Playing BBb tuba in at Treble Clef World!

[roughrider]

I attended my first German Band rehearsal last evening. I had a great time and enjoyed playing with these folks. I took my bell-front King and they seemed to enjoy the sound. Now the difficulty. The band has just purchased a large set of pieces from Europe that are all written in treble clef. I have only ever played in bass clef. Any suggestions on how to make this work, short of walking away from it before it gets too messy? Thanks!

[eupher61]

I'd think learning to read Bb TC would be easier. Trumpet.

[eupher61]

I'd think learning to read Bb TC would be easier.

[roweenie]

Are any of the bass parts in E flat?

If so, read the notes as though they are in bass clef and add 3 flats to the key signature.




Simplistic, yes. But this method has worked for many American tuba players reading British brass band music for many years.

If the parts are in B flat transposition only (unlikely), short of learning how to do it, Bloke's idea is the best.

(pardon the low tech example)

[PMeuph]

I think it would look like this:



(Low-tech is sometimes more convenient)

[roweenie]

1, yes it is, and 2, yes it is.

[Untersatz]

To hell with the treble clef world!
A tuba is a "bass" instrument, why would there be music for tuba in treble clef???
I get that this is mainly a European thing & also a British Brass Band thing (which also has the tuba part transposed to trumpet music).
There should be a choice, but the primary music for tuba should be bass clef, written in concert pitch. just my 2 cents worth. I have
respectfully declined offers & invitations to play in both Dixieland bands & British Brass Bands because of the treble clef music issue.
If the music is the transposed trumpet music type (in treble clef) I have had pretty good luck adding 3 flats & playing it in bass clef, but
the accidentals need a little special attention, but it DOES work.

[Bombardonier]

Learn to read Bb treble clef...start with a trumpet method book if nothing else. It's not as hard as it seems... And it allows you to play and access a lot more literature.

[aqualung]

Don't believe the ads you see. Scanning programs are not accurate enough for this purpose.

And the transposition is only a fraction of the task. It still takes a person, familiar with the software, to produce a readable part. Remember, this is essentially a graphics operation, not something you learn in music class.

[Dan Schultz]

I play in an AUTHENTIC German band and not one single tuba part is written in treble clef. I'm sure the tuba parts can be purchased but nothing I've purchased in the last 20 years specified the bass parts being in treble. The Brits are the nuts who think tubas should read treble clef!

[Bob Kolada]

If you do have separate parts in Eb, do NOT default to them. There's few things worse in that environment than having F/Eb guys having to play contrabass parts because some schmuck Bb guy won't play his Bb part.

[swillafew]

Learn to read Bb treble clef...start with a trumpet method book if nothing else. It's not as hard as it seems... And it allows you to play and access a lot more literature.

+1

[eupher61]

Sibelius needs an add on program and doesn't do the scan reading very well.

Saying tuba should be only BC is like saying horn should be only in F. There's a while world of music out there that doesn't comply with that simple minded idea.

[MikeW]

If you do have separate parts in Eb, do NOT default to them. There's few things worse in that environment than having F/Eb guys having to play contrabass parts because some schmuck Bb guy won't play his Bb part.

Why would that be a problem ? As bloke noted in his recent post, an Eb played with the right mouthpiece sounds like a Bb anyway (try a Denis Wick 2, which is a big Helleberg)

[Lars Trawen]

Hello,
I once started playing the trumpet. Later on I switched to the trombone and after further 30 years to the BBb-tuba.
I've been playing both the trombone and the tuba in British-styled brass bands with all instruments except the bass trombone written in treble clef.
The knowledge in treble clef from my trumpet time has been and still is invaluable.
There are countless number of pieces written for trumpet and piano that easily can be played on the BBb-tuba or the trombone without any transcription problems.
Learn to play in treble clef, you will not regret it.
Good luck,
Lars

[nbfrenette]

You could also try using MuseScore (which is open source) and this plugin: http://musescore.org/en/node/13597" target="_blank

I haven't tried the OCR plugin myself, but I have taken on some occasions gone through the trouble of transcribing something manually in MuseScore and having it do the transposition for me. I've found the various tutorials and online resources to be helpful when I was stuck trying to do something new.

Hope that helps.

[ScottM]

We use Smart Score to do this. It isn't perfect but is relatively easy to do. We do have to a note check but it is easier than doing by hand. We use it mostly to transpose instrumental parts for choral anthems so my wife can play them on her French horn.

I have done some playing of treble clef parts and if they aren't too hard it was pretty easy. It might be worth the time to learn it.
ScottM

[hup_d_dup]

Roughrider, I am a former trumpet player who had to learn bass clef to play tuba, and I also do a lot of transcriptions in Finale, so I have a basis of comparison as to whether is more time consuming to learn a different clef, or convert the clef in a music software program.

My experience scanning music into software has been that it is, at best – using a clean, new, and properly engraved sheet – inaccurate and time consuming to check and correct. On anything that is old, marked up, hand-written, etc., it is completely useless.

Learning a new clef is time-consuming, but when you learn it, you're done, and you've got a whole new world of music to work with – far wider than only the German band you are playing with now. It's worth the investment.

Hup

[Radar]

When I went into Drum and Bugle Corp years ago (back in the 70s) I ran into this problem everything was written in Treble clef as if we were all playing Bb trumpets. I made the adjustment and learned to play it as written, get a beginning trumpet method book and work through it you'll be playing the parts as written in no time. The advantage of learning this is that there is so much more literature written for trumpet that can be played on Euphonium or Tuba, than there is for those instruments.

[iiipopes]

A tuba is a "bass" instrument, why would there be music for tuba in treble clef?

One origin of transposed treble clef music for low brass has its origins in the beginnings of the brass band movement in the UK, where in order to have efficient group sessions, all music (save bass trombone, for reasons that go beyond this thread) was transposed and written so that the first open valve note would be written "middle C" one ledger line below the treble clef, for ease of teaching and if necessary easier transfer from one instrument to another so a whole new set of fingerings did not have to be learned.

Another related, and probably earlier origin is the development of the family of sax horns by Adolphe Sax, who wanted a series or family of instruments of similar tonality, but different pitch, and the music, as with woodwinds, developed as transposed treble clef notation, again, so the first open note was middle C. Indeed, much of the earliest British brass band music has the tenor and baritone horn parts labeled "tenor saxhorn" and "baritone saxhorn."