First Tuba
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Reilly
- lurker
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2025 5:35 pm
First Tuba
I am currently looking into buying my first tuba. I’m not sure whether to stick with a BB♭ or try out a CC tuba. I wouldn’t mind the challenge of learning new fingerings (in fact, I’d actually enjoy it since I tried some cc tubas). I’d love to hear any suggestions, as I’m split on this. On one hand, I want to try something new and expand my skills; on the other hand, I feel like I should continue progressing on a BB♭.
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iiipopes
- Utility Infielder
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Re: First Tuba
Unless you know you are going to be a performance major with orchestra, stick with a BBb tuba.
Jupiter JTU1110
"Real" Conn 36K
"Real" Conn 36K
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humBell
- 4 valves
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- Location: North Eastern U.S.
Re: First Tuba
I will play devil's... er, eb advocate.
Typically ebs are lighter, and basic functional ones are common enough that they are cheaper, if that is important.
That said, they don't always have the umph in the money range that most groups desire, which makes them more demanding to play, but it does ya good, and you are less likely to be challenged in that way on a cc or bbb.
But yeah, i wouldn't be surprised if groups look at ya cross eyed for that choice.
Anyway, whatever ya end up doing, go all the way toward playing the music as good as ya can, and i'm prety sure transitioning to different fingers will be less work then ya expect, especially if you've had to play in all the odd keys, as you'll find that the same patterns are all still played on both, they just correspond to different notes...
Anyway, happy hunting!
Typically ebs are lighter, and basic functional ones are common enough that they are cheaper, if that is important.
That said, they don't always have the umph in the money range that most groups desire, which makes them more demanding to play, but it does ya good, and you are less likely to be challenged in that way on a cc or bbb.
But yeah, i wouldn't be surprised if groups look at ya cross eyed for that choice.
Anyway, whatever ya end up doing, go all the way toward playing the music as good as ya can, and i'm prety sure transitioning to different fingers will be less work then ya expect, especially if you've had to play in all the odd keys, as you'll find that the same patterns are all still played on both, they just correspond to different notes...
Anyway, happy hunting!
Thanks for playing!