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Hi there,
is anyone out there doing funk bass on the tuba, may that be seriously or just for fun ? I´m talking about simulating slaps, pops, bends, ghost skips and all that´s done on e-bass. I used a funk-bass-method for a while and found it beneficial for timing, breathing and more. Any experiences / comments out there ?
Hans "looking forward to a weekend with the horn after a long week of work" Reinhardt

how do you do some of the effects such as slapping on the tuba? do you use any electronics like an effects pedal? I was looking into getting one to play around with. I have a mic set up for my horn which I could run through a pedal.

ken k

Oh, no no no, just using the tuba and maybe a mic to amplify if playing on stage. I wanted to know what people did to imitate an e-bass without technical gimmicks.
It´s possible to produce that thumb-slap by building up pressure in your mouth before opening the "tongue valve" kinda "into" the mouthpiece. (not really, it´s just what it feels like). You want to get a real hard attack "Pome" sound WITHOUT blasting out. (Let an imaginary string get "plucked" and let the tone fade out). Not that much pressure in your lungs needed here.
The "pop" can be simulated speaking an extremly short "Tatt" with great pressure. You want to imitate the string slamming on the frets of a bass.
Now go "PomeTattPomeTatt" in octaves and you get the idea.
(to those of you classical tubists that will roar in dismay: no, don´t forget about the Rochut studies. Just pause them for a while. You can´t play this and stick to the textbook).
Have fun
Hans

Nothing to roar in dismay about. Search some of the older threads where we've talked about fun stuff to play on tuba, and get some tunes together. Start listening and playing along. That's the best way to pick up the style.

As far as the mechanics of imitating the slaps and pops, each player will have to figure that out for themselves. I doubt using a mic will help you in that respect. Running a mic through an effects box or two will do crazy things to your tone, some great, some not so much. Slapping and pulling the bass strings affects the articulation of the notes more than the tone. If you're going to be imitating a funk bass, all the key ingredients will come into play at the mouthpiece, not the other end.

I would suggest you start by singing lines. Learn to imitate the sounds you hear with your voice. Once you have lifted a few key bass lines and can sing them with the same style as they are played, then you can evaluate the vowel and consonant sounds that you are using to make the effects happen, and transfer those syllables, or appropriate equivalents, over to your tuba for use as articulations. That's a massive change in the way one usually plays the tuba, so don't be surprised if you have to invest a little long-term commitment into developing this kind of playing style.

If you have heard Oystein Baadsvik doing his didgeridoo style on his F tuba, you have heard a great example of how to transfer a completely different style of playing to the tuba. He went so far as to buy a didge in Australia and fly the thing back home so he could learn to play it. I'm sure it wasn't easy to do, even for an iron-clad stud like Oystein. Building funk chops on tuba isn't easy, either, but it's workable. Fortunately, the time spent doing it is a crapload of fun.

Listen to the great New Orleans Brass Bands (and non-N.O. as well) Like Dirty Dozen, New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Youngbloods, Rebirth etc. I played in a New Orleans style group for four years and played the funk style all the time (on the sousaphone) It's great fun, and it seems as though you've figured out the basics. Now, listen to some tunes, transcribe the lines, find some friends, and play. Most of this stuff is not written down , so get to it!!!

It's fun!!

One name: Francois Thuillier. He's done more for tuba technique than possibly anybody alive today, or the last 50 years. I'm not talking about refining old techniques, but inventing completely new techniques and making them work.. harmonics, triple stops, slap and thump, you name it. Check out his CD "L'ecureuil Fou"(Crazy Squirrel), you can order it through Tower Records.

http://francois.thuillier.free.fr/

TonyZ,
Yep, Francois Thuillier does amazing stuff along that line. I sure did enjoy his appearance in Budapest last year. He brought this really amazing French drummer who did very sensitive accompaniment. I don´t feel appropriate to comment on his playing, but I heard that "Phhutt" sound (unpitched) for the first time that night and was deeply moved by both their performance in the Jazz bar.
I also liked the way Dirty Dozen´s sousaphonist does the walking bass with an extra fuzzy buzz so you can´t tell whether it´s a plucked string bass or a tuba you hear (if your stereo isn´t that good, that is). I tried that out, but found it will get your lips all puffed up and stiffened in no time. I have no idea how these folks can do that all night.

Check out the band Bonerama. Its a trombone group that plays funk and has an electric guitar, drums and tuba as a rhythm section. They rock actually.