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There have been a few well-made BBb tubas that have made me question about keeping my cc horn. That being said I am aware that Gene Pokorny and other tuba players are starting to play BBb more often, but my real question is when exactly in America was it decided that a CC tuba was considered the best choice in an orchestral setting?

What a wonderful Question! It has always seemed to me that, whatever the answer, logic did not seem a part of it. Let me go back to some old guys I knew (George Black) and also what Harvey Phillips has said about it.

George was a colleague of Bill Bell and, in fact, when Bill Bell was "under the weather," as he was from tine to time, George was his sit in. George got to Broadway in the 1920's and played his last gig in August 1991, in Bellingham, Washington. He died in May, 1992. He owned three horns in his career, one with Bell, an Eb Sousaphone, kept in a locker at Grand Central Station and the other two were BBb, a York Recording Bell and a Sander string Rotary BBb. He never mentioned a CC. But, Harvey Phillips stated that, when he got to New York and worked with Bell, Bell told him would have to get a CC if he wanted to get anywhere, professionally. The Conn CC Harvey played most of his life was from that era, I am guessing around 1950-ish.

So I suppose some time in the 30's CC's began to show up but were not mandatory for years, like, maybe, the 1960's, in the USA. I don't know about Europe and dates for them because I heard of BBb's being used there a lot later than that but I know, that by the 60's, maybe before, Roger Bobo was playing a Miraphone 184 in the Netherlands.

I have played (started in Vaudeville, in 1952) all 4 keys and have never been asked for a specific key but have been allowed the freedom (or maybe was just ignored?) to play anything I wanted to play. Once a conductor asked what sort of CC I was playing (in 2005 and he was complimenting me) and I told him it was one in Eb (a Willson 3400 s). So it doesn't seem to matter, in my experience, what I play. I select the horn and key I find most suitable for the work. However, I agree that someone has set things up so if you are not able to play CC, you are sub standard.

Nowadays, if I had one horn, it would be the Willson Eb. If I have a choice of horns, I play a M-W 182 5 valve F for a bass tuba and a Hirsbrunner HB-192 s BBb for a contrabass tuba with the Eb used for specific purposed like British Orchestral works and Brass Band work. The horns I own are all 5 valves, except BBb s and the 5th valve is tuned to 2 whole steps. I am fortunate in that my wife of 55 years has NEVER balked at getting a tuba and loves the sound of them.

I am in my Birthday week, turning 74 and hope to play for yet another few years which only goes to prove you don't need to be faddish or "tuba-ically" correct to play. But your question is a good one, especially if you can get the reasons for the fads uncovered.

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