Range question

[Captain Sousie]

There are no absolutes

[Tom]

What's wrong with telling them that there is no such thing as a definitive range?

I guess I don't understand why you feel the need to give them another answer...

[Dylan King]

Tell the students that the range on a brass instrument depends on the lips, air, and headache-resistance of the player.

I'd say a good guess for a Bb horn in a pro's hands would be F above middle C.

[Captain Sousie]

As far as I know, pedal G-ish (below piano range) to G-(second line in the treble staff)-ish for the BBb and CC and pedal Bb-ish to High in the treble staff Bb-ish for Eb and F tubas.

Smarter people feel free to correct me.

Sousie

[jaredsan]

if you ignore intonation, the low notes are quite managable

But if you want to play in-tune, then for BB tubas its pretty much low F (4 ledger lines below?) to around middle B flat. After that, doesn't intonation get pretty sketchy? Maybe someone with a better tuba can correct me.

[Captain Sousie]

...and being an educator i want to please my students so that they will not get on my nerves.

AMEN

[tubaman5150]

I believe what this person is asking for is the practical range of a tuba as a composer would look at it.
For a professional, I would say pedal Bb to a high F above the staff. This is certainly not the possible range, which is only limited by the player's skill.

[Captain Sousie]

He asked for the range of a specific type of tuba, not the players or the music.

hey yall,
i need to know the absolute maximum professional range of a 4/4 b flat tuba...
thanks

If it the common range required of a professional tuba player that is needed, I agree with pedal Bb-F above the staff.

Sousie

[Anterux]

I said it before and I'll say it again with no problems to admit that:
I can play the range of what you say here is a professional range. in tune. and still, I dont play well. I would much prefer having less range but good attacks and a full sound in middle range.

[tubaman5150]

He asked for the range of a specific type of tuba, not the players or the music.

hey yall,
i need to know the absolute maximum professional range of a 4/4 b flat tuba...
thanks

If it the common range required of a professional tuba player that is needed, I agree with pedal Bb-F above the staff.

Sousie

I was referring to a BBb tuba, as was most of the other posters.
The only way I know how to determine the range of a particular player, is to ask him/her and hope they are honest.
If you were referring to the word professional, its a generic term used by many orchestration and pedagogy textbooks to define the largest practical range of any specific key of tuba. There will usually be more than one generic level of range, to give teachers and composers a general idea of what to expect. They usually range from novice to professional ranges for each key of tuba.
It is true that there are no absolutes when dealing with possibilities. What we're dealing with is a band director who is looking for a practical range that the kids can wrap their brains around. I'm sure the director will make it clear that more is possible.
I think we, as tuba players, are too used to dealing with the old criticisms of how limited some folks accuse of the tuba of being. Just read any of the silly Bydlo debates.

[Matt G]

Time for that joke...

hey yall,
i need to know the absolute maximum professional range of a 4/4 b flat tuba...
thanks

I'd say 15-20 yards with a good arm.

[Dean E]

i know that but i have to tell a bunch of middle schoolers in a master class tomorrow and i need to give them examples of a full professional range

I think it's great that you're talking with and teaching youngsters. Who knows. You may change someone's life forever.

I'd also tell them about the fourth valve, and probably the false/privileged/frog tones, something that my elementary and HS band instructors never mentioned to the tuba players. The low range is very dependent on false tones and the number of valves.

[Bandmaster]

hey yall,
i need to know the absolute maximum professional range of a 4/4 b flat tuba...
thanks

I look at it like this... for a student a good range would be 2½ to 3 octaves... I am not a pro player but I have a 4 octave range... I have see some postings here where players have claimed a 5 octave range... so tell them them if a player starts on his lowest pedal note they can play up a scale 3 times, or 4 times, or 5 times, or which ever amount you feel the can understand.

[Tabor]

I primarily play a BBb horn, and I would say that the closest to an absolute maximum is probably six or seven seven octaves. I'm not a professional but I have a good five octaves, more if notes which are not musically useful are counted. I heard Dr. William Winkle say that he knew one player who had seven octaves.

I always had a really tough time with range throughout college and even to this year. I worked and worked at what my lesson instructor told me to do, and my range only seemed to get worse. I had trouble playing reliably over the Bass clef F. I did it, but it was never really quite right. I didn't really figure it out until I started really listening to recordings of great tubists which forced me to look at what my former private lesson teacher was telling me to do and relalized that it didn't make sense or produce a desirable sound.

I forgot all about what he had told me and remembered a lesson I had from Dr. Winkle back in Jr. High School when he talked about directing the airstream and my range improved overnight. Bass clef F is no problem, and now, neither is the F above middle C. Now, I can play up to the F above that, although it sure wouldn't be useful in making musical sounds.

If you're telling them absolutes that they might someday be trying to attain, I'd tell them five to six octaves.

-Tabor