TubeNet

To aspiring collegiate players who read these forums:

There is NO lack of tuba gigs in the world

I believe Professional tuba degree curriculum should include (in no particular order, and this is assuredly an incomplete list and does not include obvious things like standard brass pedagogy):

Orchestral playing/literature
Standard Solo playing/literature
Current Solo Literature
Playing instrumental transcriptions (including reading in other clefs)
Playing vocal transcriptions
Brass quintet playing/literature
Brass ensemble playing/literature
Concert band playing/literature
Rock bass playing
Jazz bass playing
Jazz lead playing
Self-promotion (including social media)
Music management
Music promotion
Composition (as a requirement)
Arranging for every basic type of ensemble
Traditional jazz (dixie) playing/literature
German Blasmusic playing/literature
Ballroom dance playing/literature
Modern (NoLa) brass band playing/literature
Marching band concepts
How to stand with your instrument
How to play high notes on a big tuba
How to play low notes on a small tuba
How to adapt all types of music to any tuba
Reading/writing lead sheets
Successful orchestral players
Successful quintet players
Successful solo players
Successful New Orleans players
Successful historic traditional jazz players
Successful modern jazz players
Successful commercial players
Brass ensemble styles across the world (huge)
How to educate composers how to correctly write for the tuba
Basic audio recording
Basic video techniques
Basic photography techniques
How to deal with live amplification / live sound
Horn repair
Doubling on stringed bass, trombone, euphonium, saxophone, trumpet, piano, guitar

At least a familiarity with/introduction to the following styles/genres of music (liking/agreeing with them or not does not matter at all!!):
Romantic Orchestral
Modern Orchestral
Opera
20th Century Avant Garde
21st Century Avant Garde
Film Soundtracks
Classic Broadway/showtunes
The “Great American Songbook”
Cabaret
Traditional Concert Band
Modern Concert Band
Traditional Jazz
Modern Jazz
Latin Jazz
Avant-garde (free) Jazz
Smooth Jazz
New Orleans Brass Bands
Classic Ballroom Dance Bands
Mexican Banda Bands
Balkan Brass Bands
German Blasmusik
Drum and Bugle Corps
Concert chamber music
Standard holiday repertoire
Standard patriotic repertoire
Brass Quintet
Large Brass Ensemble
Classic Rock
Modern Rock
Classic HipHop
Modern HipHop
Classic R&B
Modern R&B
Classic Blues
Modern Blues
Classic Pop Music
Modern Pop Music
Various styles of Latin Music
Classic Funk Music
Brazilian Music
African Music
American Folk Music



Any aspiring tuba player should graduate school with at least a small familiarity with all of these concepts and styles.

Great post Joe.

It's a very important point. I just wish more music schools would get on board.

What would it cost to hire a faculty who together could deliver that curriculum?

talleyrand wrote:What would it cost to hire a faculty who together could deliver that curriculum?

The cost is only one part of the equation. I think the vision is much more of an issue.

Generally speaking, music departments in universities are rarely run by performers. Sometimes they are, but the vast majority of professors that are full-time and eligible to eventually head departments are conductors, composers, musicologists and music theorist. It would be difficult to find one such individual who has the foresight and vision that someone like tubajoe has, given that most of the above people are the by-product of a a very traditional route. As such, there would be little reason for them to question the very fabric that put them in place, and at that, very little incentive to do it.

[sidebar]
Several years ago, when I was an undergrad, my composition teacher at the time and I were discussing the idea of a music genius. For him, there hadn't been a "genius" in decades, heck he only really considered that the had been a couple in the past century. However, he foresaw that the next great "musical genius" would be an individual who composed in the 3 most important genres out there: Concert, Pop, and applied music(ie. Film, Games, etc). He even contemplated that someone like Jonny Greenwood might serve as the prototype for this kind of career path. (Greenwood has composed in all three genres, but his work in pop music (Radiohead)
has definitely been more successful than his work in the other genres. (It's really his concert music that has not yet really gained any recognition.
[/sidebar]

What does this have to do with your post? To me, it seems pretty obvious that to make it as a musician one can't be good at one thing. You either have to be "great" at one thing or be good at many diversified things like in your post.

