High-Level Tuba Performance Assignment

[Chuck Jackson]

A really great question. Mind you, I have retired from active playing, but after 25 years of gigging, I might be able to offer a few pointers. A tuba player must be versatile. Along with knowing the standard 25 excerpts COLD, tuba players would do well to know the standard 25 Dixieland tunes, be able to read anything on the page, and adapt themselves to any musical style that is thrown in front of them. The most important thing is that you play your horn very well. This comes about from steady practicing, practicing that covers all your weak points as well as your strengths. Being able to play at a CONSISTENT level day in day out is the hallmark of not only a great player, but an employable one.

One thing so many people overlook is the fact that you have to be able to get along with everyone. I once had a teacher whose greatest saying was "You only have to be good enough for the gig, but to remain in it, you have to be well thought of". How you comport yourself and treat others will go as far as how well you play. No one wants to work with a jerk.

I honestly can't say what I thought about when I was playing, I just played and listened. Maybe someone else can chime in on that one. Good luck with your project.

Chuck

[windshieldbug]

Without a doubt you gotta hear what you're going to play. It should be instinctive, just as thinking about what you want to say, and saying it. Hear what you want to play, and play it. When you've got a part, make the singing fit it with the whole, just like in a stage play. If you're improvising, actually think what you want to do, just like talking in a crowd.

And warm up as prep when you can. Just like an athlete doing pregame drills as prep, stretch your chops. You need to be able to do what you can think, and not have any unpleasant "surprises". If you're reading a part, be able to read it just as one would read a novel. There is no difference between written word and music notation.

Then, let your instrument sing, and enjoy the experience of helping to make art!

[tubatooter1940]

A pro gigs a lot. Low money or long dollars,a pro picker would rather be out mixing it up musically than sitting at home watching T.V..You play this material so much that you wind up "jamming" some arrangements and a year after you learn an origional piece it changes radically because the group has put thier interpetive "spin"on it.
Knowing this material so well,a player has an opportunity to take his mind off himself or herself and focus on the audience. one or more pickers in the band watching the audience can give you "reads" on what they're going for and can suggest to the song caller tunes that may work.Focusing on the crowd can take you out of yourself and your day to day concerns about technique or whatever and you find yourself projecting outwards and communicating completely with the audience-a beautiful thing when it happens.People feel like they're part of the performance and precious memories of the event are generated.