TubeNet

I know lets of these have been posted etc etc...
But, for my high school symphonic band, we are playing suite of old american dances. I got the music today and we haven't tried to play through it but flipping through it i see high D's and E's and F's. I can play Don Haddad's suite for tuba(only mov. 1)but the high C isn't a problem as it sounds clear. I'm using(I'd have to ask to know the exact name) a BBb tuba with 4 valves. I have work my way up to high Eb(all above the staff)through the Bb flat scale starting at Bb above the staff. F is a muddled fart when i spend a few seconds getting it out. The D sounds ok and the Eb does too but notes that are open and extremely high and low really give me trouble! D:
I can hit everything note before pedal Bb as well(I can hit it but not on command, and it's horribly horribly out of tune so i just say i can't), and as first chair i'll have to play that eventually and i can't! (Our highschool isn't like the highest performing or anything even close of that nature but i'd like to think we're pretty moderate considering)
I was just wondering what kind of tips and things like that. I know practice, but any warm ups? Long tones? Play normal music octaves above?

The most reliable and least helpful response to this is to keep at it and you will increase the ease of the high register. Having said that here is what helps me.

If you are getting squeezed non-musical sounds out of the high range you are probably pushing the tuba into your face too hard. Get out of the habit as soon as you can. The notes won't come out right if you impede your normal embouchure. Instead of cramming the horn let the air do the work. Think of high register playing as a function of faster air and not of higher pressure. Make sure to keep your lower lip involved and don't back off on the air.

Long tones, of course. Then more long tones. Work those scales and focus not on the valves and mechanics but on the single stream of air as it moves up and down the register. If you put the horn down and blow the air as if you were playing a scale you would only hear and feel the increase of speed of the air as you move.

Another thing that worked for me is to practice attacking the high register notes without tongue. Do not tongue the notes. It forces you to make the air initiate the sound and gets the necessary speed to do so. It also works better the less you cram the mouthpiece. Eventually you make get proficient enough at this that you can use it in performance for very soft high playing.

I am no teacher. For best results you should seek one out and get a really good personal diagnosis of your playing. For all we know you may be sabotaging your efforts in some way that you may not be aware of. You will not regret it.

Agree with the long tones advice. The goal is to get the feel that you are pushing the air through your horn from your diaphragm not your embouchure. The velocity comes from that push and not from pushing the mouthpiece into your face. A good yet counter-intuitive practice is to work on this near the end of your practice session when your chops are fatigued. It forces you to focus on filling your lungs and lightening the pressure on your lips.

tuben wrote:

Tubaguy1997 wrote:But, for my high school symphonic band, we are playing suite of old american dances. music octaves above?

Do enjoy this wonderful piece. Has anyone else ever considered the divisi printed in that part (marked Basses), is upper for string bass, lower for tuba ?

I have but i honestly want to try to high register before playing the low one, as the two other tubas in the band with me will be playing the low.

Tubaguy1997 wrote:But, for my high school symphonic band, we are playing suite of old american dances.

By Robert Russell Bennett? I played this recently. I don't remember it going above the staff.

Mark wrote:

Tubaguy1997 wrote:But, for my high school symphonic band, we are playing suite of old american dances.

By Robert Russell Bennett? I played this recently. I don't remember it going above the staff.

I believe you remember correctly. There is a newer version of this out, also.

TubaRay wrote:

Mark wrote:

Tubaguy1997 wrote:But, for my high school symphonic band, we are playing suite of old american dances.

By Robert Russell Bennett? I played this recently. I don't remember it going above the staff.

I believe you remember correctly. There is a newer version of this out, also.

I went back to looked at this today to make sure i wasn't seeing things and it's written to F above the staff. There's a jump from Ab in the staff from Eb above the staff and i got it after a few tries so i may be overreacting to everything seeing as to i've never actually had to play anything above G in the staff for band, i just do it for personal achievement.

It's a great piece. When I've played it, I've also assumed (like tuben) that the upper written part was for string bass (string bass music is written an octave higher than it actually sounds). With that assumption, the upper octave was never meant to be played or heard in that octave by either instrument.

It's always good to work on the high range. Unless I'm wrong, though (very possible), that range wasn't intended to be played in that piece.

The F above the staff would be "possible" but I would doubt any experienced arranger put that in intentionally. Check the score.

It's possible that decades ago, during the time that R.R. Bennett scored this piece, the divisi tuba part was an acknowledgment that the Eb tuba was still very prominent in school and community bands/wind ensembles. Eb tubas would take the upper part, BBb tubas would play the lower octave.

I was basing my assumption off of the fact that it goes to C above the staff as well as i believe one or two D's above that without any split parts. I could be wrong, and i think it would still sound fine without trying to squeak out the extremely high notes. i'm not experienced at all, what would an experienced or moderate tuba player consider high?

is the part labeled "Tuba" or "Basses"

My band played this piece a couple of years ago, and I did some research at the time to try to decipher the unconventional "basses" part. There is also another thread somewhere on TN discussing this piece. Some observations:

There is a separate string bass part which I used as a reference - it mostly follows the tuba line, but is sometimes an octave lower than the bottom tuba part.

The bottom tuba part is not especially low, and the whole suite can be played on a three-valve Eb tuba (lowest note is an A below the staff if I remember right).

The upper divisi is not written everywhere - there are a number of sections that have only one line, and it sometimes extends to the top of the staff.

There are a number of spots where the upper divisi line sounds out of place when played on a tuba.

Wikipedia states that Bennett wrote the piece in his spare time and composed it as a condensed score, with the individual parts being written out over time. There was never a full score until somebody wrote one out for the most recent publication. My theory is that the "basses" part was extracted from the condensed score and had the upper line included for perhaps euphonium or possibly string bass (even though a separate string bass part exists), especially considering that parts were copied out over time.

As I mentioned, there are several places where the upper octave sounds musically incorrect on tuba (the Waltz comes to mind), and in performance I played those passages on the lower line, with our other tuba player on the lower line throughout. There are also a number of spots where the upper line adds some clarity in the fast-moving passages, so I took the upper line where it made the most musical sense - however, many of these passages are already scored with the trombones and euphonium at the higher octave. Since the Goldman band was the target ensemble for the piece, it could be that the part is correctly scored per the composer's intentions given their high level of musicianship.

Overall, I think the Suite is a delightful piece that presents a good challenge for a low brass section to play cleanly and with the proper sense of style. As for myself, I don't believe that all the upper divisi lines need to be covered on tuba, but it does present a great opportunity to sit down with the director and the score and map out a strategy for how your section should cover the parts.

1. Discus this with your director, not the Internet.
2. If you don't have the range reliably, don't try it in performance. This is music, not athletics. Fracking a note will just take your audience's attention from what they SHOULD be listening to. Play this as musicly as you can, don't try to wow people with your range. You are likely to impress people, but not in the manner you intended.

Have fun with that piece it's harder than it looks or sounds.

Okay, I checked the part I used recently. It is labeled TUBA and the part does not go above Cb at the top of the staff. I assume I have a newer edition than the one in question, the pertinent scan is below.