It's my understanding that Northwestern University won't do a tuba major without it being a double major with something else. The list of studies would be a nice beginning for some college paper one has due but in the harsh light of reality there is symphonic, very few full time paid jobs as Bloke said, concert band, it's as hard now to get one of those jobs as winning a fairly big orchestra audition, and since everyone stays the whole 20 or 30 years openings are sparse.-Brass quintet, some tour around and do clinics at schools and piece together a living but most are Christmas Easter, and wedding bands.Dixieland, there are hardly any full time bands left so you mostly play in pickup bands that have about a 10 tune repertoire.Theme parks, a lifetime job with a two week notice. Circus bands, no more tuba. Sadly the days of live music are drawing to a close like newspapers, the Post Office, doctor house calls, milk and bread delivery and all of the other stuff that has/is been passed to the wayside.I love playing and played full time at all but the full time quintet(not counting the ones at Ft Lee or West Point) but time has marched on and chasing a bunch of hypothetical work around as your own choice is your call but to encourage students to do it(usually at their parents' expense), is foolhardy. I know, I didn't touch on shows, but name me one, other than Barnum that is just tuba. I don't have a solution but denying the ongoing collapse of the music business is living as an overly optimistic ostrich. I do wish everyone the best Ed

EdFirth wrote: denying the ongoing collapse of the music business is living as an overly optimistic ostrich. Ed

Truth.

"Any aspiring tuba player should graduate school with at least a small familiarity with all of these concepts and styles."

What exactly do you mean by "a small familiarity?" If this means just being exposed to it through the opportunity to attend live performances and access to recordings and online resources, then I think that colleges generally do an ok job. If you mean actual instruction and evaluation in each of these areas, then I don't think it's possible within the current requirements/restrictions of a 4 year degree at a public university. Even in a performance specific degree at a public university (I'm restricting my focus to that since that's what I deal with) students have a large general education requirement to fulfill. That fills up at least 6-8 hours of a student's semester schedule, and that's not including music theory, history, and aural skills. In a music education degree there's even more red tape to deal with. Once you add applied lessons and ensembles, the student has a very full schedule. Just scanning that list, I think it would have to be divided into at least 3 different degree programs it not more if you're wanting dedicated instruction in each of those areas.

Obviously, the more that a student can diversify himself the more opportunities he will have to play for money, and I don't disagree that it's a great list. However, I don't think it's possible, nor do I agree that it's the responsibility of a college to prepare a student for EVERY possible situation they will encounter in the professional world. A lot of what you mentioned actually does get covered in some form or fashion in many degrees. However, the student will need to be largely responsible and curious in seeking out what they need to make themselves a well-rounded and marketable professional. I tell my students all the time that they will not learn everything they need to know to do their job from college classes. Can you imagine this same type of list for future high school band directors? It would probably be even longer than it is for performers. It's just not possible to cover everything. On a positive note, I find that my students are much more exposed to a variety of styles and technques than I was in college, especially in the areas of music technology.

I've considered going back and majoring in music since I only minored in it. Not sure if it'd be worth it though, considering I'm not sure if I wanna be a teacher.

Lotsa wonderful stuff in the original post. IMHO, earning a music degree (regardless of instrument) should require some familiarity with most of the subjects and genres listed here. But I doubt there is anyone who is fully competent in all of them.

I'd add to skills:
> Musical instrument acoustics, design and manufacture
> EthnoMusicology
> Teaching "music as a social activity"

I'd add to the historical styles/genres: church, court, popular & folk music that has survived since the middle ages.

OK… I consider myself a professional musician. I agree with Joe, there are plenty of tuba gigs in the world. Now let’s talk about gigs within a 2 hour radius of ANY¬¬-CITY USA. If you covered all the bases Joe listed you might have a few gigs a week at low bread. Help from Colleges... Most College professors have no clue what is happening in the real world much less able to break the news to his aspiring students. And… why would he, its bad for enrollment. Let’s see how many full time college positions are even around in 5 years. At least adjuncts have a clearer picture of the real potential of finding a college level teaching job… about the same as getting a orchestra gig! The two colleges I teach at have 3-6 full time positions and 12-18 adjunct positions.

Looking for gigs boys… you gotta be kidding. What you better come to grips with is this: we are living in a society that has a declining value on musical excellence and more importantly live performances no longer draw much attention. What I mean is 20-30 years ago just getting really good might give you half a chance at barely making a living.

POP MUSIC
At one time having the best band meant getting some premium money… now when you hear “what’s your price point” it actually means “as long as you’re as cheap as all the others regardless of quality” you might get this job.

TUBA GIGS
How many people do you think even know what a tuba is anymore!

NEW ORLEANS JAZZ
You better hurry… most people that love this music are moving to the nursing homes. Play the retirement homes… pays a fraction of what you might have made in a Dixieland band 20 years ago. I do mean hurry because most of the nursing homes already want 50s-60s music. Most nursing homes are looking for people to play for free… and finding them!

