eb tuba, I've gotten a fair selection of standards and lesser-known works. I'm taking a look at the Ellerby concerto, one I've heard of but never heard, much less played. I am going to look for a recording on line, listen to it ONCE with the piano score, then not listen to it again.

Many times when we get new music to play in my community band it is "new to me" and I am learning it with out recordings,teachers..etc. This is how I like to learn new music. Sight reading it straight through and then going back to go over the rough spots.
The night when we get to play music for the first time is always my favorite night.

I think these first two posts reflect an important difference. Those that are working on solo literature or excerpts in order to be professional performers have one set of problems, and those who are trying to be dependable community ensemble players who do no harm have a different set of problems.

For me, I find imitating the masters makes me better able to meet my goals. For example, during my lunchtime practice today I was imitating Arnold Jacobs's pleasing execution of the tuba part in the Gabrielli Canzona per Sonare no. 2 on Portrait of an Artist. A group of us are playing it in a few weeks as part of a larger program, and I am committed first of all to not being a distraction. Mashing the right buttons is easy in this case, but making appropriate music isn't so much, at least for me.

I'm much more likely to make a positive contribution if I learn the piece imitating him (or somebody) than playing whatever I would come up with.

I with you oldbandnerd. When handed a new piece in community band or at the church brass choir, we sight read, then start house keeping by section. I then go home and practice as time allows to polish the rough areas. When I get close to mastering the piece, I like to find a community band playing it on youtube and play along. If the bass part is prominent in the recording I find this is helpful prior to the next practice session. To me it serves as sort of a benchmark. Then I play with more confidence and gusto.

JMC

I insist that my students learn a piece without relying on recordings, then use recordings only to hear others' interpretations. Relying heavily on recordings has (at least) two major flaws:

1. Learning by rote, and not developing good reading skills. Playing by ear is a great skill to have, and I preach that hard, too, but trying to learn printed music by mimicking recordings rather than playing is not good. I know many students who can't read rhythms well, and rely on hearing a piece first rather than figure out the counting.

2. Not developing a musical voice of your own. I love Floyd Cooley's interpretation of the Bach Flute Sonata, but if I wanted to hear Floyd's recording, I'd put it on. I want to hear what my students have to say through a piece. Listening to the greats has its place, of course, but I much prefer to develop MY music first, and then listen to how they did it differently (or similarly).

Far too often when I hand a new piece to a student, they first thing they say is "is there a recording of this?" Even worse is when they run right home and search for it on YouTube. Simply copying the greats without putting your own stamp on a piece is bad enough; simply parroting the crap (as much of it is) on the 'Tube is a terrible idea.

Never having found an accompanist for the Hindemith, I never bothered to work it up. But it's reasonable to infer that accompaniment issues could have something to do with why some tempo marks are not implemented. The piano part is meaner than cat dirt.

bloke wrote:put big slashes over the spots in each measure where I'm supposed to tap my foot

I do that too. Only I'm not joking, they aren't big, I only do it where the beat isn't obvious, and I don't tap my foot. Better than being lost in the measure and screwing it up for everybody.

I hate the task of learning new music. My method is slow and laborious. I slow everything down and then play it through to get the notes and fingerings. I work on the challenging passages then I slowly speed things up until it is at the tempo written. Then I work of dynamics and breath control.