RAP
Not even if you want it. Most tracks are generated on computer. When did you ever see a rap artist with a band behind him.

OK, I give, I can’t even handle writing anymore about this sad situation. Get a fiberglass fight case and fly all over the world making pick-up gigs or get an chemical engineering degree stay close to home, have a family, time with the kids, a happy wife, and enough money to buy any tuba you ever dreamed of. Go play in church for free and find out what you should really do with your life!

I DO LOVE PLAYING THE TUBA
Tim

I just thought of this... memorize this along with your scales...

the musicians of today are playing for half of what they're worth so the musicians of tomorrow can earn a 1/4 of what they are worth.

That is the future
P.S. glad I bought my horns when I was young.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses!

I posted that list sort of on an early-morning whim… inspired by some colleagues on FB speaking about college curriculum.

Nothing that I mention there is too far out there. I’m just suggesting that these are all USABLE INFLUENCES as well as direct performance experience platforms to educate and inspire a well-rounded tuba player.

I’ll be honest, I also posted it in response to the ongoing amount of sour grapes here towards opportunities for the tuba.

I’m also saying, while I dearly love sitting in the back of an orchestra, that orchestral playing should be taught as a STARTING POINT for the tuba, not an ending point! I can’t emphasize that enough.

Also, nowhere did I mention renumeration. That’s an entirely different subject, especially in the USA where acknowledgement of the arts is well… anyway. There are easier ways to make a living than doing music (just about every other way) But it’s almost always been that way. Bach and Mozart struggled at making a living.
I am writing this for people who do music because they have to, not because they want to. I wish I could be one who did it for the joy. I do it, well… I’m not sure why. I just have to. It’s who I am, and yep, it's probably a fault.

We get caught up in debate about standards of living, costs of living etc etc. In my opinion, that shouldn't be part of this equation. I believe that it’s almost entirely impossible to directly translate music to money. Students need to understand that. Translating music into money is an art all its own and for every rule that’s mentioned, there are many more who are breaking or redefining those rules. Students from the get-go need to be taught that “music is an entrepreneurial pursuit”. Period. It’s not going to get you corporate-level financial security. Some become able to mimic that, but guess what, almost no musician has that security. Almost NONE. (if you don’t believe me, how many orchestras are currently folding?) Accept these facts, try to afford a beer, and move on with the process of making music.

I digress…

I’m saying knowledge creates opportunity. And then it’s up to the player how to manage these opportunities. BUT, micro-focusing multiple degree programs on teaching 50 supportive tuba parts, some of which most orchestras can’t even play, is not the best route to get gigs, create gigs, or promote and grow the reach of our great instrument.

The basic styles and repertoires and applications I listed are tools, but also are motivators… and if you look closely, you will probably find tuba players in the world who *are* doing things related to just about all of these genres.

I’m saying that if a student finds a dead end, that there are so many other doors open!

A few responses:

What exactly do you mean by "a small familiarity?" If this means just being exposed to it through the opportunity to attend live performances and access to recordings and online resources, then I think that colleges generally do an ok job. If you mean actual instruction and evaluation in each of these areas, then I don't think it's possible within the current requirements/restrictions of a 4 year degree at a public university. Even in a performance specific degree at a public university (I'm restricting my focus to that since that's what I deal with) students have a large general education requirement to fulfill. That fills up at least 6-8 hours of a student's semester schedule, and that's not including music theory, history, and aural skills. In a music education degree there's even more red tape to deal with. Once you add applied lessons and ensembles, the student has a very full schedule. Just scanning that list, I think it would have to be divided into at least 3 different degree programs it not more if you're wanting dedicated instruction in each of those areas.

Good question. I think it’s general. Tuba players should always be encouraged to fit the tuba into as many areas as possible…as an exercise! Don’t spend hundreds of hours practicing the damn Meistersinger trill. It sucks on a CC tuba and will never be that great. Spend your time on things that might actually open your mind. Small familiarity means that collegiate tuba players should have a good "musical diet".

I’m suggesting that more “modern” applications be taught, or at least given some familiarity and bias be dropped. Yes it’s true that computer music has replaced acoustic music. Yes it’s true that rap killed rock n roll, but rock n roll killed jazz, and jazz killed classical and secular classical killed sacred music…and video killed the radio star. yadda yadda. There’s a historical lineage that exists and to prepare students for the modern world, both education or performance, you can choose to evolve as guitar players, drummers, producers, singers have…

The orchestra is a beautiful, beautiful incredible place for music and is one of, if not the best applications for the tuba. Arnold Jacobs is my #1 musical influence. BUT… it’s a historical medium. …and is only one of a hundred places to play.

Compare it to visual arts: If they took our same approach, it would be like most schools only taught Western Renaissance techniques.

You see, I firmly believe that musicians need to let go of this grip of genre. Let go of that and there is so much music in the world, and so much opportunity for the tuba. One of my best teachers I ever had was Dr Ken Singleton. He told me “learn treble clef, there’s a lot more music in the world than you think there is.”

For example, I’m suggesting that if in schools, tuba players could graduate with some academic familiarity with:
Balkan Music
Banda Music
New Orleans Music
Blasmusik
etc
that they’d have more tools to succeed in the world. If those applications were put on pedestals similar to Mahler and Wagner and Vaughan Williams, there’d be a lot less kvetching about joblessness! …and tuba players would have the same job opportunities as guitar players or drummers.

Right now, I’ll wager that the most profitable style of tuba is not the 6/4 CC, it’s the sousaphone. How many college students would have the balls to walk into a lesson with a sousaphone? How many college professors would have the balls to teach on one? How many instrument makers are moving sousaphone development forward?

(disclaimer: I don’t own a 6/4 BAT or a Sousaphone, but I can mimic the sounds of both really well)

How many tuba players are taught who Arnold Jacobs was, but how many were taught as much about Joe Tarto, Bill Barber, or one of the most prolific and varied players of the 20th century, Jonathan Dorn?

I digress again… It’s late. Let me answer a few more:

POP MUSIC
At one time having the best band meant getting some premium money… now when you hear “what’s your price point” it actually means “as long as you’re as cheap as all the others regardless of quality” you might get this job.

Pop music is an untapped resource and while we are taught to poopoo it, it’s always there… and yes, professionally done at an *extremely* high level. The more I nudge into this world, the more I am totally amazed by it. It moves in a different world than just about everything else, a world that exists on computer. But... computers can't yet replicate a live tuba, especially in a live arena. In live arenas TUBAS KICK A LAPTOP'S ***.

TUBA GIGS
How many people do you think even know what a tuba is anymore!

It’s up to us to teach them.

NEW ORLEANS JAZZ
You better hurry… most people that love this music are moving to the nursing homes. Play the retirement homes… pays a fraction of what you might have made in a Dixieland band 20 years ago. I do mean hurry because most of the nursing homes already want 50s-60s music. Most nursing homes are looking for people to play for free… and finding them!

Oh man, there is an UNBELIEVABLE renaissance of both traditional and modern New Orleans brass band styles. It’s absolutely huge. If you don’t believe me Google “Trombone Shorty”.

…and also see there is a sousaphone player on a major TV show every single night. Yep, they don't let him play enough, but he's there!

RAP

gonna change that to Hip-hop

See NoLa above… Many successful professional sousaphone players have a solid familiarity with it. It’s influence in music across the world is profound and unequivocally undeniable. Also, it’s a place where experimentation and genre-crossing are openly embraced. It’s been here for 30 years and is not going away for a long, long time. It will have it’s own place in music history texts of the future. And what’s amazing about it? It came out of almost nothing. It’s a genre that’s completely unique in that regard.

“OK, I give, I can’t even handle writing anymore about this sad situation. Get a fiberglass fight case and fly all over the world making pick-up gigs or get an chemical engineering degree stay close to home, have a family, time with the kids, a happy wife, and enough money to buy any tuba you ever dreamed of. Go play in church for free and find out what you should really do with your life!”

Kudos to you for figuring that out. Sometimes I wish I had! Making a living actually making music is a confusing pain in the ***. It’s also constantly changing. Professional music has it’s own lifestyle, that’s another thing that needs to be taught. It’s not for everyone (sometimes I wonder if it’s even for me!) and we all need to choose where our life balance is. This is true in *any* field. …it’s just amplified in music.

But, no it’s not a sad situation. US Healthcare is a sad situation, the Middle East is a sad situation. The music world is a confusing situation that evolves so amazingly fast in so many random directions and it’s sad when it evolves away from us. What I’m saying is that schools should prepare students for this. Players who understand this are the ones who are going to move the tuba forward. Students should demand more tools for heading into the professional world. (and by tools, I don't mean more tubas!)

We need to look at professional performance like a tech entrepreneur would at their field. ...rather than approaching practice how an art historian would.


Thanks for reading! A lot of this is me thinking out loud, and comes from conversations with other colleagues of many different musical walks. Thanks for humoring me! I'm not sure this is totally the right place to talk about this all, but it's there and that's where my mind was!

"Help from Colleges... Most College professors have no clue what is happening in the real world much less able to break the news to his aspiring students. And… why would he, its bad for enrollment.

In considering the full-time professors that I have worked and currently work with, and many tuba/euphonium professors I have met or interacted with, I find little to no evidence that this stereotype is accurate. Perhaps I have been blessed to work with exceptional colleagues. I have observed the "ivory tower" syndrome in some professors, but rarely in applied music professors. Speaking as a fellow adjunct, I see no evidence that I am more "real world" than my full time colleagues.

Let’s see how many full time college positions are even around in 5 years. The two colleges I teach at have 3-6 full time positions and 12-18 adjunct positions

If you're referring specifically to full-time dedicated applied tuba/euph jobs, then I agree completely. I agree that those wanting to pursue a traditional academic career are facing the same challenges as those looking to make a living in a traditional performing career. Colleges will need to adjust to meet the needs of modern society. One of the departments I teach in is making this transition by building and promoting their music technology program and keeping students up to date with modern industry standards. Of course this is only one way, but we as teachers will have to find ways to contribute in this new and evolving paradigm.

Well, sure, and as he touches on what's more profitable, the other Joe is clearly thinking along those lines too, but I think the point is, if it's about comparing incomes, then go ahead and be a plant manager or car salesman or something. I mean for heaven's sake, Tim Jackson's scenario with the happy wife? Talk about fantasy land!

You think that there is an abundance of over-specialized over-qualified overly optimistic tubas being churned out by higher education, my wife is a flute professor/big-name-conservatory graduate/performer.

Her gigs include opera, symphony, and Baroque groups, and her teaching is full time at the University level.
She is lucky to have made a career in the "traditional" flute world. There must be 20 flutists for EVERY tuba player. There they have to do already what is being discussed NOW. They are expanding opportunities, extending technique, creating new visions and networking UNBELIEVABLY! A flute convention is just that: a convention, taking place around the chosen few lucky enough to perform. The performances are at such a high level that even I enjoy the music (with my well-known appreciation of woodwind playing... ).

The future is already here, just look to how other instruments like trumpets or flutes are dealing with it. As was mentioned, get one's head out of the sand...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/find-t ... -do,31742/" target="_blank

tubajoe wrote:To aspiring collegiate players who read these forums:

There is NO lack of tuba gigs in the world

Kinda easy for you to say that when you are in NYC --- a very large city where gigs are plentiful. You cannot use the same standard for everyone here. I agree with some of your other points, though.

"Kinda easy for you to say that when you are in NYC --- a very large city where gigs are plentiful"????

I wasn't going to answer this topic , but excuse me, when was the last time you were a professional tuba player in NYC?

I made a living as a freelancer in NYC all through the 1980's, '90's, and into this century, and I have seen the freelance "music business" in this town wither down quite drastically, and every year there are more "new talents" diving into the ever shrinking swimming pool.

Tubajoe, on one point, I do agree with you - diversification is ESSENTIAL. I have a performance degree (two, actually) from MSM, but I specifically made most of my money playing "Dixieland" (BTW, I absolutely HATE that term) music, and when I started we were riding the dying wave of the whole "Your Father's Moustache" era. (BTW, the audience from that era is not in nursing homes - they are now pushing up daisies). And I do also know there is a "resurgence" of this music, but it's a fact that MANY of these gigs pay LESS than I when was playing them 30 years ago. At that time, I was able to buy a house (in NYC!) and start a family with a stay-at-home wife/mom - how many of the 20-somethings playing "Dixieland" (or anything else for that matter) can do that now? Without extensive traveling? Quality of life is just an important consideration as anything else.

Furthermore, the freelance gigs that are left have not kept up with the rate of inflation, to say the least (you will notice I specifically said "freelance", as I have no data in regard to the Met, the Phil, or the City Opera - oh damn, I forgot - they don't exist anymore....)

Forgive my rant, but this subject hits close to home for me....

Bob Sacchi

Great list!

I would add just a few things -

Fanfare/HONK/Alternative Brass Bands (performance, organization, history, etc.)
Community Band/Orchestra (performance, organization, history, etc.)
Both of these do not pay much unless you know what can be done with them!

BTW, NoLa is usually spelled NOLA (New Orleans, LOuisiana)

bloke wrote:As long as I spend most of my days in "dixieland" rather than "yankeeland" (particularly in the winter...oh, and around tax time), I like it OK.

Call it whatever you like...Just call me for the gig...and for dinner.

That video of Southern Women is one of the funniest things I've seen--and very true!!! Thank Goodness for the NorthEast!!
Mark